Abernethy, Rice honored by Northeast Conference, ECAC

SMITHFIELD, R.I. – Freshmen Kelci Abernethy (Chandler, Ariz.) and Jillian Rice (Trumbull, Conn.) have been named the Northeast Conference Diver of the Week and Rookie of the Week, respectively, the league announced on Tuesday.

Abernethy takes home diver of the week honors for the fourth-straight week and fifth time overall, while Rice is a first-time recipient of the rookie of the week award. In addition, Abernethy was named the Corvias ECAC Rookie of the Week for her performance at WPI.

Abernethy continues to hold the NEC Diver of the Week award hostage, winning the honor for the fifth time this season. The Arizona product dove to multiple individual victories at the WPI Invitational while setting Bryant records in the process. She scored 433.05 for 11 dives to win the 1-meter title and produce the new program standard. Her 259.70 score for six dives also stands as the top performance in Bulldogs' annals. On her way to a first-place finish in the 3-meter dive competition, Abernethy obliterated the previous program record by scoring 276.40 points during the preliminary round. She earned 253.95 points in the final to capture the 3-meter crown.

Rice's busy weekend at the WPI Invitational resulted in an individual win and shares of four relay victories. She flew through the 100 freestyle, clocking in at 52.37 to claim first place at the 11-team meet. Rice's first two relay victories came on Saturday as she swam legs on the 200 free and the 400 medley relays. Rice returned to help claim two more victories the following day, contributing to first-place finishes in the 200 medley (1:46.47) and 400 free (3:33.21). The Connecticut product also competed in the 50, 200 and 500 freestyles races, posting top-10 finishes in all three.