Swimming and Diving

The men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams traveled to Big East rival University of Connecticut for a two-day meet last Friday and Saturday at the Wolff-Zackin Natatorium.

The men’s team (0-2) lost at Connecticut (1-0) by a score of 237-107.

From this lopsided score however, Villanova ended up with four second-place finishes and seven third-place finishes.

Freshman Scott Thiede and sophomore Ted Sukramani placed second in the 200-yard freestyle and the 200-yard medley, respectively.

Thiede improved his time from the last match by .28 seconds with a 1:45.77 in the 100-yard freestyle. Thiede also earned a third place finish in the 100-yard freestyle.

Sukramani participated in five events for the Wildcats. His second-place finish in the 200-yard medley came with a time of 2:02.20. Sukramani finished third in the 400-yard individual medley and the 100 and 200-yard breaststroke. In both breaststroke races, Sukramani posted a low enough time to qualify for the Big East Championships.

The women’s team (2-2) was joined in the meet by another Big East member, the University of Rutgers. Villanova lost to both Connecticut and Rutgers 182-171 and 193-150, respectively.

However, even with both matches ending in losses, the Wildcats had a few silver linings to take away from the match.

Freshman Hayley Edwards won two individual races for the second consecutive meet, bringing her total collegiate career to four wins. Edwards took first in the 200-yard butterfly on Saturday with a time of 2:05.37, edging her nearest competitor by nine-tenths of a second.

Later on in the day, Edwards won again, this time in the 1650-yard freestyle with a time of 17:02.22 beating out the runner-up from Connecticut by nine seconds.

The Wildcats also got two other victories during the competition. Another freshman, Roxy Tammadge, took first in the 500 freestyle with a time of 4:56.20. Edwards followed her in second place.

Junior Astrid Armgarth rounded out the four wins for Villanova with a victory in the 400-yard individual medley. Armgarth’s time of 4:25.62 was good enough to qualify her for a spot in the Big East Championships, as was the three other times posted by Villanova in the 400-yard individual medley. Edwards, freshman Summer Cook, and freshman Leigh Anne Patterson posted these times.

Both teams have a week off until they play again on Nov. 13 in their home debut against West Virginia. The match will take place at 6 p.m. at the Villanova Swim Center. – N.B.

Field Hockey

Playing its final game of the regular season, the field hockey team fell to Connecticut by a score of 5-1. With the loss, the Wildcats finished their 2009 season with a record of 8-8, including a 2-4 Big East record. The latter failed to qualify them for the Big East Tournament.

The struggles began early for the ‘Cats, who found themselves in a 2-0 hole at the half after goals from sophomore back Rayell Heistand and senior forward Loren Sherer.

After another goal by the Huskies early in the second half, Villanova tried to mount a comeback when junior forward Dana Ramsden found the back of the net to make the score 3-1. The goal was the 14th of the season for Ramsden.

However, Ramsden’s goal was the only time the ‘Cats were able to get on the scoreboard. Connecticut was able to score twice more before the game ended in their favor, 5-1.

The loss was not too unexpected as Connecticut entered the game with a 16-2 overall record and a 5-1 Big East record. Their advantage was perhaps most dramatically seen in the 38-11 lead in shots on goal that Connecticut finished with.

The Huskies also finished ahead in penatly corners, leading 12-3 in the contest.

Although the season ended without a Big East tournament appearance, the future looks bright for the Wildcats. The team’s top four leading scorers Ramdsen and fellow juniors Meredith Sabatini, Lauren Wuzzardo and Meghan Ryan will all be returning next season. Likewise, sophomore goaltender Megan Goelz will give the team stability in net.

Next season, the Wildcats will be looking to return to the Big East Tournament for the first time since 2006. That year they lost to Providence in the semifinals. – D.C.