Black and Gold ready for America East Championships
SMITHFIELD, R.I. - The Bryant University women's swimming & diving squad make their way to the Old Dominion this week for the America East Championships on Feb. 14-17th hosted by the Virginia Military Institute.
The Black and Gold will be looking to grab the conference title after finishing second in last year's championships.
Freestyle Events
The Black and Gold carry a strong field in the freestyle events. Marcella Figueroa leads the Dawgs in the sprint events, currently sitting at sixth in both the 50 (23.83) and 100 free (51.98). Jill Carline is ranked 16th in the 100 and Elise Richardson sits at 12th in the 200. In the distance events, Makayla Pearce, Natalia Kuipers, Paige Edwards, and Sarah Falder will be leading the way. Pearce holds sixth place in the 500 (5:00.18), first in the 1000 (10:08.91), and second in the 1650 free (17:17.18). Kuipers ranks seventh in the 500 (5:02.30), third in the 1000 (10:18.34), and third in the 1650 free (17:20.61). Edwards follows Pearce and Kuipers up by sitting in 12th in the 500 and ninth in the 1650. Falder rounds out the freestylers with her ranking of 13th in the 1000 free.
Backstroke Events
Reagan Lord, Julia Stenhard, Jacqui Fox, and Richardson will be the ones to watch in the backstroke events. Lord is the leading lady when it comes to the backstroke. The junior is third in the 50 (26.04), first in the 100 (54.45), and second in the 200 back (2:00.50). Stenhard, Fox, and Richardson are all contenders for the Bulldogs as well. Stenhard sits at sixth in the 50, fourth in the 100, and ninth in the 200 back in the America East standings. Fox has also put up impressive performances and is ranked tenth in the 50, seventh in the 100, and third in the 200 back. Richardson rounds out the Bryant competitors at 12th in the 50 back.
Breaststroke Events
Elayna Pistrin and Ella Witteveen will represent the Black and Gold in the breastroke events. Pistrin is ranked eighth in the 50 (30.80), 14th in the 100 (1:06.64), and fourth in the 200 (2:20.87). Witteveen sits at 15th in the 50 with her time of 31.34.
Butterfly Events
Figueroa, Clara Steen, Ava Mustacciuolo, and Stenhard are all lined up to compete in the butterfly events for the Bulldogs. Bryant holds second through fourth place in the 50 yard fly on the America East leaderboard. Figueroa sits in second with a 25.25, Stenhard is in third at 25.66, and Steen is in fourth with a 26.07. Stenhard also ranks fourth in the 100 (56.26) and fifth in the 200 fly (2:04.85). Steen also is in the top-10 in two fly events. The freshman is 10th in the 100 (57.14) and eighth in the 200 (2:06.73). Mustacciuolo rounds out the Bulldogs in the fly events with her rankings of seventh in 100 (56.70) and 11th in the 200 (2:07.85).
Individual Medley Events
Lord spearheads the individual medley group in addition to the backstroke. The junior holds the highest position in the America East of all the Bryant IM swimmers. Lord is currently third in the 200 IM with a time of 2:06.17.Ella Witteveen is the second highest on the team in an IM event, currently sitting at 8th in the 100 yard event with a time of 1:01.86.
Summer Sakowicz, Pistrin, Kuipers, and Steen also hold top-15 times in IM events heading into championships. Sakowicz is 15th in the 200, Pistrin is 14th in the 200 and 13th in the 400, Kuipers is 10th in the 400, and Steen is 14th in the 400.
Relay Events
The relay teams will look to make improvements as they currently rank fifth in the 200 free relay, 800 free relay, 200 medley relay, and 400 medley relay. They are also ranked sixth in the 400 free relay.
Diving Events
Freshman Megan Beasley leads the way on the diving side for the Black and Gold. Going into the preliminary rounds of championships Beasley is ranked first in the 1 meter dive at 300.53 and third in the 3 meter event at 284.10.