Trio leads Bulldogs to victory over Rider

Trio leads Bulldogs to victory over Rider

SMITHFIELD, R.I. – The Bryant University women's swimming and diving team rode a trio of strong performances to a 158-142 victory over Rider on Saturday morning.   

Coach Cameron's Thoughts

"Good day of racing. Men came up short, won a bunch of races but just didn't have the depth to run with Rider -a tough and well coached program. Women's meet was tight throughout and they battled to the end. Women showed what a resilient team they are."

How the Swimmers Fared

  • Senior Jillian Rice (Trumbull, Conn.) won three individual events and was a part of the 400 free relay team that swam to victory. Rice won the 50 free (24.74), 100 free (54.36) and 200 free (1:59.18) before swimming the final leg of the 400 free relay victory with a split time of 53.45.
  • Junior Alaina Scifo (Ipswich, Great Britain) won both the 100 (1:00.10) and 200 (2:06.80) back events, while also swimming the opening legs of the victorious 200 medley and 400 free relays.
  • Classmate Alyssa DiFiore (Wethersfield, Conn.) dominated the distance events on Saturday, winning the 500 free (5:23.20) and 1000 free (10:56.28).
  • Bryant's victory in the 200 medley relay included Scifo, Kayleigh Canavan (Cumberland, R.I.), Elin Svard (Falun, Dalarna, Sweden) and Alexa Rivera (Boynton Beach, Fla.).
  • The 400 free relay team also included Scifo and Svard with the addition of Rice and Alyvia Beaudion (Cypress, Texas).
  • Svard earned a second-place finish in the 100 fly with a time of 59.79.
  • In addition to DiFiore's victories, Bryant swept the top three spots in both distance events. Kelly Tiernan (Hartford, Conn.) and Claire Russell (Naperville, Ill.) competed the sweep of the 1000, while Beaudion and Tiernan completed the sweep of the 500.
  • Other strong performances came from Heather Wong (Ramsey, N.J.) in the 100 breast and Eliza Brant (Hauppauge, N.Y.) in the 200 breast.

How the Divers Fared

  • Senior Kelci Abernethy (Chandler, Ariz.) finished third in the 1-meter dive, while Carissa Stemen (Naples, Fla.) and Abernethy finished 2-3 in the 3-meter.  

Notes and Notables

  • Rice won five individual events against Boston University and Rider this week.
  • Scifo posted three individual victories and helped two relays to victories during the two-meet week.

Up Next

Bryant returns to the Chace Athletic Center Pool for its final three home meets of the season starting with a Friday afternoon meet against Cornell on January 25.