Since returning for the Spring semester, Villanova swimming and diving has been off to the races, with meets each weekend throughout January. Though both teams struggled in their first meets, things are looking up for the reigning Big East Champions as they aim to have a strong finish leading into the conference championships that are less than a month away.
One of the standouts throughout the month was sophomore Riley Kudlac, who earned a Big East Female Athlete of the Week title last week for her performance in the women’s wins over West Virginia and Duquesne.
Kudlac started the competition off with a bang in the 200 free, when she claimed her first win with a personal-best time of 1:49:26. From there, her momentum remained as she took the 50 free at 23.48 and later finished with the 100 free at 50.34. In the 400 free relay, Kudlac also came in clutch for her team, swimming her second leg with a time of 50.40 and an overall group time of 3:24.67.
“It was incredibly unexpected,” Kudlac said. “We did not taper in any way. I had no idea, but it started with the 200, and I remember just touching the wall and turning around and being beyond shocked because the last time I went a time like that was at my conference meet last season. After the 50, I remember touching the wall again, and I was so confused. I was not surprised, just because the training here has been so helpful, but I honestly did not even know that I won all the events until later on when somebody pointed it out. It was a great day.”
Though Kudlac’s talent is not uncommon on a Villanova women’s team seeking its 12th consecutive Big East Championship, she was not always a Wildcat. She originally committed to George Washington University before transferring to Villanova after her freshman year. This was due largely to the former’s decision to dismantle the school’s swimming facility, causing the potential for longer commutes to go off campus.
“The thing that we have been really impressed with is [Kudlac’s] level of focus,” head coach Rick Simpson said. “We knew she was going to be good, but we did not realize she would be this dialed into her sport. It’s a really healthy combination of great attitude and being a great teammate, making things fun for the people around her but also the ability to just really dial in and get laser-focused on the athletic side of things.”
While at George Washington, the Glastonbury, Connecticut native helped the Revolutionaries bring home the A-10 title in the 2023-24 season, contributing 25 points at the conference meet while also winning A-10 Rookie of the Week twice.
Transferring from one championship team to another, Kudlac has a winning mindset already instilled in her going into the Big East Championships.
“My mindset last year was going into it with no option of losing,” Kudlac said. “That is kind of how I want to approach it this year, as well. I think you definitely have to take it day by day. There’s no better feeling than winning and all of the hard work of the entire season paying off while getting to see your best friends also succeed. I think a lot of the girls on the team would say the same thing.”
While all competition leading up to the Big East Championships is done, over the weekend the swim team sent themselves off in its annual Sprintfest, in which they honored all of the seniors on the team while competing in shorter events or sprints that the team typically doesn’t see in competition as well as community relays in which all different athletes and student organizations across campus compete.
“I would describe it as sort of like Hoops Mania, except its reverse since in ours we finish out the year with this celebratory event,” Simpson said. “We got a packed house. It was really just an exciting event here on campus that involves a lot of different organizations to our space and exposes our sports to them.”
Kudlac said that Sprintfest allows the team to find the fun in the sport. It is the reason they became swimmers in the first place.
“I think it’s a great example of how we don’t need to be so set on just swimming, swimming, swimming, all the time,” Kudlac said. “It’s just a time where we got to look around and appreciate what we have, recognize our seniors and, at least for me, realize why we’re doing it and how much we love the sport.”
