Four golds puts Bryant in driver's seat headed into final day at NECs
Posted: Feb 23, 2018

Four golds puts Bryant in driver's seat headed into final day at NECs

SMITHFIELD, R.I. – Entering the night's second event, the 100 fly, the Bryant University women's swimming and diving team found themselves trailing Wagner after entering the night ahead. That would quickly change, as Bryant won four of the final five events and take a commanding 61-point lead into the final night of competition at the Northeast Conference Women's Swimming and Diving Championships.

Coach Cameron's Comments

"More than ever before, I am so proud of the way this team has competed and swam in this event. We have gone out there with so much heart and passion and it has been a lot of fun to watch. We have really put ourselves in a good position and I cannot wait until tomorrow. I have never been prouder to be a Bulldog than right now."

Prelims Results

  • The Bulldogs sent 10 swimmers into A finals on Friday, a team-high for both the men and women's conference meets.
  • Senior Mackenzie Kirk (San Jose, Calif.) qualified for the Black and Gold's first A final in the 400 IM (4:31.93), finishing sixth.
  • Three Bulldogs qualified for the A final in the 100 fly, including top qualifier freshman Elin Svärd (Falun, Dalarna, Sweden) swimming a 54.89 time in prelims. Classmate Alexa Rivera (Boynton Beach, Fla.) swam a 56.31, while sophomore Domenica Alcala (Cancun, Mexico) clocked in at 56.70.
  • Junior Jillian Rice (Trumbull, Conn.) swam the top qualifying time in the 200 free (1:50.52), while sophomore Alyssa DiFiore (Wethersfield, Conn.) also qualified for the A final with a sixth-best time of 1:52.63.
  • In the 100 breast, sophomore Kayleigh Canavan (Cumberland, R.I.) and freshman Heather Wong (Ramsey, N.J.) finished fifth and sixth in the preliminaries, swimming a 1:04.41 and 1:04.48, respectively.
  • Two more Bulldogs qualified for the 100 back A final, with sophomores Alaina Scifo (Ipswich, Great Britain) and Lindsey Choate (Upper St. Clair, Pa.) finishing in the Top 8 of prelims. Scifo swam a 56.26, while Choate swam a 57.62.

Finals Results

  • Kirk finished eighth in the A final of the 400 IM (4:36.71).
  • Svärd won the first of four gold medals for the Bulldogs on the night, winning the 100 fly (53.69).
  • Rivera joined her classmate on the podium, finishing third in the event (55.97).
  • Rice won her first individual gold medal at the Championships, winning the 200 free (1:49.36) by over a second and a half.
  • Senior Valeria Watson (Mexico City, Mexico) was able to win the B final for the Bulldogs in the 200 free (1:52.95).
  • Wong (1:04.04) and Canavan (1:04.91) finished fifth and seventh in the 100 breast finals.
  • Scifo won gold in the 100 back (55.32), winning a very tight race by 0.34 seconds.
  • Scifo, Wong, Svärd and Rivera made their mark on the night once more in the 400 medley relay (3:43.28), winning gold in the event.

Stats and Notes

  • Svärd broke a nine-year-old record in the 100 fly, beating Jessica Hart's time of 54.07, swam in 2009.
  • The freshman's time was also good for an NCAA B cut by 0.80 seconds.
  • Bryant has now won all four relays during the meet.

Up Next

Bryant goes for its first ever Northeast Conference Championship tomorrow, with prelims at 10:00 a.m. and finals starting at 6:00 p.m.