Rams too much for Bulldogs
Ostrander wins three events but Bulldogs fall, 178-102
KINGSTON, R.I. – Junior Casey Ostrander (Yarmouthport, Mass.) won three events and helped the 200 medley relay team to a first-place finish but it was not enough, as the University of Rhode Island engineered a dominating 178-102 victory over the Bulldogs in their final meet of the fall semester.
Returning to the Black and Gold (3-7) after swimming at the U.S. Nationals last weekend, Ostrander picked up right where she left off. She started the meet by swimming the first leg of the victorious 200 medley relay and then went on to win the 100 back, 50 free and 100 free. Ostrander swam a season-best 58.22 in cruising to a victory in the 100 back.
The Bulldogs received their other first-place finish from sophomore Taylor DeBever (Denver, Colo.). Also returning from U.S. Nationals, DeBever eased her way to a victory in the 200 back with a time of 2:09.52.
Ostrander was joined by Brianne Dwyer (Hicksville, N.Y.), Abby Whittaker (Salisbury, Mass.) and Amy D'Olympia (Mattapoisett, Mass.) in the 200 medley, and the quartet touched the wall first with a time of 1:51.16.
Whittaker's contribution in the fly portion of the 200 medley was just the beginning to a strong day for the senior. She swam season-best times in the 1000 free (11:17.68) and the 200 fly (2:15.41). Her time in the 200 fly was good enough for third place.
Bryant also got strong performances from D'Olympia and Mara Valenzuela (Bridgewater, Mass.). D'Olympia set a personal-best this season with a time of 25.67 in the 50 free. Valenzuela captured a pair of third-place finishes in the 50 and 100 free events, swimming a season-best 25.35 in the 50.
Molly Smith (Belmont, Mass.) finished third in the 1000 free and the 200 breast, Dwyer finished third in the 100 breast and Kaitlin Buckley (Duxbury, Mass.) finished third in the 100 fly. Caitlin Hanahoe (Prairie, Minn.), D'Olympia, Valenzuela and DeBever helped the 200 free relay to a second-place finish with a time of 1:40.74.
The Bulldogs will now prepare for final exams and enjoy the holiday break before embarking on their training trip in January. Bryant returns to the pool on Jan. 14 with a trip to Saint Francis (NY). The Black and Gold return to the Chace Athletic Center Pool on Jan. 20 vs. Massachusetts.