Men's and women's swimming fall to UConn
Pat Ouellette
Issue date: 1/25/07 Section: Sports
01/25/07 - The University of Rhode Island men's swimming team lost to the University of Connecticut 182-99 for only its third loss of the season and the women's team fell to UConn 171-120 at the Jan. 20 meet.
Rhode Island swam well on senior night with many URI alumni attending, but went up against extremely tough competition to an undefeated UConn team.
Despite the loss, there were a few individual highlights for the Rams. Freshman Gerard Donlevy won the 100-yard breaststroke (53.28) and the 200-yard individual medley (1:57.81). Junior Ryan Sheatsley had another excellent day with victories in the 200-yard backstroke (2:00.91) and the 100-yard butterfly (53.62).
Another event that Rhode Island did well in was the 400-yard freestyle relay. The quartet of sophomore Derek Denard and seniors Anthony Randall, John Proctor and Preston Roth finished with a time of 3:14.31. On the women's side there were three standout performances on the team. Sophomore Cassie Mizia paced the women's team, winning the 50-yard freestyle (25.37) as well as the 100-yard freestyle (54.59).
Also giving URI a solid effort was sophomore Kelsey Foy, who placed first in the 200-yard individual medley (2:15.46). Junior Caitlin Regan contributed with a personal record of 2:14.68 in the 200-yard backstroke despite finishing fourth in the event.
URI won the women's 400-yard freestyle relay (3:43.30) that was led by Mizia, junior Julie Kent, sophomore Tracey Cannon and junior Maria Cielewski.
Head coach Mick Westkott thought his team prepared well for the meet but ran into an extremely competitive opponent.
"We had our best three weeks of practice leading up to the meet," he said. "I honestly don't think we could've swam any better or any harder. Give credit to UConn, that is a great program that is well-coached and very talented. The way this team swam was not evident in the scoring, I'm proud of them."
Westkott was pleased with the individual races and in particular Dunleavy and Sheatsley.
"Ryan has been strong for us all year long," he said. "He is a major force in this program because of his versatility and natural talent. The statistics show that he is among the top swimmers in the [Atlantic 10] Conference.
"Gerry has also been great for us, as a freshman we expected him to do well but what he has been able to do so far is very impressive."
Westkott was also happy with the way Mizia excelled against UConn.
"Cassie had a terrific day and her hard work is paying off for her," he said. "In addition to her two wins she anchored the 400-yard freestyle relay."
The Rams will conclude the regular season with a visit to Boston College on Feb. 3. The A-10 championships will begin on Feb. 21 and continue up until Feb. 24. The NCAA championships will start March 15.
Rhode Island swam well on senior night with many URI alumni attending, but went up against extremely tough competition to an undefeated UConn team.
Despite the loss, there were a few individual highlights for the Rams. Freshman Gerard Donlevy won the 100-yard breaststroke (53.28) and the 200-yard individual medley (1:57.81). Junior Ryan Sheatsley had another excellent day with victories in the 200-yard backstroke (2:00.91) and the 100-yard butterfly (53.62).
Another event that Rhode Island did well in was the 400-yard freestyle relay. The quartet of sophomore Derek Denard and seniors Anthony Randall, John Proctor and Preston Roth finished with a time of 3:14.31. On the women's side there were three standout performances on the team. Sophomore Cassie Mizia paced the women's team, winning the 50-yard freestyle (25.37) as well as the 100-yard freestyle (54.59).
Also giving URI a solid effort was sophomore Kelsey Foy, who placed first in the 200-yard individual medley (2:15.46). Junior Caitlin Regan contributed with a personal record of 2:14.68 in the 200-yard backstroke despite finishing fourth in the event.
URI won the women's 400-yard freestyle relay (3:43.30) that was led by Mizia, junior Julie Kent, sophomore Tracey Cannon and junior Maria Cielewski.
Head coach Mick Westkott thought his team prepared well for the meet but ran into an extremely competitive opponent.
"We had our best three weeks of practice leading up to the meet," he said. "I honestly don't think we could've swam any better or any harder. Give credit to UConn, that is a great program that is well-coached and very talented. The way this team swam was not evident in the scoring, I'm proud of them."
Westkott was pleased with the individual races and in particular Dunleavy and Sheatsley.
"Ryan has been strong for us all year long," he said. "He is a major force in this program because of his versatility and natural talent. The statistics show that he is among the top swimmers in the [Atlantic 10] Conference.
"Gerry has also been great for us, as a freshman we expected him to do well but what he has been able to do so far is very impressive."
Westkott was also happy with the way Mizia excelled against UConn.
"Cassie had a terrific day and her hard work is paying off for her," he said. "In addition to her two wins she anchored the 400-yard freestyle relay."
The Rams will conclude the regular season with a visit to Boston College on Feb. 3. The A-10 championships will begin on Feb. 21 and continue up until Feb. 24. The NCAA championships will start March 15.
