February 16, 2008 

BULLDOGS IN THIRD PLACE AFTER DAY 2 OF NEW ENGLAND CHAMPIONSHIPS 

NORTH DARTMOUTH, MASS. -- The Bryant University women's swim team sits in third place of 21 teams after Day 2 of this weekend's New England Championships.

The Bulldogs have 572 points and are led by sophomore Jess Looney (Goffstown, NH), who notched another first-place win -- her third of the weekend -- with a 4:39.90 swim of the 400-yard individual medley.

Looney was just one of five top-5 finishers in Saturday night's finals. Sophomore Margaret Dickinson (West Newbury, Mass.) took a fifth-place finish behind Looney's win in the 400-yard IM (5:07.52), while freshman Jill Hira (Cheshire, Conn.) touched the wall in the 200-yard freestyle in 2:01.47 for a fourth-place finish.

Rookie Jill Squillante (Sayville, NY) came just seconds from her own top finish with a 1:01.25 time in the 100-yard backstroke, good for second, while teammate Dayna Konko (Staten Island, NY) came in fifth in the same event (1:04.45).

Bryant also took third in the 800-yard freestyle relay and fourth in the 200-yard medley relay.

The Bulldogs trail No. 1 Keene State College (642) and No. 2 Bentley College (630), but lead the rest of the pack. The rest of the top-10: Bridgewater State College (360.5), Saint Michael's (282), Eastern Connecticut State (280), Westfield State (271), UMass Dartmouth (231), Roger Williams (206) and the University of New England (199).

The top women's swimmers and divers from across New England compete in the annual NEISDA Championships, which run from Feb. 15-17, 2008. Check back to www.bryantbulldogs.com for more updates and information.