KINGSTON, R.I. - The Simmons College swimming & diving team will send 14 competitors into the finals on the final day of the New England Intercollegiate Swimming & Diving Championships following the preliminaries this morning at host University of Rhode Island's Tootell Aquatic Center in Kingston, R.I.
The Sharks will also see six of its entries compete among the top eight in tonight's finals, which will begin at 5:30 p.m. In addition, the results of the 1650-yard freestyle will be released this evening.
Simmons fared extremely well in the 100-yard freestyle with junior Miriam Swisher (Albuquerque, N.M.) earning the second seed after hitting the wall at 52.55. First year Kerry Fleming (Northampton, Mass.) joins her in the top eight with the number three seed on a mark of 54.83. Junior Sarah Price (New York, N.Y.) came into the event as the 24th seed, but posted a time of 57.11 to grab the 11th seed to advance to the finals of the event.
Four Sharks qualified for tonight's 200-yard breaststroke with junior Hannah Plourde (Westfield, Mass.) leading the way with a time of 2:38.12 to capture the sixth seed. Price just missed the top eight, but qualified for her second event of the night with a mark of 2:39.46 to take the ninth seed. First year Jason Erichsen (Banks, Ore.) advances to the finals for the first time with a personal-best mark of 2:41.50 as the number 12 seed, while sophomore Natalie Giraldi (Bedford, N.H.) was right behind at 2:41.86 for the 13th seed.
Sophomore Michaela Morris (Duxbury, Mass.) is set as the fourth seed for tonight's 200-yard butterfly following a time of 2:19.02. First year Kara Smith (Eastham, Mass.) continues to impress as the number 10 seed on a personal-record time of 2:23.20, while sophomore Lindsay Nichols (Kennebunk, Maine) enters the field as the 16th seed after posting a time of 2:31.82.
Junior Julie Nguyen (Salem, Mass.) continues her spirited run, earning the eighth seed in tonight's 100-yard individual medley with a personal-best time of 1:05.97. First year Charlotte Rivard (Norwood, Mass.) took the 12th seed following a mark of 1:07.13 and Erichsen adds a second event to tonight's finals with a personal-record time of 1:08.15 as the 16th seed.
Simmons will close out the meet in the 400-yard freestyle relay as the second seed in search of its third relay crown of the championships. Swisher opened the race and was followed by Fleming, Giraldi and first year Laura Simpson (Perkiomenville, Pa.), who hit the wall with 3:41.25 on the board.