Bryant returns home with UMass Friday

SMITHFIELD, R.I. -- The Bryant University men's swimming and women's swimming and diving teams return to the Chace Athletic Center Pool for the first time in nearly two months, welcoming the University of Massachusetts on Friday, January 20 at 5:00 p.m.

Both the men and the women are coming a successful showing in New York last Saturday. The men swept a tri-meet with St. Francis (NY) and NJIT, improving to 6-2 on the season. Alex Kosenski (Lavallette, N.J.) won two events, his ninth and 10th of the season, and the Bulldogs claimed four other first-place finishes on the afternoon. Tim McGrath (Hyannis, Mass.),Cameron Hessler (Southbury, Conn.) and Keagan Boshoff (Munich, Germany) also earned top finishes and the 200 free relay closed out the meet with a victory.

Casey Ostrander (Yarmouthport, Mass.) and Kaitlin Buckley (Duxbury, Mass.) each won two events as the Bulldog women cruised to a victory over St. Francis (NY). Ostrander won her 19th and 20th events of the season, while Buckley won her first two events of the year. The Black and Gold swept five events on the afternoon, including Ashley Atherton's (Bridgewater, N.J.)first-career victory in the 100 breast. Abby Whittaker (Salisbury, Mass.) and Molly Smith(Belmont, Mass.) also earned first-place finishes for the Bulldogs.

Bryant and UMass are meeting for the first time in program history this evening. The Minutemen have been a dominant force in the Atlantic-10 over the past decade. The men's team was picked to win their sixth-straight A-10 title this season, and will look for their 11th title in the last 12 years. The Minutewomen were picked to finish third in the A-10 this season and won their first-ever A-10 championship in 2001.