In an action packed weekend for the Villanova Swim Teams, the Wildcats fell to both Penn State and West Virginia in their away meets. 

On Friday, the Penn State men took out the Wildcats 183-106, while the women lost 179.5-111.5 to the Nittany Lions.  

The Wildcats started the day strong with wins in both the men’s and women’s 200-yard medley relay, and a win in the men’s 1000-yard freestyle. 

For the relays, the winning men’s team was led by Gavin Jones, Mikey Thurk, Henry Gingrich and Ryan Maher, finishing with a time of 1:35.71. 

The women swam with freshman Katie White, juniors Hannah Wasmuth and Cara Stapleton and senior Maggie Kleinsmith, who finished with a time of 1:51.22.  

Junior Charlie Hinckley was able to continue his dominance in the 1000-meter freestyle, shattering his own personal best of 9:35 with a time of 9:19.33. Hinckley took home the only individual first place finish the men had on the day.  

For the women, they also lacked individual success, but one freshman, Winnie Jalet, was able to rack up a few accolades for herself, winning both the 100-yard breaststroke and the 200-yard breaststroke. In the 100-yard, Jalet posted a 1:04.42, a full second faster than the rest of the field, while in the 200, she ran it in 2:18.83, three seconds faster than the rest of the field.  

Besides those wins, Villanova’s only other first place swims were in the 200 free relay, where both the men and women took top prize. 

The men had a group of Thurk, Maher, freshman Alex Hamill and Senior Reid Hutcherson who finished with a time of 1:25.91, whereas the women included Stapleton, Sophomore Lainey Quinones, Junior Lexi Elkovitch and Senior Perri Stahl. They finished with a time of 1:37.60.  

Overall, Villanova had 32 top three finishes between both teams with seven total wins. 

The Wildcats headed back to work the next day at West Virginia, but brought home another loss, as the men lost 207.5-83.5, while the women lost 194-100.   

Only the women were able to generate some success, winning both the three meter dive and the 200 yard butterfly. 

Freshman Claire Feick took home the 3-meter dive with a score of 258.68, and freshman Katie White won the 200-yard butterfly with a time of 2:02.48. Overall they finished with 17 top three finishes.  

The men had 18 top three finishes, but were not able to bring home a win in any event.  Hinckley received the most points for Villanova with two second place finishes in the 500 and 1000 yard freestyle. 

With these losses, the Wildcats have officially closed out their regular season, and now look to prepare for the Big East Championships, which will take place at the end of February.