Rice takes home bronze, Bulldogs in second heading into final day of NECs

SMITHFIELD, R.I. – The Bryant University women's swimming and diving team remains in second place after day three of the 2017 Northeast Conference Swimming & Diving Championships.

The Bulldogs have scored 397 points so far, placing them behind two-time defending champion Central Connecticut (559.5). Wagner sits in third with 382.5 points.

On Friday, sophomore Jillian Rice (Trumbull, Conn.) took home her first-career individual medal as she won a bronze in the 200 free. She finished with a time of 1:51.07. Rice was one of five Bulldogs that swam in either the 'A' or 'B' final of the 200 free. Erin Daly (Reading, Mass.) finished seventh and Valeria Watson (Mexico City, Mexico), Alyssa DiFiore (Wethersfield, Conn.) and Domenica Alcala (Cancun, Mexico) finished 11-13.

Bryant also had great success in the 100 fly and the 100 back. In the 100 fly, Alcala finished fourth with a time of 56.46, just 26 hundredths of a second shy of earning her first-career medal. Taylor Poliseno (Stevenson Ranch, Calif.) finished seventh in the event and Samantha Torrez (Whittier, Calif.) finished 12th.

In the 100 back, Alaina Scifo (Ipswich, Great Britain) finished fifth with a time of 56.56 and was followed closely by Nicole Salzano (Elmwood Park, N.J.) in sixth. Lindsey Choate (Upper St. Clair, Pa.) won the 'B' final and finished 10th, while Caitlin Dye (Natick, Mass.) finished 15th.

Bryant's other finalists on Friday were Mackenzie Kirk (San Jose, Calif.), Eliza Brant (Hauppauge, N.Y.) and Kayleigh Canavan (Cumberland, R.I.). Kirk finished 11th in the 400 IM, while Brant and Canavan finished 12th and 15th, respectively, in the 100 breast.