ANNAPOLIS, Md. - The Simmons College swimming & diving team's 400-yard freestyle relay team qualified to compete in tonight's Eastern College Athletic Conference Championships finals following the third day of preliminary competition this morning at host United States Naval Academy's Lejeune Hall in Annapolis, Md. 

The Sharks 400-freestyle relay squad clocked in at 3:40.94 to place 10th in this morning's event. First year Kerry Fleming (Northampton, Mass.) set the pace of the event as the opening split, before junior Sarah Price (New York, N.Y.) followed. Sophomore Natalie Giraldi (Bedford, N.H.) swam the third leg and junior Miriam Swisher (Albuquerque, N.M.) swam the anchor leg to hit the wall almost a full half second ahead of Division II Le Moyne College. 

Swisher placed 19th earlier in the meet with a time of 2:08.08 in the 200-yard backstroke to begin the morning. Fleming also competed in her third event of the weekend with a 46th-place showing in the 100-yard freestyle following a mark of 54.18 to tie Division I University of Pittsburgh's Maggie Feltman.

The first event of tonight's finals will begin at 4:00 p.m., where Simmons' first year Laura Simpson (Perkiomenville, Pa.) will compete before the team wraps up the evening and it season in the 400-yard freestyle.