Pride Women’s Swim Team Opens Season with Historic Win

Pride Women’s Swim Team Opens Season with Historic Win

WESTON, Mass. – For the first time in at least 11 years, the Regis College women's swimming and diving team defeated the University of New England, 160-111, Saturday in a dual meet held at the Regis Aquatics Center.

The Pride won 10 of the first 12 swimming events to race out to an insurmountable lead, allowing the home team to compete in the final two events as exhibition swimmers. Regis posted the best times in both of those events as well to complete a strong start to the season.

Kyleigh Boatwright (Roseville, Calif.) enjoyed a perfect start to her collegiate career, first leading off the 200 medley relay as she teamed with Thalia Bowie (Lexington, Mass.), Alexa Lancisi (Milford, Mass.), and Jessica Zernitsky (Newton, Mass.) for a winning time of 2:01.57. Boatwright then won the 200 freestyle in 2:10.24, over three seconds ahead of Bowie, and the 100 backstroke in 1:04.96, over two-and-a-half seconds in front of Lancisi. In addition, she posted the fastest time in the 100 IM at 1:06.21, just ahead of teammate Sarah Leonard's (Brockton, Mass.) mark of 1:06.84.

Leonard did win two events of her own, finishing first in the 50 backstroke in 28.95 seconds and in the 100 freestyle in 57.62 seconds. Gloria Sutton (Suffield, Conn.) won the two distance events, touching the wall first in the 1000 freestyle in 12:03.23 and in the 500 freestyle in 5:54.94.

Zernitsky also picked up two individual victories, finishing first in the 50 freestyle in 25.99 seconds and in the 50 butterfly in 29.24 seconds. She also led off the 200 freestyle relay, joining with Lancisi, Katherine Mariano (Newton, Mass.), and Leonard to post the event's fastest time of 1:48.09.

Lancisi finished first in the 100 butterfly with a time of 1:06.64, exactly two seconds in front of Mariano. Elisabeth McQuaid (Marlborough, Mass.) competed in the one-meter diving events for the Pride, compiling scores of 157.50 in the first round of dives and 141.35 in the second round later in the meet.

UNE (0-1) was led by Mikayla Sargent, the only Nor'Easter swimmer to win an event as she touched the wall first in both the 50 breaststroke in 34.61 seconds and the 100 breaststroke in 1:17.03.

Regis (1-0) heads to Bristol, R.I., for the Roger Williams Invitational next Saturday, Oct. 20, beginning at 11 a.m.