Villanova University

Dec. 15, 2008

Villanova, Pa. - The Villanova men hosted Widener Friday defeating them 134-71 for their first win of the season. The Wildcats had first place finishes in nine of the 13 events including two wins each by juniors AJ Mak (Warren, N.J.) and Sean Whipkey (McLean, Va.).

Mak started off winning the 1000 free with a time of 10:12.86, more than 13 seconds ahead of his closes competition. In the 500 free, he finished first with a time of 4:58.89 to earn a total of 18 points in the dual.

Whipkey won the 50 free with a time of 21.96 to earn the Wildcats nine points. He had another first place finish in the 100 free with a time of 48.49, more than a second faster than his opponents.

Whipkey was also the forth leg of the 400 medley relay, along with sophomore Chris Jordan (Holland, MI.), freshman Eric Bailey (Burlington, Vt.) and senior Bill Sepich (Ocean City, N.J.). The group finished in first place with a time of 3:40.01, giving the Wildcats 11 points.

The Wildcats saw other first place performances from sophomore Nick Williams (Holmdel, N.J.) and Jordan. Williams finished the 200 free with a time of 1:46.66, more than two seconds faster than the competition. Jordan won the 100 backstroke in 55.90 to earn nine points.

Villanova continued by sweeping the 100 butterfly led by Sepich with a time of 53.13. Junior Jon Spindler (Pittsburgh, Pa.) and freshman Marc Maurizi (Lancaster, Pa.) finished second and third with times of 54.89 and 55.34 respectively.

The Wildcats struck again sweeping the 100 breaststroke. Bailey won with a time of 1:02.66, followed by sophomore Justin Stephens (Bloomsburg, Pa.) in 1:03.20 and freshman Ted Sukramani (Washington, D.C.) in 1:03.24, to earn the team 16 points.

Sukramani also brought home a second place finish in the 1000 free with a time of 10:26.73, earning four points. Another second place finish was awarded to Maurizi in the 200 IM with a time of 2:02.63.

Sophomore Tony Colalillo (Logansport, Ind.) had a strong performance in the 50 free where he finished with a time of 22.59, less than a second behind teammate Whipkey, for second place.

The Wildcats are back in action January 13th where they will take on Seton Hall in a dual at home.