SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – In their final meet heading into the ultra-competitive Connecticut Cup, the Eastern Connecticut State University women's and men's swim teams remained undefeated with easy victories Saturday afternoon at the Alumni Healthful Living Center on the Western New England University.
 
Prior to facing their first real tests of the season Dec. 1-2 at the halfway point of the ten-meet season against some of the stiff state competition at the Connecticut Cup at Wesleyan University, the men (3-0) and women (4-0) had little difficulty Saturday remaining unbeaten in dual meet competition this year.
 
The Eastern women and men either won or finished second (or both) in all 12 individual races and both relays. Competing against two teams which will participate in the season-ending Little East Conference Championships in mid-February, the women swept host Western New England (187-67) and Plymouth State University (204.5-56.5) while the men swam past Plymouth State, 191-62 (WNE does not offer men's swimming).
 
Last year, both Eastern teams placed third in the LEC Championships. The WNE women were sixth and the Plymouth women were eighth in a ten-team field. The Plymouth men placed fifth among five teams.
 
Ava Wheeler is double winner for women
 
The women swept the top three spots in the 50 and 100 breaststroke, 50 freestyle and 1000 freestyle and the top two in the 50 butterfly and 400 medley relay while the men claimed the first three spots in the 50 breaststroke and 100 freestyle and finished 1-2 in both relays, as well as the 50 and 1000 freestyle and the 100 butterfly, breaststroke and individual medley.
 
First-year swimmer Ava Wheeler (Morris) was the women's only double-winner in both distance freestyle events. Additional winners for the women were seniors Lindsay Weaver (Newington) and Nicole Sabio (Unionville), junior Maya Brody (East Granby), and sophomore Emily Madden (Manchester) and Natasha Frisch (Mendota Heights, MN). Brody also swam anchor (freestyle) on the 400 medley relay and 200 freestyle relay, and Frisch the second (breaststroke) leg and Weaver the third (butterfly) leg of the winning 400 medley relay. First-year swimmer Camille Attle (Bristol) recorded seconds in the 50 butterfly and 100 freestyle.
 
Four are double winners for men
 
Four individuals won two events each for the men, with two of them also contributing to both winning relays. Double winners were juniors Joseph Sylvester (Morris), Connor Rego (Winsted) and Ben D'Addario (Fairfield) and first-year swimmer Nico Iannucci (Parsippany, NJ), with additional winners including seniors Connor Scully (Oxford), Nathan Melia (Manchester) and Draw Cavar (Vernon). Iannuccci swam the second (breaststroke) leg of the 400 medley and was leadoff on the 200 freestyle relay while D'Addario swam anchor (freestyle) on the 400 medley and the third leg of the 200 freestyle relay. Melia also contributed to both relays as the leadoff (backstroke) on the 400 medley and the second swimmer on the 200 freestyle relay.
 
First-year swimmer Ryan Jezek (Avon) was second in the 100 and 200 freestyle events.
 
Four individuals and both relays posted finishes among the program's all-time Top 10: the winning 400 medley relay (3:48.00) and 200 freestyle relay (1:34.47) each posted the fourth-fastest times, while the team's second 400 medley relay (4:02.44) had the seventh-fastest time all-time.  Those swimmers included senior Elliot Anderson (Goffstown, NH), sophomore Sam Hurlburt (Meriden) and first-year swimmers Samuel Ainscough (Mystic) and Stephen Canavan (Ashford).
 
Individually, Iannucci had the second-best 50 breaststroke (28.13) ever behind Hurlburt (27.75), first-year swimmer Stephen Canavan (Ashford) the fourth-fastest 100 individual medley (1:01.51), and Jezek the sixth-best 200 freestyle (1:59.17).