February 24, 2008
MEN IN FIFTH AFTER DAY 2 OF NEW ENGLAND CHAMPIONSHIPS
BRISTOL, RI -- Junior Tom Ferrigno (West Chester, Pa.) grabbed another first-place finish in Day 2 of the New England Swimming and Diving Champtionships Saturday, leading the Bryant University men's swim team to a fifth-place standing in the three-day competition hosted by Roger Williams University. The Bulldogs set four new Bryant records in Saturday's competition.
Ferrigno won the 400-yard individual medley in 4:08.52, shattering the previous Bryant record, also held by the junior. The time qualifies as an NCAA "B" cut for Ferrigno.
Other individual top-5 finishes on the day include two individual events that set new school marks -- a third-place finish for sophomore John Cieslewski (Watertown, Conn.) in the 100-yard breaststroke (1:01.08) and a fourth-place swim of the 200-yard freestyle from freshman Steven Nguyen (San Jose, Calif.) in a record-1:46.74 time.
The Bulldogs also swam to strong showings in the 200-yard medley relay and the 800-yard freestyle relay. Nguyen, Cieslewski, Matt Derwin (Cheshire, Conn.) and Ferrigno took third in the 200 medley with a school record time of 1:40.79, while Derwin, Ferrigno and Nguyen teamed up with senior Ray Savner (Bethlehem, Conn.) for a fourth-place finish in the 800-yard freestyle relay (7:25.62).
Bryant currently has 182 points to put them in fifth after Day 2 of the three-day competition that involves 14 teams from across New England. Keene State College sits at No. 1 with 431 points, followed by Bentley College (405), Norwich (224) and host Roger Williams (193). UMass Dartmouth (142), Saint Michael's (124), Bridgewater State (64), Salem State (53) and Colby-Sawyer round out the top-10.
The NEISDA runs from February 22 through February 24. Check back to http://www.bryantbulldogs.com for more updates, stories and results from the final day of the men's New England Championships.
