Ostrander earns fourth Swimmer of the Year; Bulldogs finish 3rd at NECs
BULLDOGS WRAP UP MOST SUCCESSFUL NEC CHAMPIONSHIP MEET
SMITHFIELD, R.I. – Senior Casey Ostrander (Yarmouthport, Mass.) became the first swimmer in Northeast Conference history to be named Swimmer of the Year four times and the Bryant University women's swimming and diving team finished third at the 2013 NEC Swimming and Diving Championships.
The Bulldogs finished with 669.5 points, its highest total ever at the conference championships. Saint Francis U. claimed the title with 732.5 points and Wagner finished second with 715 points. Central Connecticut (648), Mount St. Mary's (263), Sacred Heart (169) and St. Francis Brooklyn (143) finished 4-7 and rounded out the scoring.
The most accomplished swimmer in program history, Ostrander secured her fourth-straight swimmer of the year honor – she shared the honor with Elise Lofgren (Saint Francis) and Amanda Lucia (Wagner) – by winning the 200 back and helping the 400 free relay team set another conference record. She won her fourth-straight 200 back gold with a time of 2:01.68 and then swam the lead leg of the 400 free relay squad. Ostranders's classmate, Molly Smith (Belmont, Mass.) also took home gold on the final day of competition, winning her first-career championship event. She claimed the 200 breast with a school-record time of 2:19.29.
Bryant also received stellar performances from several other swimmers. Freshman Elizabeth Schauer (Pelham, N.Y.) finished second to Ostrander in the 200 back with a time of 2:02.33. Caitlin Hanahoe (Eden Prairie, Minn.) finished 11th (2:07.73) in the event. Juniors Taylor DeBever (Denver, Colo.) and Kaitlin Buckley (Duxbury, Mass.) both finished in the top 10 of the 100 free, finishing sixth (51.89) and seventh (52.00), respectively. Kristie Chan (San Francisco, Calif.) finished 13th (53.18). Alexandra Morreale (Short Hills, N.J.), Julia Messina (Canandaigua, N.Y.), Brianne Dwyer (Hicksville, N.Y.) and Maria Messina (Canandaigua, N.Y.) all finaled in the 200 breast. Freshman teammates Lauren Doerrman (Oley, Pa.) and Jamie Schaefer (Durham, N.C.) finished 5-6 in the 200 fly with times of 2:05.81 and 2:06.20. Doerrman's time now stands as a new school record. Joining Ostrander on the gold-medal winning 400 free relay team was Chan, Debever and Buckley. They set the conference record and the school record with a time of 3:25.14.
On the week, the Bulldogs set 14 school records, won four individual goal medals and two relay gold medals.