Villanova Women and Seton Hall Men Repeat as #BIGEASTswim Champions
GENEVA, Ohio - Heading into the final night trailing in the overall team standings, Seton Hall fought its way back to win the men's 2018 BIG EAST Swimming and Diving Championship presented by Jeep, for the second straight year. On the women's side, Villanova built an early lead that they would not look back on to clinch the title for the fifth straight year after a four-day competition at SPIRE Institute.
For the fifth-straight year the Georgetown women finished as BIG EAST runners-up, scoring 637.5 points, while the Wildcat's finished second on the men's side for the first time since 1992, a year prior to their most recent BIG EAST title.
Villanova junior Darby Goodwin was honored as the Most Outstanding Women's Swimmer of the meet for the third consecutive year, while Georgetown freshman Drew Carbone was named Most Outstanding Male Swimmer.
Rick Simpson from Villanova and Derek Sapp from Seton Hall were named co-BIG EAST Women's Coaches of the Year, while Simpson was also voted as the Men's Coach of the Year.
For the diving events, Villanova sophomore Michael Perra picked up the Most Outstanding Men's Diver award, after earning gold medals in both the 1-and-3-meter dives. Claiming a gold and silver medal on the women's side, sophomore Elizabeth Miller was honored as he Most Outstanding Women's Diver.
Rounding out individual awards, Georgetown's Michael Tober and Villanova's Todd Michael garnered BIG EAST Women's and Men's Diving Coaches of the Year, respectively.
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Entering Saturday with a commanding lead on the rest of the competition, Villanova senior Caitlin Daday got her team off to another strong start, winning the 1650 yard freestyle with a time of 16:37.84. Following closely behind with a time of 16:42.53, Cristina Barrett of Georgetown secured silver.
Entering the night with his team leading the Pirates, 506.5 to 483, sophomore John Davidson started Villanova's night off with a gold medal in the mile, setting an NCAA B-standard qualifying time in the process, by touching the wall in a time of 15:25.52.
Entering the night with five gold medals in as many events, Goodwin added a sixth to her resume in dominating fashion by setting the SPIRE Institute pool record with a time of 1:55.09, nearly five seconds faster than her competitors. On the men's side, Carbone collected gold for Georgetown with a time of 1:45.41. The freshman was followed by Seton Hall's Tyler Kauth (1:46.35). All three swimmers set NCAA B-standard qualifying times.
In the women's 100 free, Villanova juniors Alexandra Fabbri (49.24) and Taylor Wilson (49.61) finished one-two, respectively, while Xavier's Emily Conners (49.86) garnered a bronze medal. All three medalists set NCAA B-standard qualifying times.
In what proved to be the most crucial race of the night, Seton Hall finished first, second and third in the men's 100 free and as a group tallied 60 points in the event. In comparison to the Wildcat's 28 points, the Pirates leapfrogged Villanova in the overall team standings, 627 to 619.5, as four events remained.
In the next men's race, Seton Hall sophomore Josh Tosoni claimed his second gold medal in a breaststroke event, finishing the 200 with an NCAA B-standard qualifying time of 1:59.41. However, as a team Villanova scored enough points to regain a slight margin over the Pirates 660.5 to 656.
On the women's side, Georgetown senior Molly Fitzpatrick locked down her fourth BIG EAST Championships gold medal, in as many years, hitting the wall with an NCAA B-standard qualifying time of 2:12.81.
In the 200 fly, Villanova added to its commanding lead with Mackenzie Niness, Elise Pidutti and Christine Sullivan finishing first, second and third, respectively in the event. On the men's side, Seton Hall upperclassmen Matthew Zebrowski and Ivan Michalovic finished first and third, respectively to give the Pirates a lead they would not look back on.
Following the conclusion of individual swimming events, Villanova sophomore Michael Perra claimed his second gold medal at the BIG EAST Championship, scoring 625.30 points in the 3-meter dive.
In the final event of the competition, both Villanova and Seton Hall solidified their run at the 2018 BIG EAST Championships with gold medal finishes in the 400 free relay. On the men's side, Noah Yanchulis swam the first leg on the winning relay squad (2:59.22), followed by Vadim Jacobson, John Redoutey and Dakota Williams. In the women's event, Villanova picked up its fourth pool record in relays and fifth overall with a time of 3:18.51. Goodwin swam the lead leg followed by Samantha Cheruk, Taylor Wilson and Alexandra Fabbri in the anchor position.
Major Awards
Most Outstanding Women's Swimmer: Darby Goodwin, Villanova
Most Outstanding Men's Swimmer: Drew Carbone, Georgetown
Co-Women's Coaches of the Year: Derek Sapp, Seton Hall & Rick Simpson, Villanova
Men's Coach of the Year: Rick Simpson, Villanova
Most Outstanding Women's Diver: Elizabeth Miller, Georgetown
Most Outstanding Men's Diver: Michael Perra, Villanova
Women's Diving Coach of the Year: Michael Tober, Georgetown
Men's Diving Coach of the Year: Todd Michael, Villanova
Final Team Standings
Women
1. Villanova (973.5 points)
2. Georgetown (637.5)
3. Seton Hall (601)
4. Xavier (555)
5. Butler (235)
6. Providence (208)
Men
1. Seton Hall (777 points)
2. Villanova (749.5)
3. Georgetown (661.5)
4. Xavier (638.5)
5. Providence (213.5)