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Three golds, meet record highlight night one of NECs
Posted: Feb 13, 2019

Three golds, meet record highlight night one of NECs

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EAST MEADOW, N.Y. – The Bryant University women's swimming and diving team won three gold medals and set a meet record on day one of the 2019 Northeast Conference Swimming and Diving Championships at the Nassau County Aquatic Center.

Coach Cameron's Comments

"Great way to start the meet! The medley relay got the team fired up and we rolled from there. It is a successful night when you can win all three events, set two school records and a conference record. We are excited to start the individual swimming events in the morning."

Day One Highlights

  • The Bulldogs won all three events on night one of the championships, claiming the 200 medley relay, 800 free relay and the 1-meter diving.
  • Bryant opened the meet with a win in the 200 medley relay as Alaina Scifo (Ipswich, Great Britain), Kayleigh Canavan (Cumberland, R.I.), Elin Svärd (Falun, Dalarna, Sweden) and Jillian Rice (Trumbull, Conn.) touched in 1:40.71.
  • Kelci Abernethy (Chandler, Ariz.) followed with a victor in the 1-meter dive. She posted a winning score of 238.40.
  • Gabrielle Ritzer (Sutton, Mass.) also medaled in the event, finishing third with a score of 232.50.
  • The Black and Gold closed the night with a record-breaking performance in the 800 free relay. Scifo, Svard, Alyssa DiFiore (Wethersfield, Conn.) and Rice finished in 7:21.70, setting meet and school records in the process.

Notes and Notables

  • Bryant has now won seven-straight relays at the NEC Championships. The Bulldogs became just the second program to ever sweep the relays last winter.
  • The Bulldogs set school records in both relays. Both records were set at last year's championships.
  • Rice now owns 10 career medals, Scifo owns nine and DiFiore and Svard own seven.  
  • Abernethy earned her second gold medal in the 1-meter dive. She last won the event as a freshman in 2016 on her way to NEC Diver of the Year honors.
  • Ritzer has now medaled in each of her first two NEC Championship appearances.
  • In addition to Abernethy and Ritzer, Bryant featured five of the top six divers in the 1-meter. Ann Burdick (Glenmont, N.Y.), Carissa Stemen (Naples, Fla.) and Stephanie Jennings (Elmont, N.Y.) finished 4-6.

Up Next

Day two of the NEC Championships gets underway with preliminary heats at 10:00 a.m. on Thursday.