WEST HARTFORD, Conn. (October 17, 2025) – WNE started their season with a trip to the Blue Jay Pentathlon, hosted by the University of Saint Joseph in West Hartford, Connecticut. Ella Smith and Caitlin Guntly stole the show on Friday. Smith won the pentathlon, and Guntly snagged third place to lead WNE to a highly successful opening meet.

Results:

• Western New England: No Team Score (3 Swimmers in Top 10)

How it Happened:

• Ella Smith started right where she left off from last season, picking up a record in the 100-yard IM with a time of 101:96. Smith won the 50-yard Butterfly, Backstroke, and Breaststroke events. Smith also won the 100-yard IM race at the end of the meet. With a combined time of 2:55.88, Smith won the pentathlon, beating second place by over ten seconds of combined time.
• Caitlin Guntly had a quick start to her season, placing third in the pentathlon with a combined time of 3:08.79. Guntly placed third in the 50-yard Butterfly, second in the 50-yard Backstroke, sixth in the 50-yard Breaststroke, T-7th in the 50-yard Freestyle, and fifth in the 100-yard IM.
• Alexandra Watroba was the third WNE swimmer to finish the pentathlon in the top ten. Watroba, in her first meet as a Golden Bear, placed tenth out of 53 scoring swimmers in the meet. Watroba placed 13th in the 50-yard Butterfly and 50-yard Backstroke, 16th in the 50-yard Breaststroke, 12th in the 50-yard Freestyle, and 9th overall in the 100-yard IM. Watroba's combined time was 3:17.09, placing Watroba 10th overall by .48 seconds.
• Vicky Stepien would place fourth for WNE in the Pentathlon. Stepien returned from an injury that ended her season last year and did not miss a beat. Stepien would swim the 50-yard Butterfly in 32.03, the 50-yard Backstroke in 34.28, the 50-yard Breaststroke in 38.71, the 50-yard Freestyle in 29.62, and the 100-yard IM in 1:15.42. Stepien ended with a final time of 3:30.06, which was 26th place overall.
• Olivia Emanuele placed fifth for WNE and 31st overall with a combined time of 3:37.80. Emanuele posted times of 31.08 in the Butterfly, 34.99 in the Backstroke, 45.16 in the Breaststroke, and 29.07 in the Freestyle. Emanuele concluded the meet with a 1:17.50 100-yard IM time.
• Bianca Robinson placed sixth on WNE in Robinson's first career meet as a Golden Bear. Robinson had a final time of 4:19.68, with times of 41.75 in the Butterfly, 42.90 in the Backstroke, 47.56 in the Breaststroke, 35.67 in the Freestyle, and 1:31.80 in the IM.
• Ellery Palmer placed seventh for WNE with an overall time of 4:23.42. Palmer's first career meet as a Golden Bear saw Palmer pick up times of 40.35 in Butterfly, 43.60 in Backstroke, 49.53 in Breaststroke, 34.38 in Freestyle, and 1:35.56 in the IM.

Up Next on the Schedule:

• The Golden Bears will start their home schedule on Friday, October 25, 2025, as they host UMass-Dartmouth at 6:00 PM for the annual Breast Cancer Awareness Meet.