Bulldogs nip Eagles, 136-126

SMITHFIELD, R.I. – Led by junior Casey Ostrander's (Yarmouthport, Mass.) victories in the 50 free, 100 back and 200 back, and a pool-record finish by the 400 free relay team, the Bryant University women's swimming team defeated Boston College, 136-126, Friday night at the Chace Athletic Center Pool.

Leading by five points, 125-120, heading into the final event of the evening, the team of Taylor DeBever (Denver, Colo.), Kaitlin Buckley (Duxbury, Mass.), Caitlin Hanahoe (Prairie, Minn.) and Mara Valenzuela (Bridgewater, N.J.) set a pool record with a time of 3:37.57, edging the Eagles by under a second to claim the programs first victory over an ACC opponent.

The Bulldogs won 11 events on the evening, and if not for the final event, the most exciting race of the night – the 500 free. Trailing BC's Stephanie Ng by about a half a body, DeBever turned it on over the final 50 yards, finally overtaking Ng in the last 25 yards, and beating her to the wall by 36 hundreths of a second. Coming off an excellent freshman campaign, DeBever also won the 1000 free and the 100 free. Junior Molly Smith (Belmont, Mass.), already a school record holder in four events, set a pool record in winning the 200 breast with a time of 2:27.22, nipping the old record by just under a second.

Several freshmen began their college careers with a bang against the Eagles. Before they helped the Bulldogs close out the meet, classmates Valenzuela and Hanahoe each earned two top-three finishes. Valenzuela won the 200 free, with Hanahoe finishing third, and Valenzuela added a second-place finish in the 100 free, and Hanahoe swam to a third-place finish in the 200 back.

Bryant returns to the pool tomorrow (Oct. 15) morning, as it travels to Staten Island, N.Y., to face Northeast Conference foe Wagner College. The meet is scheduled to begin at 1:00 p.m.