The University of Rhode Island women’s swim and dive team suffered their first loss of the season on Saturday against Northeastern University, falling 169-124 to the Huskies.
“Tough competition is always good,” Rhode Island head coach Lilli Falconer Deering said. “It helps us prepare even better for our championship meet at the end of the year.”
Northeastern won the first six events of the meet, quickly building an 85-26 lead. For URI, second-year swimmer Julianna Tyler took first place in the 200-yard butterfly for a second-straight meet to break the Huskies’ streak.
“They started off the meet really strong,” Deering said. “Our girls did a great job of keeping their heads held high. Even though we didn’t win a race until Julianna’s 200-fly, it didn’t mean that we had bad races.”
Second-year swimmer Avery Potyrala continued the Rams’ momentum, winning the 50-yard freestyle in the meet’s next event.
The Huskies won both the one-meter and three-meter diving events, courtesy of fourth-year diver Kiki Murphy. Murphy earned first place in both events in last year’s Coastal Athletic Association championship and is the back-to-back CAA Diver of the Year.
“Our divers competing against divers that have those types of accolades is only going to help them improve,” Deering said. “It should give them more and more confidence that they can compete at the same level as divers who have been recognized a lot for their achievements.”
The Rams’ strongest showing came in the 500-yard freestyle, earning a one-two-three finish. Third-year Rylee Kelly placed first, first-year Mary McCormick finished second and fourth-year Emma Lee took third. McCormick and Lee both improved their times from their performances against Siena College.
Rhode Island took first place in the final event, earning 11 points with a time of 1:39.15 in the 200-yard freestyle relay. Fourth-year Quinn Frost had the quickest time of the team, finishing the final leg in 24.33 seconds to secure the event win.
“There were a lot of positives in each of the races,” Deering said. “I think there were still a lot of positives for our athletes and that’s the thing that we need to focus on.”
Half of Rhode Island’s points – 62 total – were scored in the final five events, but it was not enough to overcome the lead that Northeastern had built.
Rhode Island will welcome back alumni to Tootell Aquatics Center next weekend as part of URI’s Homecoming Weekend. The returning Alumni Meet is something that Deering said she hopes to build up over the next few years.
“I’d like for it to continue to grow and build and get more and more of our alums to come back and swim in it,” Deering said. “I’m hoping to generate a little bit more interest year after year with it, hopefully this is the start of that.”
The meet returns with a twist as alumni will be placed on mixed teams with current athletes. The change allows for alumni to compete with and against current swimmers and divers.
“I feel like it can maybe bring a little bit more excitement if they get to race against some of our girls,” Deering said. “I was just trying to drum up a little bit of interest to make it a little bit more exciting.”
The University of Rhode Island’s swim and dive team returns to competition on Nov. 6, hosting in-state rival Providence College at 5 p.m.