UConn Athletic Communications / April 8, 2021

GENEVA, Ohio – UConn junior Joshua Bryant finished in a tie for fifth in the men's 50-yard freestyle event Thursday at the BIG EAST Men's and Women's Swimming & Diving Championships.

Bryant (Newburgh, N.Y.) swam the finals in 20.81 to deadlock Providence's Will Layden for fifth place and earn 13.5 points for the Huskies.

Combined with the 17 points earned Wednesday by junior Justin Corres for a second-place finish in the men's 3-meter diving, the UConn men have 30.5 points in the competition.

On the women's side, freshman Niamh Hofland gave the UConn women's swim team its first win at the BIG EAST Men's and Women's Swimming & Diving Championships Thursday when she topped the field in the 500-yard freestyle event.

After two days of competition in the four-day championships, the UConn women are in second place with 276 points, trailing only Villanova (347) in the six-team field. The championships are being held at the SPIRE Institute in Geneva, Ohio.

"In the Big East, Villanova is really the gold standard, a multi-time repeat champion," UConn coach Chris Maiello said. "But for us to do what we're doing, to be in this position, is really something special. What's really striking here is that we only raced one time before coming here. For our swimmers to re-learn how to compete … I couldn't ask much more of them."

Hofland (Newport-Telford, Great Britain) outdueled three Villanova swimmers to win the 500 freestyle title in 4:48.34, earning the Huskies 20 points.

"Niamh is obviously quite talented – she beat a young lady who was a two-time defending champion," Maiello said. "She had a good swim in the morning (preliminaries) and then we were able to give her some feedback about how to get a little bit better. It was a lot of fun to see. She's just a freshman – she's going to continue to get better. She put the league on notice."  

The Huskies earned additional points in the event as senior Ryan Dulaney captured sixth place in 4:59.01, worth 13 points, and sophomore Mia Galat earned 6 points as she finished third in the consolation final in 4:59.27.

Hofland's championship was the highlight of an outstanding day in the competition for the Huskies.

UConn divers had a major impact in the championship final of the women's 1-meter event. Villanova's Danielle Scarano won the event with 497.50 points, but the Huskies placed four divers in the top six finishers.

UConn senior Elizabeth Drab finished second with 480.05 points, freshman Ana Laura Faoro was third with 476.35 points, senior Alyssa Annenberg was fourth with 461.80 points and freshman Elisabeth Katz finished sixth with 430.10.

"We're really happy that our diving program is deep and doing so well," Maiello said.

In the 50-yard freestyle, UConn placed three swimmers in the eight-swimmer finals. The Huskies were paced by freshman Melissa Lowry, who finished fifth in 23.54, junior Linnea Anderson, who was sixth in 23.61, and sophomore Charlotte Proceller, who was eighth in 23.77. Junior Ali Grace earned one point for the Huskies with an eighth-place finish in the consolation final in 24.27.

In the 200-yard individual medley, UConn junior Katelyn Walsh placed sixth in 2:05.03, while junior Molly Franklin was a second behind to finish seventh in 2:06.20. In the event's consolation final, UConn freshman Angela Gambardella finished fourth in 2:06.87 and senior Jennie Novak was sixth in 2:07.96.

The Huskies' 200-yard freestyle relay team – freshman Melissa Lowry, junior Grace Ali, sophomore Charlotte Proceller, and junior Linnea Anderson – turned in a time of 1:34.34, finishing second to Villanova (1:32.49).

"For the most part, we did exactly what we wanted to," Maiello said. "We're in great shape and I'm so proud of our team. It's a fun time to be part of our program right now."

Friday is another full day of competition in the championships, with 13 events scheduled, including women's and men's competition in the 400 individual medley, the 100 butterfly, the 200 freestyle, the 100 breaststroke, the 100 backstroke, the 400 medley relay, and the men's 1-meter diving.

4/9 – Swimming Day Three Prelims – 10 a.m.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yyYBghxiZJM

4/9 – Swimming Day Three Finals – 6 p.m.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DrAqW_XJaQU

4/10 – Swimming Day Four Prelims – 10 a.m.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D9NCeWjT1N4

4/10 – Swimming Day Four Finals – 5:20 p.m.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nDGz7Q_cwE0

Live Results

Find live results for the Big East Championship week here: https://swimmeetresults.tech/BIG-EAST-2021/