Bulldogs finish second at NECs

SMITHFIELD, R.I. – Sophomore Elisabeth Schauer (Pelham, N.Y.) won a medal in the 200 back and the Bryant University women's swimming team put the finishing touches on its most historic performance at the Northeast Conference Championships with a second place finish.

The Bulldogs scored 643.5 points, the most they've ever scored at the conference meet, and earned their highest finish in program history. Wagner ran away with the team title, scoring 844 points. Central Connecticut and Saint Francis U. rounded out the top four.

After winning a medal in the 100 back on Friday, Schauer claimed a bronze in the 200 back on Saturday. She touched the wall with a time of 2:02.73, one hundredth of a second ahead of Wagner's Kara Lacoste. Schauer was one of two Bulldogs in the top final as senior Taylor DeBever (Denver, Colo.) earned a fifth-place finish with a time of 2:03.33. Bryant also earned a bronze medal in the 400 free relay and the 1650 free. The team of DeBever, Erin Daly (Reading, Mass.), Mara Valenzuela (Bridgewater, N.J.) and Kaitlin Buckley (Duxbury, Mass.) touched the wall with a time of 3:28.84. Daly continued her outstanding freshman meet by winning a bronze and setting a school record in the 1650 free with a time of 17:17.29. She also set the school record in the 1000 in the process with her split time.

Bryant also had several other top finishers on the final day of competition. Caitlin Hanahoe (Eden Prairie, Minn.) and Maisey Kent (Oakville, Ont.) both finaled in the 200 back, finishing ninth (2:06.23) and 12th (2:10.53), respectively. Buckley, Valenzuela and Kristie Chan (San Francisco, Calif.) all earned finals appearances in the 100 free, finishing seventh (52.40), eighth (52.66) and 11th (53.51). Julia Messina (Canandaigua, N.Y.) and Alexandra Morreale (Short Hills, N.J.) finished 6-7 in the 200 breast with times of 2:35.35 and 2:24.84. Dana Yu (Bridgewater, N.J.) and Maria Messina (Canandaigua, N.Y.) finished 12th (2:28.26) and 14th (2:30.49) in the event. In the 200 fly, classmates Lauren Doerrman (Oley, Pa.) and Jamie Schaefer (Durham, N.C.) and freshman Samantha Torrez (Whittier, Calif.) finished 4-6 with times of 2:05.65, 2:06.26 and 2:06.32.