The University of Rhode Island’s Swimming and Diving team was in action this past Sunday, Feb. 2 at Central Connecticut State University.
The Rams faced off against a Blue Devils team that they defeated last year and were well prepared for them.
“They were waiting for us,” Head Coach Mick Westkott said. “They came at us strong. It was their senior day so there was a lot of energy.”
Rhody, however, did not back down and were ready for the challenge in front of them. The Rams received a great performance from sophomore Zoe Sheridan. She finished third in the 500-yard freestyle with a time of five minutes, 13.85 seconds. Her strong day was not over as she also placed second in the 1000 yard freestyle with a time 10 minutes, 48.31 seconds. Coach Westkott described her performance on Sunday as her best meet of the year. Sheridan earned the Rams a total of seven points between the two events.
The Rams continued to see strong performances from their swimmers on Sunday, including two first place finishes from senior Caitlin Guccione. Guccione earned the first of her two victories in the sixth event of the day, the 200-yard butterfly when she finished just three tenths of a second ahead of Central Connecticut freshman Shannon Welcome to finish with a time of two minutes, 10.35 seconds.
Guccione’s second victory of the afternoon came in the meet’s thirteenth event, the 100-yard butterfly. Here, she was able to earn the Rams another nine points when she won another close one. She finished the race with a time of 59.09 seconds, just six-tenths of a second better than Welcome once again.
Rhody continued to see strong performances on the diving side of this one as well. Freshman Isabella Antonini was able to capture her first win of the season in the three meter dive. She finished the event with a final score of 217.35, helping the Rams earn another nine points.
Antonini wasn’t the only Rhody diver to claim first place in their respective event on Sunday, as senior Katy Evans earned a victory. Evans was able to earn a score of 237.68 in the one-meter dive to earn the Rams yet another nine points towards their team score.
Rhody earned a total of 17 points in this event as they claimed second and third place as well. Junior Cameron Murray finished in second with a score of 212.85 to earn Rhody four points and sophomore Fallon Pfeifer finished the event in third place with a score of 209.70 to add another three points to the Rams score.
Despite the strong performances the Rams were not able to take down the Blue Devils. This was the first meet that Rhody did not win all season but Coach Westkott was proud of the way his team performed. “We were really tough,” Westkott said. “We hung in there. Sunday showed just how tough these girls are.”
Rhody will return to action next week when they begin their quest for the Atlantic 10 conference championship. “I think this meet was great preparation for the A-10s. We have a good group here.
The A-10 championships kickoff Wednesday, Feb. 19 at the Spire Institute in Geneva Ohio. The meet will run throughout the weekend and will end on Sunday, Feb. 22.