Sacred Heart University’s swim and dive team took home a decisive win on Oct. 26 against Stony Brook University, defeating them with a score of 173 to 127.
Senior Lola Barrett led the stellar performance, with the team dominating the 200 butterfly, 200 IM, 100 backstroke and 200 medley relay. Barrett secured her second-ever NCAA Zone qualifying score in the 3M, achieving a 247.30 score.
“We had a lot of motivation going into this meet, and with all our wins leading up to it, it’s a boost of confidence when looking into the midseason and conference,” said Barrett.
Freshman Sinclair Yadao placed second in the 3M with a 265.05 score and third in the 1M, receiving a score of 243.90.
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The strong performance has head coach John Spadafina feeling encouraged about his team.
“I thought our team’s performance as a whole was excellent. This was a total team effort, and we performed very well from top to bottom of our depth chart. It’s something very difficult to do this in back-to-back meets, especially on the road,” said Spadafina.
The Pios got off to a strong start when they won the 200-medley relay with a time of 1:51:31. Sophomore Sophia Velleco was able to win the 1000-freestyle with a 10:48:14 time.
Following this, the team went 1-2 in the 100-backstroke and swept both the 200-butterfly and 200 IM.
According to senior Emma Chambers, based on previous results, matches with Stony Brook are “usually very close meets.”
The team recently moved conferences, going from the Northeast Conference (NEC) to the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC), where the players have experienced more competitive matches.
“On the swim side, I feel like there’s a lot more compatibility and more competition, where in the NEC, things were more clear cut,” said Chambers.
A new conference will bring a new set of challenges for the team to overcome, but this compelling win over Stony Brook has put them on the right track.
“We didn’t do anything different. They continued to work hard in the water, on the boards and in the weight room. They had a strong, positive mentality going into the meet,” said Spadafina.
With the level of trust their coach has in their mentality, the Pios are striving to be a team to look out for in the MAAC.
“I would like for our team to keep working hard and trust the process of getting better and stronger, especially our first years, and that will carry over into our double dual vs. Siena and Rider on Nov. 9,” said Spadafina.
