Bar is high for 2011-12 Bulldogs

SMITHFIELD, R.I. – With a solid core of returning swimmers and another impressive recruiting class, the Bryant University women's swimming team, under the guidance of seventh year head coach Katie Cameron, is primed for an exceptional season in 2011-12.

After a record-setting year in 2010-11, the women will have their work cut out for them to match the output this season. With the group of returners and the wealth of talent in this year's freshman class, matching last year is not only a possibility, it is an expectation.

Those expectations are highest for one the best swimmers in program history: junior Casey Ostrander (Yarmouthport, Mass.). The reigning Northeast Conference Swimmer of the Year, Ostrander enters her third year in Smithfield as not only one of the top swimmers in the conference, but in New England. She won the 50-yard freestyle, 100-yard backstroke and 200-yard backstroke at the conference meet, and she set school records in the 50 free, 100 free, 50 back, 100 back and 200 back.

Joining Ostrander will be a host of talented returnees that helped Bryant place fourth in the NEC Championships a year ago. Sophomore Taylor DeBever (Denver, Colo.) enjoyed one of the finest rookie seasons in program history, setting school records in the 200-yard freestyle and 500-yard freestyle and also was a member of the record-setting 400-yard freestyle relay team that earned a third-place finish at the NEC meet.

Sophomore Kaitlin Buckley (Duxbury, Mass.) had an equally impressive first season for the Black and Gold, helping the 200-yard freestyle relay team take first place at the NEC meet. Individually, she swam to a fourth-place finish in the 100-yard butterfly with a school-record time of 58.09.

The Bulldogs also feature several upperclassmen that will make the push for an NEC championship closer to a reality. Junior, and school record holder in the 1,650-yard freestyle, Kim Carballeira (East Setauket, N.Y.) returns for her third year, and classmates Brianne Dwyer (Hicksville, N.Y.), Molly Smith (Belmont, Mass.) and Katherine Unger (Orangeburg, N.Y.) all bring experience back to the pool. Dwyer is a school record holder in the 100-yard backstroke, and is coming off a fourth-place finish at the conference meet. Smith set five school records as a freshman and backed it up with a solid sophomore campaign. She set a program record in the 200-yard breaststroke with a time of 2:21.02, finishing second at the NEC Championships. Unger recorded some her best times at the conference meet a year ago and will be looked to have another solid campaign this year.

Bryant welcomes a nine-person freshmen class and features just two seniors. Amy D'Olympia (Mattapoisett, Mass.) was a member of the 200-yard freestyle relay team that was named First Team All-NEC and also swam to an eighth-place finish in the 50-yard freestyle at the NEC meet. Abby Whittaker (Salisbury, Mass.) swam her best times in the 200-yard IM and the 100-yard butterfly at the conference meet, and set the school record in the 200-yard fly at the ECAC's last year.

The nine-member freshmen class will help guide the Bulldogs through their final year of reclassification and features several top-end swimmers. Caitlin Hanahoe (Prairie, Minn.) comes to Smithfield following an impressive high school career in Minnesota. She earned all-state and All-American honors as a senior, finishing second in the state. An Ocean Stater, Cassandra Jones (West Greenwich, R.I.) joins the Black and Gold with a long list of accomplishments. As an independent swimmer in her senior year in high school, Jones won the state championship in the 100-yard backstroke and 100-meter backstroke. She was ranked among the top 16 swimmers in the country by U.S. Swimming in 2005 and has ranked in the top 10 in New England on a regular basis. Bryant also has high hopes for Alexandra Morreale (Short Hills, N.J.) and Mara Valenzuela (Bridgewater, N.J.) who are both joining the Black and Gold after successful high school careers.

This Bulldogs will also have another first this year, divers. For the first time in program history Bryant will be able to compete in diving events at competitions. Freshman Kailey Frye (Lakeville, Mass.) and sophomore classmates Chantal Goldson (Kingston, Jamaica) and Courtney Pomer (Walpole, Mass.) joined the team in the last few weeks and complete their training at either Roger Williams or Providence because there is no diving board at Bryant.

Bryant will get its feet wet this Friday, Oct. 14, when it hosts Boston College in a dual meet at the Chace Athletic  Center Pool at 5 p.m. The Bulldogs jump right back in on Saturday, Oct. 15, when they travel to Staten Island, N.Y., to compete against Wagner. Those two meets kick off the 2011-12 season that features 15 dual meets, two invitational meets and the Northeast Conference Championships from Feb. 22-25.