WINTHROP, Mass. – Simmons College's Charlotte Rivard (Norwood, Mass.) was named the Great Northeast Athletic Conference Women's Swimming & Diving Rookie of the Week for the week of January 4-10, it was announced today by the league.
The top weekly rookie has been a Shark in each of the last six reporting periods with first year Kerry Fleming (Northampton, Mass.) being named twice and classmate Laura Simpson (Perkiomenville, Pa.) earning the accolade three times.
Rivard placed in five individual events, including four different races, over two meets last weekend. The first year capped the week in a dual meet at Saint Joseph's College (Maine) on January 10 by finishing ahead of the field in the 50-yard butterfly with a time of 30.29, while also placing second in the 50-yard breaststroke with a mark of 32.59 in the team's 218-38 victory. She also helped the Simmons 200-yard freestyle relay team to a second-place effort as the third leg to contribute to a time of 1:57.69. The rookie placed among the top four in three different events the day before in a 177-103 win at Plymouth State University, finishing third in the 50-yard backstroke with a time of 32.87, before placing third in her first-ever 1000-yard freestyle effort with a time of 12:47.11. Rivard also finished fourth in the 50-yard freestyle, clocking in at 28.73.
The Norwood High School product has been solid in her first collegiate season for the Sharks, racking up 14 top-three showings, including a pair of first-place finishes in the 50-yard butterfly. Her personal-best time of 28.99 in the 50-butterfly earned her a second place finish at the GNAC Championship on December 5. She has also excelled in the 50-yard backstroke with two second-place efforts. She clocked a personal-record mark of 31.53 to earn fifth place in the event at the GNAC Championship as well. Rivard also has three top-three finishes in the 100-yard individual medley.
Simmons is currently 7-1 on the season and won the GNAC Championship for the 12th straight year in December. The Sharks compete again on Saturday, January 16 when they take on host Regis College and Colby-Sawyer College in a double dual meet at 11:00 a.m.