WEST POINT, N.Y. – Rutgers swimming and diving wasted no time in making their mark on the 2021-22 season. The Scarlet Knights picked up 11 event wins, three pool records and posted one of the top times in the country in the 200 freestyle in a 143-96 victory at Army West Point.
 
The 400 medley relay squad reset the Crandall Pool record that was held by the 1976 Olympic team, Abigail Knapton bested both the previous 1M and 3M benchmarks by over 10 points, and Alice Scarabelli posted the sixth-fastest time in the country in the 200 free.
 

FROM THE POOL DECK

• The 400 medley relay team of Alice Scarabelli, Tina Celik, Beatriz Zoppeidossantos and Liza Ryndych reset the Army Pool record that was set by the 1976 US Olympic Team. The quartet collected a time of 3:47.05 topping the previous record by 2.94 seconds.
• Abigail Knapton also broke the Crandall Pool record on 3M by 10.95 points taking first with a score of 333.45 and topped the previous 1M record scoring 
• Scarabelli hit the wall in a time of 1:49.30 in the 200 freestyle marking the sixth-fastest time in the country.

 

SPRINTS

• Two Scarlet Knights followed Scarabelli in the 200 free for RU to go 1-2-3 in the event. Sofia Chichaikina clocked in at 1:50.66 for second with Giulia Ghidini following in 1:51.33.
• Scarabelli also took home the top time in the 100 back with a time of 55.28 while Natalie Schick placed third clocking in at 59.78.
• Rutgers also went 1-2-3 in the 50 free in Scarlet Knight debuts. In her first time on the blocks for RU, Virginia Menicucci had first-place finish of 24.38, followed by Sofia Lobova in 24.46 and Liza Ryndych in 24.52.
• Beatriz Zoppeidossantos earned her second top time of the evening winning the 100 fly in a time of 56.59.
• Chichaikina also picked up a victory in the 100 free logging 51.39.
• Tina Celik also added a first-place win with a time of 1:03.84 in the 100 breast.

RELAYS

• The 200 free relay squad also claimed victory as Sofia Chichaikina, Giulia Ghidini, Liza Ryndych and Virginia Menicucci swam to a time of 1:35.13.

DISTANCE

• Cat Salladin and Yael Weber took the top spots in the 1000 free. In her first dual meet as a Scarlet Knight, Salladin took first with a time of 10:22.95, while Weber finished in second in 10:39.27 with her top collegiate time in the event.
• Weber also came in third in the 500 free posting a time of 5:16.30.
• Tina Celik was the runner-up in the 400 IM with a time of 4:36.83.

DIVES

• It was 1-2-3 for the Scarlet Knights on 1M led by Abigail Knapton's first-place score of 309.53. Holly Prasanto was the runner-up in her first meet on the boards for the Scarlet Knights scoring 288.68 while Savana Trueb came in third scoring 288.30 also making her RU debut. All three scores were NCAA Zone qualifying marks.
• In addition to Knapton's record dive on 3M with a score of 347.05, Trueb finished second scoring 297.98 points in the event. Both scores qualified for NCAA Zones.

KNIGHT NOTES

• Knapton's 1M performance placed her name third all-time in the event at RU, while Prasanto landed ninth all-time.
• Knapton's 3M score was the fourth-best score in the Scarlet Knight record books.
• Scarabelli's 100 back times wwas the 10^th fastest in Rutgers history.

 

MEET QUOTES

"This is the best first meet we've had since I've been here. The team spirit and the vibes on deck were just amazing. We went in there with a high-performance mindset,  executed a high-performance plan and we swam really fast. I'm so proud of each and every one of them. I'm just bursting with pride right now."  – Head swimming coach Jon Maccoll
 

UP NEXT

• The Scarlet Knight women's swimming & diving team is back in the pool at the Colgate Invitational on Friday and Saturday competing against the host Raiders along with St. Bonaventure and UMass.

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