Newcomers Lead Louisville Men, Women to Victories over Xavier In Season Opener

Louisville v. Xavier

• Friday, September 30, 2022
• Natatorium, Louisville, KY
• SCY
• Dual meet format
• Full Results 
• Final Scores
  • Women: Louisville 181, Xavier 78
  • Men: Louisville 169, Xavier 89

The Xavier Muskeeters crossed the Ohio River Friday to take on the Louisville Cardinals in Louisville in what’s become the traditional first meet of the season for both teams lately. As is also tradition, the #6 Cardinal women and #13 men both easily won over the Muskeeters, with the women winning 181-78, and the men 169-89.

Women’s Recap

The Cardinals recruiting class came in at #12 in our rankings, and the rookies made an immediate impact.

Paige Kuwata had an impressive debut as a Cardinal, taking part in four victories. The former Sandipers of Nevada swimmer won the 1000 free in 9:54.15, followed that with a 2:02.58 in the 200 fly, and then finished her individual competition with a 4:53.47 in the 500 free. In true (former) Sandpiper fashion, as if those 1700 yards weren’t enough, she anchored Louisville’s 400 free relay in 52.05, helping that squad to the win as well.

Fellow freshman Cecilia Viberg also had a great day. The German national swept the breaststroke events, going 1:03.07/2:20.92 in her first yards meet. She also swam breast on Louisville’s A medley relay, which won in 1:41.69, although full splits don’t appear to be available.

Junior Tristen Ulett matched Kuwata with three individual victories, although she won across three different disciplines. She won the 100 back in  56.41, the 100 free in  51.09, and then the 200 IM in 2:04.94. Like Ulett, Paige Hetrick won two events in multiple strokes, taking the 200 free in 1:51.04 and the 200 back in 2:03.22.

Meanwhile, veteran Gabi Albiero strayed a bit from her normal sprint free/fly event lineup. She actually swam breast on the Cardinals’ “B” medley relay and then took 2nd in the 100 breast in 1:05.69 before winning the 100 fly in 53.36. Senior Christiana Regenauer swam fly on that medley relay, and she followed up a with a 23.07 in the 50 free. 

Kali Fisher led Xavier with a total of 11 points, taking 3rd in the 200 free (1:51.97), 2nd in the 200 back (2:04.22), and 2nd in the 200 IM (2:05.59).

Men’s Recap

While not quite to the same extent as the women, the Louisville freshmen figured prominently in their first meet in Cardinal livery. South African national Guy Brooks earned a win in his first individual swim as a Cardinal, taking the 200 free in 1:37.80. Brooks also took 4th in the 100 free (45.47) and exhibitioned the 100 fly, touching in 50.58, the 3rd-fastest time overall.

Fellow freshman Charlie Crush picked up his first individual college win in an event which he may not have expected, the 200 IM, which he won in 1:52.04. Crosby, primarily a backstroker and a butterflyer,  led off Louisville’s winning 200 medley relay (1:29.13), but was DQ’d in the 100 back before taking 2nd in the 200 back (1:51.36).

Meanwhile, three of the Cardinal veterans won two individual events each. Haridi El-Araby (aka, Haridi Sameh or Abdelrahman Elarby) swept the sprint freestyle events with a 20.01 in the 50 free and a 44.61 in the 100 free. He also swam fly on the 1st place 200 medley relay, and swam a 44.32 2nd leg on the Cardinals victorious 400 free relay (3:02.65).

Building off a strong championship season last year, sophomore Denis Petrashov swept the breaststroke events with times of 56.24/2:03.19. Petrashov seems poised to fill the void left by the departure of Evgenii Somov after his five years as a Cardinal.

Senior Ilia Sibirtsev got the competition rolling with a 9:17.52 in the 1000 free to get the individual events underway, and finished off the distance sweep with a 4:31.36 in the 500 free. Fellow NCAA qualifiers Gustavo Saldo and Dalton Lowe came away with wins too. Saldo took the 200 fly in 1:49.48. Lowe, who last year threw down one of the fastest 50 fly splits ever, actually swam backstroke on Louisville’s ‘B’ medley relay, but he won the 100 fly in 48.61.

But it wasn’t entirely a Louisville show. Xavier’s Jon Bernard swept the backstroke events, going 51.26 in the 100 and 1:51.26 in the 200.

Louisville Release

Courtesy of Cardinal Athletics 

LOUISVILLE, KY. — The University of Louisville men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams swept Xavier Friday afternoon at the Ralph Wright Natatorium.

The Louisville men won 169-89 and the Louisville women won 181-78 to extend the winning streak over the Musketeers to seven straight.

Race-by-Race Recap
The Cardinals were paced by multiple event winners Cecilia Viberg (200 medley relay, 100 breast, 200 breast) and Paige Kuwata’s wins in the 400 free relay, 1000 free, 200 fly and the 500 free. On the men’s side Abdelrahman El-Araby had wins in the 200 medley relay, 50 free, 100 free. Denis Petrashov swept both breast events and was part of the winning 200 medley relay.

The Cardinals women started the meet out with a win the 200 medley relay. Abby Hay, Cecilia Viberg, Christiana Regenauer and Julia Dennis combined for a time of 1:41.69.

The men followed suit, touching first with the foursome of Charlie Crush, Denis Petroshov, Abdelrahman El-Araby and Michael Eastman posting a 1:29.13.

Paige Kuwata put up the sixth fastest time in school history in her first swim as a Cardinal, posting a 9:54.15 in the 1000 freestyle. Paige McCormick was second, posting a 10:36.01 and Liberty Williams was third in 10:45.07.

In the men’s 1000 free, Ilia Sibirtsev was into the wall first with a time of 9:17.52. Eli Shoyat was second in 9:27.02.

The Cards took the top two spots in the women’s 200 freestyle led by Paige Hetrick’s 1:51.04. Maddie Luther was right on her heels, touching in 1:51.65.

Guy Brooks won the men’s 200 freestyle with a time of 1:37.80, just out-touching Murilo Sartori’s 1:37.92. Denis Loktev made it a 1-2-3 sweep with the third place time of 1:39.95.

In the women’s 100 back, Tristen Ulett edged her sister Rye 56.41 to 57.05 for the top two spots in the race.

Xavier’s Jon Bernard won the men’s 100 backstroke with a time of 51.26. Millard Jackson was the top Cardinal finisher, posting the second place time of 51.90.

Louisville freshman Cecilia Viberg turned in the winning time of 1:03.07 in the 100 breaststroke followed by teammate Gabi Albiero’s 1:05.69.  On the men’s side, Denis Petrashov put up a 56.24 for the win, just ahead of Aidan Kreiley’s57.28.

Paige Kuwata notched her second win of the day when she put up the winning time of 2:02.58 in the 200 butterfly. Fellow frosh Jordan Durocher was second in 2:04.07.  Gustavo Saldo won the men’s race with a time of 1:49.48. Tommy Bried was second in 1:50.88.

Christiana Regenauer boarded a time of 23.07 to win the 50 freestyle, followed by Julia Dennis’ 23.65 and Karoline Bennett’s 23.72 for the 1-2-3 sweep.  Abdelrahman El-Araby won the men’s 50 free, sprinting to a win with a time of 20.01. Dalton Lowe was second in 20.41 and Michael Eastman was right behind with a 20.59.

In the women’s 100 freestyle Tristen Ulett put up the winning time of  51.09 with Julia Dennis touching second with a time of 52.82. Abdelrahman El-Araby won the men’s 50 free with a time of 44.61, just edging teammate Michael Eastman’s 44.77. Guy Brooks made the race a Cardinal sweep with a third place time of 45.47.

In the 200 backstroke, Paige Hetrick put up the top time of 2:03.22 for the win. Xavier’s John Bernard won his second event with a time of 1:51.26. Charlie Crush was the top Cardinal when he posted the second-place time of 1:51.36.  Jackson Millard was third with a time of 1:53.44.

Cecilia Viberg won the women’s 200 breaststroke with a time of 2:20.92 for the Cardinals. Teammate Abby Hay was second with a time of 2:23.65. In the men’s event, Denis Petrashov put up the winning time of 2:03.19, beating the rest of the field by four seconds.

Paige Kuwata won her third event of the day with the winning time of 4:53.47 in the 500 freestyle. Rye Ulett had the second fastest time in exhibition with a 5:01.98. In the men’s 500 free, Ilia Sibirtsev won the main heat with a time of 4:31.26.  In exhibition, Eli Shoyat had a 4:29.75.

In the women’s 100 butterfly, Gabi Albiero had the winning time of 53.36. Christiana Regenauer put up a time of 54.28 in exhibition. Dalton Lowe was the winner in the men’s 100 fly with a time of 48.61.

In the 400 free relay, the Louisville foursome of Christiana Regenauer, Julia Dennis, Fernanda Celidonio and Paige Kuwata combined for a time of 3:26.42. In the men’s event, Murilo Sartori, Abdelrahman El-Araby, Caleb Duncan and Jacob Pishko boarded a time of 3:02.65.

Xavier Release

Courtesy of Musketeer Athletics

LOUISVILLE – Xavier men’s and women’s swimming opened up the dual portion of the 2022-23 schedule on Friday afternoon at Louisville, taking part in 16 races on both the men’s and women’s at the Ralph Wright Natatorium.

The Musketeers are next in action at the Akron Zips Classic, running from Friday, Oct. 7 through Oct. 8. Events are set to begin at 6:00 p.m. on Friday, and 9:00 a.m on Saturday.

WOMEN’S NOTABLE

• Brooke Atkins, Julianne Libler, Hannah Pugh and Olivia Oyster set a time of 1:47.37 in the 200 medley relay to lead the Musketeers in the opening event.
• Sydney Smith placed fourth in the 1000 free with a time of 10:49.85 to lead Xavier in the event.
• Kali Fischer collected a second-place finish in the 200 back, setting a time of 2:04.22. She also placed third in the 200 free with a time fo 1:51.97 and scored in second in the 200 IM with a time of 2:05.59.
• Hannah Pugh collected a third-place finish with a time of 58.57 in the 100 back. She also led Xavier in the 100 fly with a time of 57.67, scoring in second.
• Kate Lair set a time of 1:07.31 in the 100 breast to lead Xavier, placing third. She also placed third in the 200 breast with a time of 2:27.38.
• Sophia Romero set the top time for a Musketeer in the 200 fly, finishing in 2:12.32.
• Olivia Oyster finished third in the 100 free with a time of 53.03. She also led Xavier with a time of 24.32 in the 50 free.
• Charlie Ramey led Xavier in the 500 free with a time of 5:15.22, placing second.
• Clare Bosse, Alexis Worrall, Oliva Oyster and Amy Van Son closed out the meet with a time of 3:33.93 in the 400 free to score in second place.
• Xavier finished with 78 points, falling to Louisville who finished with 181.

WOMEN’S TOP FINISHES

MEN’S NOTABLE

• Xavier’s men opened the meet with a time of 1:32.59 for Jon Bernard, Ethan Saunders, Aiden Leamer and Gage Hannewyk in the 200 medley relay, finishing third.
• Adam Lamping led Xavier in the 1,000 free with a time of 10:05.78.
• Andrew Martin set a time of 1:41.13 in the 200 free to lead Xavier. Martin also led the Musketeers in the 500 free with a time of 4:32.69, scoring in second place.
• Jon Bernard won a pair of events, taking the 100 back with a time of 51.26 and the 200 back with a time of 1:51.26. Bernard also led Xavier in the 200 IM with a time of 1:52.68, placing second
• Ethan Saunders led the Musketeers with a third place finish in the 100 breast, finishing in 58.60.
• Aiden Leamer led Xavier in the butterfly events, setting a time of 50.08 in the 100 fly, scoring in second, and with a time of 1:51.73 in the 200 fly.
• Kyle Hudson led the Musketeers in the freestyle sprints, setting a time of 21.58 in the 50 free and 47.03 in the 100 free.
• Nathan Wall placed second in the 200 breast with a time of 2:07.31.
• Kyle Hudson, Gage Hannewyk, Ethan Wing and Andrew Martin closed out the meet with a time of 3:05.99 in the 400 free relay, scoring in second place.
• The Musketeers collected 89 points, falling by a score of 169-89

MEN’S TOP FINISHES