Photo by: Frank Poulin
Photo by: Frank Poulin
Posted: Feb 14, 2019

Bulldogs win 4 more gold medals at NECs

EAST MEADOW, N.Y. – The Bryant University women's swimming and diving team won four more gold medals, set two new school records, set a new meet record and opened a commanding lead on day two of the 2019 Northeast Conference Swimming and Diving Championships at the Nassau County Aquatic Center.

Bryant has won all seven events in the first two days of the championships and sits in first place with 328 points. The Bulldogs own a 121-point lead.  

Coach Cameron's Comments

 "Exceptional evening for the ladies. Winning all four events is special. I am so proud of the women. They will continue to have fun and do great things!"

Day Two Highlights

  • Bryant opened its night by taking the top two spots in the 500 free. Junior Alaina Scifo (Ipswich, Great Britain) won the second gold medal of her career with a personal best time of 4:52.35. Classmate Alyssa DiFiore (Wethersfield, Conn.) was right behind her, earning a silver medal with a personal-best time of 4:55.93.
  • Sophomore Alexa Rivera (Boynton Beach, Fla.) then won her first-career gold medal and set a school record in the process as she finished first in the 200 IM with a time of 2:02.01.
  • Senior Jillian Rice (Trumbull, Conn.) then picked up the third gold medal of her career as she claimed the 50 free with a personal-best time of 23.24.
  • Bryant closed night two by setting a new meet and school record in the 200 free relay. Rivera opened, Elin Svard (Falun, Dalarna, Sweden) was next, freshman Alyvia Beaudion (Cypress, Texas) was third and Rice closed out the fastest 200 free relay in NEC history.

Other Highlights

  • In addition to Rivera's gold medal, Bryant also saw Svard finish fourth and Eliza Brant (Hauppauge, N.Y.) finish eighth in the 200 IM.
  • Meghan Veenstra (Tyngsborough, Mass.) and Sara Gendron (North Smithfield, R.I.) picked up more points in the 200 IM, finishing 13th and 16th, respectively.
  • Beaudion won the 'B' final in the 50 free. Lindsey Choate (Upper St. Clair, Pa.) and Kayleigh Canavan (Cumberland, R.I.) also finaled in the 50 free, finishing 13th and 15th. 

Notes and Notables

  • Rice became the first Bulldog swimmer since Casey Ostrander in 2013 to win the 50 free at the NEC Championships. Ostrander and Rice are the only Bryant swimmers to win the event.
  • The Bulldogs have won all seven events over the first two days of the championships.
  • Bryant has now won each of the last eight relays dating back to last year's championships.

Up Next

Day three of the 2019 NEC Swimming and Diving Championships gets underway on Friday with preliminary heats beginning at 10:00 a.m.