LATROBE, Pa. – Visiting Gannon University spoiled the Saint Vincent women's swimming team's 2021-22 season-opener, defeating SVC 161.5 – 99.5 at the Resnik Pool.

Saint Vincent's Lauren Connors won a pair of events in her 2021 debut. In her first race of the season, the 100-yard backstroke, she touched first with a time of 1:01.07, before earning her second victory of the afternoon in the 200-yard individual medley, with a time of 2:19.61. Connors also added a second-place finish in the 200-yard backstroke, timed in 2:17.99.

Katie Kozy earned SVC's third win of the day, placing first in the 100-yard butterfly in 1:00.35 to win by more than a two-second margin.

Kozy and Connors also helped the SVC 200-yard medley relay squad earn a second-place finish, as they teamed with Sara Basala and Erica Steele to turn in a time of 1:53.02.

Basala would go on to score in both breaststroke events of the day, pacing second in the 100-yard at 1:13.74 and third in the 200-yard at 2:46.15. She was one of two Bearcat swimmers to place in the top three of the 200-yard breaststroke, with Madison Cassidy finishing in 1:14.78 to take third.

Along with her efforts in the medley relay, Steele turned in a pair of top-three individual finishes, as she took second in both the 50- and 100-yard freestyle, with times of 25.66 seconds and 57.06 seconds, respectively, and third in the 200-yard free at 2:06.73.

Sarah Alexander led SVC in the distance events, as she placed second in the 1,000-yard freestyle with a time of 11:31.84, and third in the 500-yard freestyle in 5:37.89.

Lauren Krecota earned a second-place finish in the 200-yard butterfly, timed in 2:29.70, while Julia Mikita placed third in the 100-yard back (1:08.65) and Callysta Fontanazza third in the 100-yard butterfly (1:04.37).

The Bearcat women will now have a two-week respite before returning to competition on Oct. 23, when they play host to Presidents' Athletic Conference foe Franciscan University beginning at 1 p.m. in the Resnik Pool.