Backed by wins in 13 of 16 events and with five individuals recording two or more victories, the University of Rochester women's swimming and diving team earned its first win of the 2023-24 season over SUNY Cortland, posting a 188-106 victory at the Speegle-Wilbraham Aquatic Center on Saturday afternoon.
 
Sophomore Ariana Pasquella was a perfect 4-for-4 on the day, winning four times, including two with relays and two as an individual. Classmate Deniz Yardimci won three times as well, with Lizzie Budde, Leah Tang and Sophia Dmytruk each picking up two wins.
 
Rochester (2-1) started out the meet strong posting the two top times in the 200 medley relay. The quartet of Yardimci, Pasquella, Dmytruk and Jessica Spahn touched first in 1:51.63. Rochester's 'B' relay of Sophie Sweet, Gloria Ng, Alicia Albuquerque and Izzy Stevenson ended with the second fastest time, beating Cortland's top squad with a time of 1:54.47.
 
After the Red Dragons (0-2) captured a win in the 1000 freestyle, UR got back to its winning ways in the 200 freestyle with Pasquella being first to the wall in 2:02.87. Teammate Simone Lin earned a runner-up finish in 2:05.41.
 
The Yellowjackets followed with wins from Tang and Ng in the 100 backstroke and 100 breaststroke, respectively. Tang won in 1:00.17, while Ng earned a time of 1:08.87. Also in the 100 breaststroke, Katherine Hegblom was third in 1:14.31, scoring for the Yellowjackets.
 
Rachele Bachmann made it four event wins in a row for Rochester, winning the 200 butterfly with her time of 2:17.19, nearly seven seconds ahead of the runner-up finisher from UR, Elana Greenberg (2:24.18).
 
Marissa Carlson and Albuquerque finished second and third in the 50 freestyle for Rochester. Carlson was second in 26.03 seconds, with Albuquerque ending at 26.32 seconds.
 
In the 1-meter diving event, Budde earned the first of her two wins, scoring 231.75 points over her six-dive list. Marlena Vieira was second at 223.60 points, with Zuzu Bailey placing third with a 202.40 score.
 
Paige Lovelace continued UR's winning ways in the 100 freestyle, leading a 1-2-3 Rochester finish in the event. Lovelace won in 56.68 seconds, with Spahn placing second in 57.26. First-year Adele Hellstrom ended third with a 57.66 second time.
 
Yardimci's second win of the day was her first individual title and came in the 200 backstroke. The sophomore touched in 2:12.14. That time was more than two seconds ahead of Tang who was runner-up in 2:14.80.
 
Lin scored a runner-up finish for Rochester during the 500 freestyle with her time of 5:32.01, with Rochester beginning to exhibition swimmers across the rest of the competition. Hegblom had the third fastest time (5:34.65) in the same event, but did not score.
 
Dmytruk picked up an individual first place result in the 100 butterfly, earning a time of 1:00.34 and the three Yellowjacket divers followed with another strong showing on the 3-meter board. Budde won with a 245.75 point total, with Vieira and Bailey scoring the second and third most points.
 
Rochester's swimmers in the 200 IM posted the top three times in the event, with Yardimci pacing the group in 2:16.27. Ng was second quickest in 2:20.22, with Bachmann third fastest (2:21.13).
 
In the final event of the day, the 400 freestyle relay squad of Hegblom, Pasquella, Morgan Edstrom and Tang capped the victory with a win, posting a time of 3:47.24.
 
Up next, the Yellowjackets take to the road to battle UAA rival and 14th-ranked Case Western Reserve University on November 4.