Men's Swimming 2/20/2010 8:59:00 PM

Men 3rd, Women 4th at NEISDA Championships

White River Junction, Vt. – The RWU Men's and Women's Swimming and Diving Teams posted strong performances, finishing third and fourth, respectively, at the New England Championships in White River Junction, Vt. Head Coach Julie O'Brien was also honored, earning Men's Swimming Coach of the Year.

After three full days of swimming, both the men and women of Keene State College and Bentley University finished first and second, respectively.

On the women's side, Keene State finished with 924 points, followed by Bentley with 802. Eastern Connecticut State gathered 709 for third place, while RWU recorded 570.5. Westfield State was a distant fifth with 353 points among the 22 women's teams.

For the men, the top three teams separated themselves from the rest of the 12-team field. Keene State tallied 656 points and Bentley totaled 555. RWU followed closely behind with 478, while the fourth-place UMass-Dartmouth gathered 256.

RWU freshman #Phillip Jacques# (Durham, Maine) had an outstanding meet, including qualifying for nationals after taking first place in the 200-Yard Backstroke with a time of 1:52.65 and also finishing second in the 100-Yard Backstroke with a time of 52.53. In the 50-Yard Backstroke, Jacques took third with a time of 24.94.

Sophomore #Peter Walerysiak# (Bristol, Conn.) placed second in the 50-Yard Freestyle, finishing at 21.91 and also posted a fourth-place finish in the 200-Yard Freestyle, just 1.83 seconds behind teammate, freshman #Tim Ragan# (Topsfield, Mass.) who finished second overall with a time of 1:46.13. Walerysiak later took third in the 100-Yard Freestyle with a time of 47.70.

Jacques, Walerysiak, Ragan and junior #Dale Dubinsky# (Plantsville, Conn.) combined for a second-place finish in the 800-Yard Medley Relay, giving the Hawks 26 points in the final race Saturday night.

Freshman Phil Green (Langhorne, Pa.) performed well Sunday in the 200-Yard Butterfly, taking a fourth-place finish with a time of 2:03.09. Also taking fourth Sunday was junior #Kyle Bowie# (Keene, N.H.), who recorded a time of 55.50 in the 100-Yard Individual Medley.

Highlights on the women's side include freshman #Ashley Kichline#'s (Souderton, Pa.) third-place performance in the 200-Yard Backstroke with a time of 2:12.80. Saturday she placed fifth in the 100-Yard Backstroke, finishing at 1:02.44 and Sunday she took fourth in the 50-Yard Backstroke, finishing at 29.17.

In the 100-Yard Butterfly, classmate #Melly Marrington# (Farmington, Conn.) took first in the B Final, seventh overall, with a time of 1:01.07. Sophomore #Ursula Nickerson# (Torrington, Conn.) finished in the same place in the 200-Yard Individual Medley with a time of 2:21.42. On Saturday, Marrington also performed well in the 50-Yard Butterfly, finishing fourth overall with a time of 28.22.

Junior #Marissa Carr# (Arlington, Mass.) gathered 21 points for the Hawks Sunday with her third-place finish in the 1650-Yard Freestyle, touching the wall at 18:45.75. Meanwhile, teammate #Brigid Houlihan# (Nahant, Mass.) placed sixth overall with a time of 19:08.49.

The final event of the three-day competition predicted the final team standings for RWU and those ahead of the Hawks, as Keene State and Bentley swept first and second in the 400-Yard Freestyle, with Eastern Connecticut State taking third for the women followed by RWU. On the men's side, the Hawks posted a third-place finish, just 1.01 second behind Bentley.

Jacques and senior diver Joe Mello (Seekonk, Mass.), who also qualified for nationals earlier in the season, will await to hear whether they will be selected to participate in the event, March 17-20, at the University of Minnesota.

Visit the RWU Results Page for complete NEISDA Championship results.

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