Penn vs Richmond
- October 28, 2023
- Philadelphia, Pa.
- SCY (25 yards)
- Results
Courtesy: Penn Athletics
PHILADELPHIA – The University of Pennsylvania women’s swimming and diving team opened up its 2023-24 season in style, taking the winning decision of a 185-107 final over Richmond Saturday morning at Sheerr Pool.
The Quakers are beginning their new campaign with a victory for the first time since the 2017-18 season while the Spiders drop their first meet of the year to fall to 2-1.
Penn was paced by sophomores Anna Moehn and Abby Wickersham, each claiming a pair of first-place finishes. The Red and Blue had a total of 12 victories in the 16 events.
Quaker Notemeal
*Penn opened the meet with first and second place finish in the 200-yard medley relay as Kate Levensten, Izzy Pytel, Vanessa Chong and Margot Kaczorowski swam a time of 1:45.29, while Charlotte Holliday, Keara McGowan, Sophie Henriksen and Wickersham finished closely behind at 1:46.55.
*The first long-distance race of the year was a 1-2-3 sweep as Sydney Bergstrom finished first (10:05.31), Maggie Straley took second (10:08.43) and Amelia Girotto placed third (10:23.98) in the 1,000-yard freestyle.
*Moehn had her first of two wins come in the 200 free with a time of 1:52.31, beating out Anna Kalandadze (1:53.05) and freshman Katya Eruslanova (1:53.99). Moehn also took first place in the 500 free (4:57.29) over Emma Stolberg (5:09.10).
*The 50 free was paced by Wickersham with a time of 23.84, while Jenna Jacobs placed third at 24.08. She also led a 1-2-3 sweep of the 100 at 52.21, while Kaczorowski swam a 52.71 and Jacobs took third (53.07).
*Levensten earned her first-career victory in the 100-yard backstroke (56.06), finishing just ahead of third-place finisher Holliday (57.26).
*The Quakers swept the 100-yard breaststroke with McGowan scoring first (1:05.22), Pytel coming in second (1:05.63) and Hannah Liu swimming a 1:07.02 to place third.
*Chong looks to be back into her early-season self with a win in the 200-yard butterfly, swimming to time of 2:01.85. Joy Jiang placed second at 2:03.50, while Stolberg took third (2:07.19).
*Penn’s seventh 1-2-3 sweep of the day came in the 200 breast, as freshman Meredith Holcomb swam a 2:22.21 to take first place, Ellen Holmquist in second with a 2:27.89 and Liu took third (2:28.19).
*Holliday also secured a third-place finish in the 200 back (2:05.72).
*On the boards, Sadie Howard paced a 1-2-3 sweep in the one-meter dive, scoring a 287.70 to get the win. Freshman Sophie Slayden took second (276.98) while Madeleine Parker (252.83) placed third. Slayden also recorded her first-career win in the three meter, tallying a 276.30. Parker came in second at 257.93.
Up Next
Both men’s and women’s teams head to New York City next weekend against Columbia in the first Ivy meet of the year. The men get going at 1 p.m., while the women finish up at 5 p.m.
Courtesy: Richmond Athletics
Philadelphia, Pa. – The University of Richmond swimming and diving program fell to Penn on the road in Philadelphia by a score of 185-107 Saturday.
The 200 back proved successful for the Spiders as Katelyn Pennell took the first place finish at 2:04.33 and Caroline Weldon followed in second at 2:05.28.
Caitlyn Hughes, Lucy Yeomans, Katelyn Pennell and Melissa Nwakalor came together to take first place in the 400 free relay at 3:33.13.
Caroline Weldon swam a strong 200 back, claiming the second place finish with a mark of 56.28.
Freshman Melissa Nwakalor continues her success in the early stages of her collegiate career as she claimed second place in the 50 free with a time of 24.08.
Megan Carson led the way for the Spiders in the 500 free, finishing third at 5:13.29.
Freshman Erin Budde shined bright for Richmond in the 1000 free, claiming fourth at 10:38.11.
Lola Dragosavac had the top score for the Spiders in the 1 meter diving competition (4th place – 251.85) as Sally Harrington led the group in the 3 meter section (3rd place – 237.68).
Up next, the Spiders will make the short trip to Fairfax to compete in the Patriot Invite hosted by George Mason November 16-18.