Sullivan breaks diving record, Bulldogs finish third at WPI Invite

SMITHFIELD, R.I. – The Bryant University men's swimming and diving team finished third at the WPI Invitational following another outstanding performance on Sunday.

The Bulldogs finished the three-day event with 2,098 points. Stevens Institute of Technology won the meet with 3,628 points and WPI finished second with 3,476.

On Sunday, the Black and Gold sent six different individuals to the 'A' finals. Ben Schulte (Tumon, Guam) returned from the AT&T Winter National Championships to final in four different events. He won the 200 breast with a time of 2:05.39, finished second in the 200 free and 50 breast and finished fourth in the 400 IM. Shane Vyskocil (Parsippany, N.J.) and Charlie Broe (New Windsor, N.Y.) gave Bryant three swimmers in the 400 IM final, finishing seventh and ninth, respectively.

Tavish Boyle (Springfield, N.J.), Colin Curtin (Wethersfield, Conn.) and Benon Boyadjian (Middlebury, Conn.) all competed in the 'A' finals as well. Boyle finished 10th in the 200 breast, Curtin finished third in the 50 back and sixth in the 200 fly and Boyadjian finished 10th in the 50 back.

The Bulldogs finished third in both the 200 medley relay and 400 free relay on Sunday. Curtin, Schulte, Boris Paraliticci (Saunderstown, R.I.) and George Sommerville (Pittsfield, Mass.) teamed up to post a time of 1:33.20 in the 200 medley relay, while Schulte, Joshua Bjornberg (Wallingford, Conn.), Paraliticci and Curtin placed third in the 400 free relay.

Bryant's divers put the finishing touch on an amazing weekend, as well. Kevin Sullivan (East Lyme, Conn.) finished second in the 3-meter dive with a point total of 382.30 on 11 dives. Sullivan also broke the school record in six dives with a score of 241.45. Ryan Sheehy (West Newbury, Mass.) finished fourth in the event, posting 359.20 points in 11 dives. On the weekend, the two combined to set three school records, set eight personal bests and contribute 82 points.

The Bulldogs will now have over a month off before returning to the pool on January 16 when they host Massachusetts.