Seton Hall University
Rider
Women's Swim & Dive Blows By Broncs; 189-111
10/18/2013 12:00:00 AM | Women's Swimming and Diving
Oct. 17, 2013
SOUTH ORANGE, N.J. - The 2013-14 home opener was one filled with cheers and chants of S-H-U for the Seton Hall women's swimming and diving team as the Pirates combined to take first-place points in 12 out of 16 events against intra-state rival Rider, handing the Broncs a decisive 189-111 defeat on Thursday evening.
Eight different team members contributed individual victories and The Hall (2-0) claimed the top spot in both relay swimming events, dominating the scoreboard from the beginning to end.
Senior standout Kerrie Kolackovsky (Franklin Square, N.Y.) was one of two Pirates who posted multiple wins, sweeping the 100 and 200-yard breaststroke events.
Her performance in the 200-breast was a cut above the rest of the field as she outpaced her nearest competitor by nearly nine seconds with a time of 2:22.40. In the 100-breast, she led what was a 1-2 Seton Hall finish, reaching the wall just ahead of teammate Megan Mallon (Glen Mills, Pa.) in second. Freshman Annie Bucca (New Brunswick, N.J.) placed fifth, giving the squad three scorers who each came in under the conference qualifying mark in the event.
Kolackovsky is now undefeated in four individual swims through two meets and has picked up automatic qualifying times for the BIG EAST Championship in all four events (50-free, 100-free, 100-breast, 200-breast).
Freshman Melody Bush (Guelph, Ontario) continued to impress, joining Kolackovsky in registering two victories for the second consecutive meet. Bush powered her way to a first-place time of 1:54.51 in the 200-free, a race that also featured BIG EAST qualifying performances from senior Kate Dwyer (Freehold, N.J.) (3rd, 1:58.63) and freshman Maddie Harris (Ocala, Fla.) (5th, 2:00.51).
Bush later took first in the 100-free, out-touching Rider's Jacquelynn Parker to put SHU back in control after the Broncs had rattled off consecutive victories. Gabi Levine (Garwood, N.J.) finished fifth with a time of 56.36, adding a point with a conference championship qualifying time of her own.
Three other freshmen also recorded wins in their home debuts as Kelsey Buonaiuto (Miller Place, N.Y.), Cece Henry (St. Charles, Mo.) and Tessa Lindner (Sun Prairie, Wisc.) all turned in the top performance in one of their individual events.
Buonaiuto led a group of four Pirates that included Levine, Cora Meehan (Noblesville, Ind.) and Kelly Miller (State College, Pa.) who came in under the conference qualifying mark in the 100-back before closing her night by finishing second to Henry in the 200-IM.
Henry's victory was her second of the year and came shortly after she posted a runner-up effort in the 100-fly, a race won by Lindner. She also finished third in the 200-back as Meehan took first and Buonaiuto clocked in fourth to give The Hall the maximum amount of scorers in the event.
Senior captain Kelly Markwell (Old Bridge, N.J.) picked up a victory in the 200-fly after touching the wall in 2:12.48. Lindner placed third followed by Leah Mayer (London, Ontario) in fourth as all three surpassed the qualifying standard set by the conference.
Markwell also teamed with Bush, Mallon and Kolackovsky to kick the meet off with a victory in the 200-medley relay while Mayer and Dwyer combined with Bush and Kolackovsky to take first in the 400-free relay, the final race of the night.
From the board, sophomore Gabby Signorelli (Massapequa, N.Y.) out-dove four other competitors to take first from three meters with a score of 272.35 and was also the Pirates' top finisher from one meter with a final six-dive tally of 244.85.
Senior diving captain Katie Riley (Newburgh, N.Y.) added a third-place performance in three meter competition (260.85).
The team will be off from competition for over a week as the next time the Pirates will be in action will be on Saturday, October 26 when the Pirates head to Baltimore, Md. to join Drexel and Lafayette at a quad meet hosted by Loyola (MD).
