Regis Collects Two Medals at NEISDA Friday Finals
KINGSTON, R.I. – Led by top-three performances from sophomore Kyleigh Boatwright (Roseville, Calif.) and freshman Robert Wood (Cathedral City, Calif.), the Regis College men's and women's swimming and diving teams moved up in their respective team standings as the 2020 New England Intercollegiate Swimming and Diving Association (NEISDA) Championships continued Friday at the University of Rhode Island's Tootell Aquatic Center.
Boatwright, the GNAC champion in the 200 backstroke, finished third in the event with an evening time of 2:13.65, 1.39 seconds faster than the mark she posted in the preliminary session. Later in Friday night's finals, Boatwright anchored the 400 medley relay, joining with Sarah Leonard (Brockton, Mass.), Julia Burke (North Andover, Mass.), and Alexa Lancisi (Milford, Mass.) for a fourth place finish with a total time of 4:13.01.
Wood qualified for two championship finals, starting with the 500 freestyle, where he finished in second place with a time of 4:50.80, also 1.39 seconds quicker than his preliminary mark. He also finished sixth in the 200 individual medley, cutting nearly two full seconds off his morning time with an evening effort of 2:05.17.
Brendan Pike (Weymouth, Mass.) also qualified for the championship final in the 500 freestyle, finishing seventh in the late session with a time of 4:58.38. In the consolation final of the 500 freestyle, Grant Kollien (Acton, Mass.) touched the wall sixth to end up 14th overall in the event in 5:02.00. GianCarlos Banrey (Roslindale, Mass.) finished third in the "B" final of the 50 freestyle in 22.59 seconds to post an 11th place finish overall.
Burke also made it to a championship final after posting a preliminary time of 32.77 seconds in the 50 breaststroke. She cut 8/100ths of a second off that mark in the final to finish in eighth place in 32.69 seconds.
Cecelia Adelfio (Gloucester, Mass.) performed well in two consolation finals during the evening session, starting with a third place finish in the "B" final of the 500 freestyle in 5:35.76 to end up 11th overall. Adelfio then won the consolation final of the 200 backstroke by 0.33 seconds with a time of 2:19.32 to finish ninth overall in the event.
In the "B" final of the 100 butterfly, Lancisi touched the wall second in 1:04.42 to finish 10th overall, while Jessica Zernitsky (Newton, Mass.) posted a 13th place overall finish after ending up fifth in the race in 1:05.12.
Earlier Friday, Elisabeth McQuaid (Marlborough, Mass.) qualified for the finals of the one meter diving competition after finishing fifth in the preliminary session with an 11-dive score of 316.25. Thursday night, the meet began with the 800 freestyle relay, as Boatwright, Thalia Bowie (Lexington, Mass.), Adelfio, and Gloria Sutton (Suffield, Conn.) finished in eighth place with a time of 8:35.84.
The women gained 176 points to move up one position into seventh place after Friday's session with 220 points, just six points behind sixth place University of New England. The men scored 51 points Friday to enter the team standings in eighth place, five points ahead of Elms College. Roger Williams leads both competitions, with Simmons in second place on the women's side and Norwich filling second position on the men's side.
The 2020 NEISDA Swimming and Diving Championships continue Saturday morning, Feb. 15, at 10 a.m. with the preliminaries for the 200 medley relay, 400 individual medley, 50 butterfly, 200 freestyle, 100 backstroke, 100 breaststroke, and 200 freestyle relay. That session will be followed by the finals of the 1000 freestyle and one meter diving, with the other swimming finals taking place Saturday evening starting at 6 p.m.