MILFORD, CT– The Saint Peter's swimming and diving program returns to action on Saturday, November 22, for a multi-team meet hosted by Sacred Heart University at McCann Natatorium. The women's team will compete in a quad meet featuring Sacred Heart, Merrimack, and Bridgeport, while the men's team will face Bridgeport in a dual. First splash is set for 12:30 p.m.
The Peacocks put on an impressive showing in their home-opener last Tuesday evening, securing first place in 23 events between the women's and men's programs.
Maddie McKinney and
Gwendolyn Mendez led the way with three golds apiece–McKinney secured the 500-free and Mendez the 400 IM, and both athletes helped the relay teams to first.
Paige Austin-Burrows added a pair of golds as well, in the 100-Breaststroke and 100-Butterfly.
On the men's side,
Juan Nunez had four first-place finishes, taking the top spots in the 100- and 200- Backstroke, and helped both relay teams to victory.
Tristan Raso and
Ashton Smith won a trio of events each–Raso secured wins in the 100- and 200-Butterfly while Smith added victories in the 200- and 500-Freestyle, and both men helped each relay team to first.
The Peacocks carried that momentum into Saturday's meet against Iona, despite both programs falling to the Gaels the Peacocks put together a strong performance, combining for 12 event victories. Austin-Burrows continued her hot streak, pacing the team with three golds and a silver–taking first in the 100- Butterfly, the only sub-minute swim of the field, the 100- IM, and delivering the fastest anchor split of the 200-yard freestyle relay.
Madison Petricevic and
Patch Robinson secured a pair of wins each. Petricevic dominated the backstroke events with top times in both the 50- and 100-yard backstroke, while Robinson swept the mid-distance freestyle events, winning the 200- and the 500-yard Freestyle.
ABOUT THE PIONEERS
Sacred Heart's women's program enters the weekend 5-2 overall and 3-1 in MAAC competition. In their most recent outing, the Pioneers split their tri-meet, falling to Rider 127-172 and defeating Merrimack 194-103. The meet was highlighted by a pair of individual wins from Sophia Velleco, who claimed the 200- Butterfly (2:08.12) and 500-yard Freestyle (5:11.13), along with Maddie Goret, who touched first in the 100- Backstroke (59.08) and 200-yard IM (2:11.64).
Head coach John Spadafina is in his 12th season leading the Pioneers.
ABOUT THE WARRIORS
Merrimack's women's program sits at 1-5 on the season after snapping a five-meet skid in its most recent tri-meet, where the Warriors fell narrowly to Wellesley (138-139) but defeated Simmons University (239-32).
Casey Bednarek led the way with a first-place finish in the 200- Freestyle (1:59.82) and a runner-up finish in the 100-yard Butterfly (1:00.77). The 200-yard Freestyle Relay team of Madison McAloon, Keeley Harney, Cameron Zuliani, and Kendra Daily also earned a win with a time of 1:39.67.
Head coach Erin Cammann is in her 11th season at the helm of the program.
ABOUT THE KNIGHTS
The Bridgeport swimming and diving team has competed in six meets thus far. The women's squad is currently 3-2, riding a three-meet win streak, while the men haven't lost a meet since October 4, when they came in second in the Fairfield Invitational.
In their last outing, the programs got off a tri-meet sweep over Roger Williams (W: 171-85 | M: 215-60) and University of Saint Joseph (W:71-85 | M:157.5-109.5). The women's side totaled nine individual victories, paced by Hazel Clark, who dominated the backstroke events, taking first in the 100-back (1:10.69) and 200-back (2:36.42), while Gómez Rodriguez swept the breaststroke races with times of 1:17.71 in the 100 and 2:50.88 in the 200.
The men's squad was equally impressive, winning every single event on Saturday to remain perfect at 5-0 in dual meets. Sultanbek Azat led the distance crew with wins in both the 800-freestyle (8:20.57) and 400-freestyle (4:00.74), while Villalba Vera sprinted to victories in the 200- (1:56.86) and 100-Freestyle (53.58).
The head coach of Bridgeport in his first season is Evan Sholudko.
ALL TIME RECORDS
Last season marked the first meeting between Saint Peter's, Sacred Heart, and Merrimack. The Pioneers topped the Peacocks 182-92, while Saint Peter's earned a 135-126 victory over the Warriors.
The Peacocks were led by McKinney, who won the 1,000-yard Freestyle (10:59.94), and Austin-Burrows, who claimed first place in the 200-yard Butterfly (2:15.21).
Bridgeport is 2-0 against Saint Peter's. This marks the first meeting between the programs this decade. In their last outing, the Knights swept the Peacocks with the women's team defeating Saint Peter's 100-17 and the men's squad securing the victory 87-36.
For continuing coverage of Saint Peter's University Athletics, visit SaintPetersPeacocks.com and follow the Peacocks on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.
