Villanova Women, Xavier Men Repeat as #BIGEASTswim Champions
Final Results
East Meadow, N.Y. - The Villanova women and Xavier men stand atop the BIG EAST once again after a grueling four-day event at the Nassau County Aquatic Center. On the women's side, Villanova built an early lead that they would not look back on to clinch the BIG EAST Championship, presented by Jeep, with 882 points for the seventh straight year. The Musketeer men earned the conference title with 780.5 points for the fifth time in seven years.
For the sixth time in seven years, the Georgetown women finished as BIG EAST runners-up, scoring 749 points, while the Hoyas also finished second on the men's side for the second straight year, edging third-place Seton Hall, 707-685.
Villanova sophomore Millicent Routledge was honored as the Most Outstanding Women's Swimmer of the meet after winning gold in the 50 free, 100 free and 200 free while Georgetown junior Drew Carbone was named Most Outstanding Male Swimmer for the third-consecutive year with three individual gold medals and a BIG EAST record.
Rick Simpson from Villanova and staff were voted-BIG EAST Women's Coaching Staff of the Year, while Xavier's Brent MacDonald and company were voted as the Men's Coaching Staff of the Year.
For the diving events, Villanova senior Michael Perra picked up the Most Outstanding Men's Diver award for the third consecutive Championship, after earning gold medals in both the 1-and-3-meter dives. Claiming two gold medals on the women's side, junior Riley Fujioka of Georgetown was honored as the Most Outstanding Women's Diver.
Rounding out individual awards, Georgetown's Marc VanDyken 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 field, Villanova senior freshman Brenna McLaughlin got her team off to another strong start, winning the 1650 yard freestyle with a time of 16:47.33. Following closely behind with a time of 16:56.49, Corey Moon of Georgetown secured silver.
Xavier freshman Andrew Martin led from start to finish securing the gold in the 1650 yard freestyle, setting an NCAA B-standard qualifying time in the process, by touching the wall in a time of 15:20.03. Martin cruised past the Xavier program record in the mile swim by 19 seconds.
Entering the night with five gold medals in as many events, Kelly Montesi added a sixth to her resume in dominating fashion with nearly a three second edge over her competitors with a time of 1:58.00.
On the men's side, Carbone collected gold for Georgetown for the third time in as many years en route to setting a new BIG EAST record with a time of 1:42.11. The previous mark of 1:42.73 set by Louisville's Pedro Oliveria stood for eight years. Villanova's Justin Cucchi captured the silver with a time of 1:44.61. Carbone and Cucchi set NCAA B-standard qualifying times.
In the women's 100 free, Villanova's Millicent Routledge claimed her third individual gold of the meet with a time of 49.78, while Xavier's Emily Conners (50.40) garnered a silver medal. Georgetown's Belinda Donohoe (50.78) closed out the meet with a bronze.
Sean Devlin touched the wall at 44.93 in the 100 free to capture the gold while Thomas Minar and Ben LaClair of Seton Hall took spots two and three, respectively, to earn the Pirates 33 points in a crucial race.
In the women's 200 breast, the Wildcats took the top-two spots as top-seeded Kaitlin Gravell (2:18.53) earned the gold while teammate Margaret Kleinsmith (2:20.03) secured the silver.
In the men's race, Seton Hall senior Josh Tosoni claimed his third gold medal in the event, finishing the 200 with an NCAA B-standard qualifying time of 1:57.90 to set a Seton Hall program record. Georgetown's Connor Morikawa recorded an NCAA B cut as well to capture the silver at 1:58.20.
Xavier's Taylor Hogan closed out the individual events for the women with a gold in the 200 fly at 2:02.13. Tarryn Els (2:02.63) of Villanova earned the silver while Seton Hall's Sierra Cripps (2:02.67) claimed the bronze. Xavier continued its success on the men's side, as the Musketeers earned the gold and silver to record 37 points toward the team total. Charles Clark claimed the top spot at 1:48.30 while Brandon Abboud (1:48.67) took second.
Following the conclusion of individual swimming events, Villanova senior Michael Perra claimed his second gold medal at the BIG EAST Championship, scoring 579.00 in the 1-meter dive.
In the 400 free relay, the final event of the meet, the competing teams saved the best action for the very end as the Villanova and Xavier women finished with a tie for the gold at 3:21.62. The Wildcats solidified their victory with their fourth gold in five relays, while the Musketeers claimed a firm grasp on third place with the relay victory.
On the men's side, Georgetown claimed the top spot with a 2:59.05 mark. Andrew Carbone lifted his squad to the gold with the fastest split in the race at the anchor leg with a 20.74 in the first 100. Xavier claimed the silver .55 seconds later to secure the team trophy.
Major Awards
Most Outstanding Women's Swimmer: Millicent Routledge, Villanova
Most Outstanding Men's Swimmer: Drew Carbone, Georgetown
Women's Coach Staff of the Year: Rick Simpson and Villanova
Men's Coach Staff of the Year: Brent MacDonald and Xavier
Most Outstanding Women's Diver: Riley Fujioka, Georgetown
Most Outstanding Men's Diver: Michael Perra, Villanova
Women's Diving Coach of the Year: Marc VanDyken, Georgetown
Men's Diving Coach of the Year: Todd Michael, Villanova
Final Team Standings
Women
1. Villanova (882 points)
2. Georgetown (749)
3. Xavier (654)
4. Seton Hall (439)
5. Butler (287)
6. Providence (232)
Men
1. Xavier (780.5 points)
2. Georgetown (707)
3. Seton Hall (685)
4. Villanova (621)
5. Providence (280.5)