Golden night for DeBever, Bulldogs; Bryant in 2nd at NECs

SMITHFIELD, R.I. – Senior Taylor DeBever (Denver, Colo.) continued the magical completion of her career and the Bryant University women's swimming and diving team moved into second place on day three of the Northeast Conference Championships.

The Bulldogs now have 431.5 points and sit in second place behind Wagner. The Seahawks have 562 points and hold a commanding lead going into the final day of competition. Saint Francis U. is in third with 371 points and Central Connecticut is in fourth with 368 points.

On Friday, DeBever won a gold medal in the 200 free for the second-straight year and the third time in her career. She touched the wall with a time of 1:50.25, defeating a pair of swimmers from Wagner. In addition to DeBever's gold, the Bulldogs also received medal performances from Lauren Doerrman (Oley, Pa.) and Elisabeth Schauer (Pelham, N.Y.). Doerrman won her second-straight silver medal in the 400 IM with a time of 4:27.24 and Schauer won her second-straight bronze medal in the 100 back with a time of 57.06.

The Bulldogs also got top performances from Meghan Claflin (Newburyport, Mass.), Taylor Poliseno (Stevenson Ranch, Calif.), Dana Yu (Bridgewater, N.J.), Jamie Schaefer (Durham, N.C.), Samantha Torrez (Whittier, Calif.), Kaitlin Buckley (Duxbury, Mass.), Erin Daly (Reading, Mass.), Mara Valenzuela (Bridgewater, Mass.), Caitlin Hanahoe (Eden Prairie, Minn.), Maria Messina (Canandaigua, N.Y.), Julia Messina (Canandaigua, N.Y.), Alexandra Morreale (Short Hills, N.J.) and Maisey Kent (Oakville, Ont.). Claflin continued her strong rookie meet with an eighth-place finish in the 400 IM (4:45.11) and a 16th-place finish in the 200 free (2:01.75). Poliseno, Yu and Schaefer, Torrez and Buckley helped the Bulldogs dominate the 100 fly, finishing fifth (55.88), sixth (56.39), eighth (56.97), 11th (57.28) and 13th (57.61), respectively. Poliseno's time was a new school record. Daly, Valenzuela, Hanahoe and Messina all gained points in the 200 free, finishing fifth (1:51.69), eighth (1:53.04), 11th (1:54.67) and 14th (1:56.00). Messina and Morreale both finished in the top eight of the 100 breast, placing fourth (1:04.91) and seventh (1:05.52), respectively. Valenzuela (59.19) and Hanahoe (59.35) also finished 9-10 in the 100 back, while Kent finished 12th in the event (1:00.15).

Saturday will get underway with preliminary heats at 11:00 a.m.