With only three events remaining at Joseph R. Rogers Jr. pool on Sunday, and its meet against Vermont still up for grabs, Massachusetts women’s swimming and diving needed Emma Rousch to come away key points from three-meter diving.
The senior did not disappoint, as she swept both diving events, posting a 318.35 in the three-meter to run away with first.
“I’ve just been confident this year,” Rousch said. “I haven’t let anything get in my head or doubted my dives.”
A sweep of the podium gave the Minutewomen a much needed 16 points and comfortable cushion going into the last two swim events.
A 156-144 victory over the visiting Catamounts was the reward for their efforts.
“The team impressed me with the way they swam today,” UMass coach Bob Newcome said. “They stepped up today which was so impressive.”
Ansley Baker swam a 51.48 100-meter freestyle to claim first and nine points for UMass. The junior also won the 100-meter breaststroke with a 1:05.08.
Newcome was impressed by Baker’s performance Sunday.
“Baker was probably one of the fastest, if not the fastest, dual-meet hundred free we’ve ever had in UMass history,” Newcome said.
Other notable performers included Stephanie Judge, who won both the 100- and 200-meter butterfly events. Mariam Labib also impressed, as she narrowly pulled out wins in the 200- and 50-meter freestyle. A second-place finish in the 100-meter rounded out the big day for the freshman.
“This was an incredible team event and I’m very proud of this group,” Newcome added.
The victory was an important showing for a team that expects to compete for championships.
“The list is a lot longer for things we have to work on, because we want these things ready in February,” Newcome said. “This is just a way of getting us there.”
The Minutewomen will look to build on the impressive victory on Saturday, Nov. 4 in a dual-meet against Boston University in Amherst.
Men’s Swimming and Diving dominant in victory over NJIT
The Massachusetts men’s swimming and diving team got a big lead early in their dual-meet Sunday in their meet against visiting New Jersey Institute of Technology and never looked back, winning 194-94.
The Minutemen won 16 events, 12 of which were individual, and did not look back after securing a victory in the first race, the 200-meter medley relay.
Halfway through the meet, UMass already held a commanding 98-33 lead over the Highlanders, and continued to dominate following a victory by Reece Donohue in 3-meter diving.
“In a meet like this where it’s a long meet, a co-ed meet, I felt we kept our concentration,” UMass coach Russ Yarworth said. “Everything we’re doing is preparing for championships and championships are a four-day meet. So, to concentrate for one afternoon is the first step.”
Owen Wright won the 100- and 200-meter freestyle and was also part of the relay 200-meter team that opened the meet with a victory.
The Minutemen finished as strong as they started, with victories in two of the day’s final three events.
“I thought we were aggressive in our approach to racing,” Yarworth said.
Trent Kindvall took home first in the 1-meter diving with a score of 295.20, an event where UMass held the top two spots.
Eric Pauls won the 1000-meter freestyle with a time of 10:04.63, and Panagiotis Androulidakis won the other long event, the 500-meter freestyle, with a time of 4:48:40.
UMass will look to continue building toward the Atlantic 10 championships later in the season with another dual-meet on Nov. 4 against Boston University.
Noah Bortle can be reached at [email protected].
