Day 2 of the 2019 Big East Championships featured a wide range of events, including for both men and women the 500 Free, 200 IM, 50 Free, and 200 Free relay, along with the women’s 3M diving.
The night saw Villanova pull away in the women’s competition to lead with 378 points, above Georgetown at 227 points and Xavier (who was previously tied in the lead with the ‘Nova Wildcats after Day 1) at 185. Seton Hall (181), Providence (93), and Butler (90) rounded out the six-team meet.
The men’s meet featured Georgetown’s 263 points narrowly leading Villanova (235.5) and Xavier (230.5), as a strong performance by the Bulldogs – and a lack of men’s diving events on Day 2 – saw them overtake Villanova’s four point Night 1 lead. Seton Hall remained in the chase with 219 points, as Providence finished the day with 88.
Women’s 500 Free
The evening’s opener saw Nicole Welch of Villanova pull a 4:49.63 to win gold with a relatively narrow victory over Georgetown’s Cristina Barrett (4:50.85), followed by Andrea Fong, also of Villanova (4:54.45). The 1-3 finish proved valuable to Villanova’s lunge for first, supported also by ‘Nova’s fifth place Emily Provenzo (4:54.75), barely behind Julie Stankiewicz (4:54.55). Rounding out the event were Noelle Fimbres (4:57.39), Kathleen Kerr (4:57.73), and Lillian Clisham (5:01.55).
The 1-3-5 finish proved valuable in Villanova’s lunge for the lead, while Georgetown’s 2-6-8 helped boost them to second after a sixth-place finish on the first night.
Event 7 Women 500 Yard Freestyle
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Name Age School Prelims Finals
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=== Championship Final ===
1 Welch, Nicole E 18 Villanova 4:50.08 4:49.63
2 Barrett, Cristina R 20 Georgetown 4:53.34 4:50.85
3 Fong, Andrea L 19 Villanova 4:58.85 4:54.45
4 Stankiewicz, Julie A 19 Seton Hall 4:57.41 4:54.55
5 Provenzo, Emily S 19 Villanova 4:57.37 4:54.75
6 Fimbres, Noelle M 19 Georgetown 5:00.62 4:57.39
7 Kerr, Kathleen R 21 Xavier 4:59.21 4:57.73
8 Clisham, Lillian G 18 Georgetown 4:59.73 5:01.55
Men’s 500 Free
The men’s evening kicked off with Georgetown pulling a 1-2 finish, with Brett Sherman (4:23.63) touching out Michael Wheeler (4:23.75). The third-place finish went to Benjamin Laclair of Seton Hall (4:28.19).
Providence’s Justin Viotto (4:30.72) took fourth ahead of Villanova’s Noah Cherik (4:30.73) and John Davidson (4:31.41). Seton Hall rounded out the event with Joseph Gibson (4:35.21), while their Caleb Smith disqualified with a false start.
Event 8 Men 500 Yard Freestyle
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Name Age School Prelims Finals
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=== Championship Final ===
1 Sherman, Brett M 19 Georgetown 4:30.64 4:23.63
2 Wheeler, Michael A 19 Georgetown 4:25.52 4:23.75
3 Laclair, Benjamin P 18 Seton Hall 4:30.29 4:28.19
4 Viotto, Justin A 19 Providence 4:33.00 4:30.72
5 Chernik, Noah 20 Villanova 4:31.63 4:30.73
6 Davidson, John K 20 Villanova 4:31.81 4:31.41
7 Gibson, Joseph R 21 Seton Hall 4:30.87 4:35.21
-- Smith, Caleb B 18 Seton Hall 4:31.24 DQ
Women’s 200 IM
The Wildcat women landed a commanding 1-2-3-4-5 finish in the 200 IM, with all of their finalists finishing under 2:04. Elise Pidutti led the event with a 1:59.73 as the only finisher under 2:00 and the evening’s first “B” cut qualifier, with Rayann Jaryszak (2:00.23), Kelly Montesi (2:00.24), Darby Goodwin (2:01.54), and Tarryn Els (2:03.98) rounding out Villanova’s impressive finish.
Elizabeth Sargent of Seton Hall (2:04.84), along with Georgetown’s Phoebe Slaughter (2:05.61) and Dorothy Morgan (2:07.19), rounded out the women’s A final.
Event 9 Women 200 Yard IM
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Name Age School Prelims Finals
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=== Championship Final ===
1 Pidutti, Elise D 22 Villanova 2:01.70 1:59.73
2 Jaryszak, Rayann M 19 Villanova 2:02.46 2:00.23
3 Montesi, Kelly M 18 Villanova 2:02.06 2:00.24
4 Goodwin, Darby E 22 Villanova 2:01.93 2:01.54
5 Els, Tarryn C 21 Villanova 2:05.20 2:03.98
6 Sargent, Elizabeth H 20 Seton Hall 2:05.33 2:04.84
7 Slaughter, Phoebe B 20 Georgetown 2:05.36 2:05.61
8 Morgan, Dorothy L 22 Georgetown 2:05.76 2:07.19
Men’s 200 IM
Georgetown’s Andrew Carbone took the win for the men’s 200 IM with a 1:47.05 finish, a slight gain from his prelims time of 1:46.78. Behind him were Villanova’s Justin Cucchi (1:48.73) and Xavier’s Matthew Dyer (1:50.45) closing out the top three.
Behind them were Seton Hall’s Lior Grubert (1:50.78), Xavier’s Nathan Runyon (1:51.00), Providence’s Andrew Ferrell (1:51.28), Seton Hall’s Josh Tosoni (1:52.26), and Xavier’s Brandon Abboud (1:52.30).
Event 10 Men 200 Yard IM
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Name Age School Prelims Finals
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=== Championship Final ===
1 Carbone, Andrew M 19 Georgetown 1:46.78 1:47.05
2 Cucchi, Justin M 20 Villanova 1:49.22 1:48.73
3 Dyer, Matthew S 22 Xavier 1:50.22 1:50.45
4 Grubert, Lior 25 Seton Hall 1:51.50 1:50.78
5 Runyon, Nathan D 21 Xavier 1:50.87 1:51.00
6 Ferrell, Andrew B 19 Providence 1:51.31 1:51.28
7 Tosoni, Josh R 20 Seton Hall 1:51.04 1:52.26
8 Abboud, Brandon A 21 Xavier 1:51.95 1:52.30
Women’s 50 Free
Villanova posted another high-scoring finish, placing a 1-3-4-5. Taylor Wilson shed just over a tenth off of her 22.99 prelims time to win the event with a 22.87. Just behind her was Xavier’s Emily Conners (23.01), followed by ‘Nova’s Alexandra Fabbri (23.22). Wildcat teammates Abbey Berloco (23.30) and Millicent Routledge (23.41) finished fourth and fifth, respectively.
Rounding out the sprint was Georgetown’s Belinda Donohoe (23.43), Xavier’s Tianna Vozar (23.48), and Seton Hall’s Courtney McCardle (23.57).
Event 11 Women 50 Yard Freestyle
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Name Age School Prelims Finals
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=== Championship Final ===
1 Wilson, Taylor N 22 Villanova 22.99 22.87
2 Conners, Emily A 21 Xavier 23.16 23.01
3 Fabbri, Alexandra M 22 Villanova 23.52 23.22
4 Berloco, Abbey A 18 Villanova 23.52 23.30
5 Routledge, Millicent 19 Villanova 23.37 23.41
6 Donohoe, Belinda J 20 Georgetown 23.37 23.43
7 Vozar, Tianna A 22 Xavier 23.58 23.48
8 McCardle, Courtney N 21 Seton Hall 23.63 23.57
Men’s 50 Free
Seton Hall’s Dakota Williams shed over half a second off of his prelims performance of a 20.56 to win the men’s 50 Free in a 20.05, just under a tenth off of the NCAA “B” cut of 19.96. Behind him were Georgetown’s Sean Devlin (20.42) and Samuel Johanns of Xavier (20.57).
The remainder of the Final was finished out by Villanova’s Stephen Krecsmar (20.59), Georgetown’s Seth Maslowski (20.75), a tie between Xavier’s Enrique Hernandez and Villanova’s Andrew Kelley (20.86), and Xavier’s Thomas Christian (21.07).
Event 12 Men 50 Yard Freestyle
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Name Age School Prelims Finals
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=== Championship Final ===
1 Williams, Dakota F 21 Seton Hall 20.56 20.05
2 Devlin, Sean P 18 Georgetown 20.85 20.42
3 Johanns, Samuel R 22 Xavier 20.74 20.57
4 Krecsmar, Stephen A 21 Villanova 20.46 20.59
5 Maslowski, Seth R 21 Georgetown 20.72 20.75
6 Kelley, Andrew R 21 Villanova 20.85 20.86
6 Hernandez, Enrique 22 Xavier 20.90 20.86
8 Thomas, Christian A 19 Xavier 20.90 21.07
Women’s 3M Diving
The evening’s diving event saw Villanova’s Bridie Dunn win with a 525.60, followed by Georgetown’s Naomi Peng (507.85) and Riley Fujioka (505.25). Also finishing in the top eight were Seton Hall’s Taylor Jackson (500.25), Georgetown teammates Elizabeth Miller (494.25), Margaret Barnhorst (481.75), and Rebecca Cox (450.95), as well as Shannon Daine of Villanova (399.85).
Event 3 Women 3 mtr Diving
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Name Age School Prelims Finals
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=== Finals ===
1 Dunn, Bridie Villanova 252.35 525.60
2 Peng, Naomi Georgetown 233.60 507.85
3 Fujioka, Riley Georgetown 258.20 505.25
4 Jackson, Taylor Seton Hall 240.10 500.25
5 Miller, Elizabeth Georgetown 234.45 494.25
6 Barnhorst, Margaret Georgetown 252.00 481.75
7 Cox, Rebecca Georgetown 223.05 450.95
8 Daine, Shannon Villanova 223.00 399.85
Women’s 200 Free Relay
The Villanova Women posted a 1:31.19 win in the meet’s third relay, with a team consisting of Alexandra Fabbri (23.23), Samantha Cheruk (23.06), Millicent Routledge (22.61), and Taylor Wilson (22.29). Narrowly behind them in a 1:31.85 was Xavier’s team of Emily Conners (22.93), Tianna Vozar (23.02), Maureen Cummins (22.99), and Laura Dicus (22.91).
In third place was Seton Hall’s finish in a 1:34.16, followed by Georgetown (1:35.00), Butler (1:35.45), and Providence (1:35.92).
By far the fastest split of the event was Villanova’s Wilson at a 22.29 anchor, more than half a second under her time in the 50 free finals.
Event 13 Women 200 Yard Freestyle Relay
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School Seed Finals
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1 Villanova 'A' 1:32.26 1:31.19
1) Fabbri, Alexandra M 22 2) Cheruk, Samantha M 21
3) Routledge, Millicent 19 4) Wilson, Taylor N 22
2 Xavier 'A' 1:32.67 1:31.85
1) Conners, Emily A 21 2) Vozar, Tianna A 22
3) Cummins, Maureen E 19 4) Dicus, Laura A 21
3 Seton Hall 'A' 1:35.00 1:34.16
1) McCardle, Courtney N 21 2) Capone, Clara J 21
3) Stankiewicz, Julie A 19 4) Decker, Jordan E 21
4 Georgetown 'A' 1:36.51 1:35.00
1) Morgan, Dorothy L 22 2) Sun, Grace 20
3) Chen, Enlin 18 4) Donohoe, Belinda J 20
5 Butler 'A' 1:36.58 1:35.45
1) Davies, Harriet E 20 2) Van Gheem, Annah R 19
3) Heitmeyer, Isabel S 19 4) Horton, Victoria L 21
6 Providence 'A' 1:36.73 1:35.92
1) Thornton, Katherine R 19 2) Bankes, Jennifer P 18
3) Keenan, Margery K 19 4) Zawacki, Lauren E 19
Men’s 200 Free Relay
The Xavier men secured a relay win with a 1:21.23 finish, consisting of Alexander Sironen (20.57), Christian Thomas (20.33), Brandon Abboud (20.17), and Enrique Hernandez (20.16). Seton Hall’s 1:21.72 finish of Dakota Williams (20.22), Benjamin Laclair (20.61), Christopher Tucker (20.75), and Samuel Hendrix (20.14) placed second, with Hendrix’s split being the fastest of the evening.
Behind them was Georgetown (1:22.35), Villanova (1:22.70), and Providence (1:25.31).
Event 14 Men 200 Yard Freestyle Relay
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School Seed Finals
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1 Xavier 'A' 1:23.01 1:21.23
1) Sironen, Alexander J 19 2) Thomas, Christian A 19
3) Abboud, Brandon A 21 4) Hernandez, Enrique 22
2 Seton Hall 'A' 1:23.74 1:21.72
1) Williams, Dakota F 21 2) Laclair, Benjamin P 18
3) Tucker, Christopher W 22 4) Hendrix, Samuel T 21
3 Georgetown 'A' 1:23.79 1:22.35
1) Calderwood, John F 20 2) Devlin, Sean P 18
3) Kohlhoff, Jacob D 22 4) Maslowski, Seth R 21
4 Villanova 'A' 1:23.16 1:22.70
1) Krecsmar, Stephen A 21 2) Marsh, Jesse A 18
3) Fetterman, Jordan R 19 4) Kelley, Andrew R 21
5 Providence 'A' 1:26.52 1:25.31
1) Brannigan, Patrick K 20 2) McElrath, Ian T 18
3) Eigner, Jamie M 19 4) Freeman, John T 19
