Villa Maria closes in on 14th District 1 swimming title
PHILADELPHIA >> It’s been a force to be reckoned with in the district for more than a decade.
On Friday evening, the Villa Maria girls swim team took another step toward capturing its 14th District 1-AA title at La Salle University’s Kirk Natatorium.
Highlighted by their district record-breaking time in the 200 yard freestyle relay, the Hurricanes opened and closed the day with gold-medal relays.
Villa Maria opened the meet with a first-place finish in the 200 yard medley relay, finishing up at 1:45.75. The Hurricanes then closed out the meet with a 1:37.02 in the 200 free, shattering a record the school had set two seasons ago.
Both relays consisted of Emily Cornell, Olivia Giampietro and Maura McManus with Nina Smith and Katelyn Chick switching out for the final relay.
“We’ve got a great team and some really great leaders who have driven us to this point,” said Villa Maria head coach Cathy Hay. “A lot of our girls can swim in a lot of different events, so that goes a long way in a meet like this.”
On the day, the Hurricanes totaled 15 medals, including their golds to start and finish the meet.
Senior Emily Cornell was part of both gold medal relays and captured a silver in the 200 free with what would have been a pool-record-breaking 1:51.69.
“It’s hard for me to be upset when the only time that was better broke the record,” said Cornell, a senior committed to South Carolina. “As a team, we’re really happy with the way this meet went start to finish. It’s always good to start out with a win…even better to close with one (a win).
“We’re excited to close this out tomorrow and even more excited for states.”
Smith also captured a silver medal in the 50 free (24.44) while Kaitlyn Agger (58.06) and Ashlyn Chermol (59.87) took second and third, respectively, in the 100 fly.
At the conclusion of the opening day, Villa Maria is out to a commanding lead in the AA rankings at 314.5 while Gwynedd Mercy sits in second at 210.
In AAA action, North Penn leads the way with 228 team points, followed by Unionville with 98 and Avon Grove with 95. Downingtown West is currently in fifth with 70 points.
Avon Grove sophomore Olivia Paoletti captured the gold in the 200 IM, where she posted a 2:01.74, cutting nearly four seconds off her qualifying time. Junior Emma Brinton took third, finishing up at 2:04.31. Downingtown East’s Heather MacCausland finished second with a 2:02.47. Paoletti and Brinton were also part of the 200 free relay, which placed fourth with a 1:36.94.
Unionville earned a pair of bronze finishes with a 1:47.10 in the 200 medley relay consisting of Maura Grimes, Bridget Foote, Lindsey Hewton and Jessica Homitz. Unionville also took third in the 200 free relay, with Camryn Carter, Olivia Miller, Homitz and Grimes combining for a 1:36.44.
West Chester Henderson’s Abby Kosic took home a bronze medal in the 200 free (1:51.88) and also swam the lead leg of Henderson’s 200 free relay, which placed fifth at 1:36.95.
NOTES >> Cornell’s time in the 200 free would have set the district record, but Gwynedd Mercy’s Stephanie Szekely posted a 1:50.57. … Downingtown West punched its ticket with a fourth-place finish in the 200 medley relay (1:47.34). Senior Meghan Keithly took a bronze medal in the 50 free with a 24.02.
