Bulldogs finish second at NECs; LoCurto named Diving Coach of the Year

SMITHFIELD, R.I. – Freshman Alyssa DiFiore (Wethersfield, Conn.) won her second medal of the weekend to help the Bryant University women's swimming and diving team finish second at the 2017 Northeast Conference Swimming & Diving Championships.

The Bulldogs sent 17 swimmers to finals on the final day of competition and finished the four-day event with 605 points. Central Connecticut won its third-straight title convincingly, finishing with 869.5 points. In addition, Chuck LoCurto was named the NEC Diving Coach of the Year for the second-straight year.

DiFiore, who medaled in the 500 earlier in the week, finished third in the 1650 free to earn a bronze medal. She finished with a time of 17:26.96. DiFiore was one of three Bulldogs to finish in the top seven of the event as Mackenzie Kirk (San Jose, Calif.) finished fourth and Erin Daly (Reading, Mass.) finished seventh.

LoCurto guided another outstanding diving performance by the Black and Gold to earn diving coach of the year honors again. On Saturday, Kelci Abernethy (Chandler, Ariz.) finished second in the 3 meter dive with a score of 279.85, less than a point behind CCSU's Annmarie Durham (280.70). Stephanie Jennings (Elmont, N.Y.) finished third, Carissa Stemen (Naples, Fla.) finished fifth and Ann Burdick (Glenmont, N.Y.) finished sixth.

Bryant also received strong performances in the 200 back, the 200 breast and 200 fly. Nicole Salzano (Elmwood Park, N.J.) finished fifth in the 200 back, Alaina Scifo (Ipswich, Great Britain) finished 12th and Valeria Watson (Mexico City, Mexico) finished 14th.

In the 200 breast, Eliza Brant (Hauppauge, N.Y.) finished 10th and Kayleigh Canavan (Cumberland, R.I.) finished 15th.

Bryant placed four swimmers in the finals of the 200 fly. Domenica Alcala (Cancun, Mexico) finished fifth, Samantha Torrez (Whittier, Calif.) finished eighth, Taylor Poliseno (Stevenson Ranch, Calif.) finished 11th and Sara Osinski (Naples, Fla.) finished 16th.

Jillian Rice (Trumbull, Conn.) was Bryant's other finalist, finishing ninth in the 100 free.