Simmons Competes at 2009 New England Swimming and Diving Championships

Simmons Swimming & Diving placed fourth out of seven teams this weekend at the Regis College Invitational. The meet was highlighted by strong performances from the divers and some exciting finishes from the swimmers, with the team collecting 570 points. The Simmons swimming and diving team earned the CSCAA Academic All-American Team Award for the 2008 season, as announced by the College Swimming Coaches Association of America. In order to be named on the CSCAA All-Academic list, teams must have had a combined team grade point average of 3.0 or better during the fall 2008 term. The Simmons Sharks will field a team of thirteen qualifiers at the 2009 New England Swimming and Diving Championships, held at UMass Dartmouth?s Tripp Athletic Center Natatorium from Friday through Sunday, February 22.
Posted: Feb 20, 2009

The Simmons Sharks will field a team of thirteen qualifiers at the 2009 New England Swimming and Diving Championships, held at UMass Dartmouth's Tripp Athletic Center Natatorium from Friday through Sunday, February 22.

Captains Keri-Ann Arsenault and Julia Morrison will return for their fourth year of competition at the Championships, along with fellow senior teammate Erica Boswell, to lead the Sharks this weekend.

Friday Preliminaries Summary

In the 200-yard Free Relay, the Sharks team of sophomore Chennelle Jackson, senior Julia Herman, Boswell and junior Brittany Torelli finished in eighth place (1:47.35), earning them a spot in the finals.

In the 500-yard Freestyle, Arsenault qualified for the finals with an eighth place finish (5:32.81), knocking four seconds off her seed time of 5:36.05. Junior Caitlin Urciuoli missed the cut for the finals, finishing 20th in the event, two places beyond the cutoff for each event. Sophomore Hannah McQuillan finished in 26th place, and although she did not qualify for finals, bettered her seed time (5:56.19) by six seconds, finishing with a 5:50.97.

In the 100-yard Butterfly, Jackson placed 14th with a time of 1:05.83, earning a spot in the finals, as did Julia Morrison, who grabbed the 18th and final spot with a time of 1:06.59.

In the 200-yard Backstroke, Stephanie Bitzas made the cut with a 15th place finish (2:25.40). Julia Herman finished in 23rd(2:26.33), and despite touching the wall just 32-hundredths of a second behind 18th place, and did not qualify for finals, along with Jenny Erviti, who finished in 25th place with a time of 2:28.25.

In the 50-yard Freestyle, Jackson clocked a 27.43, good enough for 22nd place in a field of 36, but not fast enough for the finals in a field where first place was a blazing 25.02.

In the 200-yard Individual Medley, Boswell fought her way through to the finals with an 11th place finish (2:27.96).

The Simmons 400-yard Medley Relay team of Julia Herman, Torelli, Arsenault and Boswell swam to a 9th place finish and a spot in the finals.

For complete results, visit the official Championships website.

Scoreboard