The University of Rhode Island swim and dive team traveled to Boston University to compete in the Boston Winter Open on Friday and Saturday, the last event ahead of the Atlantic 10 Conference Championship starting on Wednesday.
URI had just five swimmers competing in the open: second-year Ella Arbeiter, second-year Lauren Biglow, third-year Cate Carboni, first-year Meghan Pauley and first-year Chloe Robinson.
Arbeiter got the Rams off to a good start in the 500-yard freestyle on Friday as she finished in third place with a time of 5:04.81, making it her fastest time of the season in the race.
Along with Arbeiter, Biglow and Pauley also competed in the event, with Biglow finishing with a time of 5:16.71, just .04 seconds ahead of Pauley. Carboni also finished 11th out of 14 swimmers with a time of 5:17.25.
Rhode Island also had Robinson compete in the 50-yard freestyle, recording a time of 24.78 seconds, good enough for 12th out of 40 other athletes.
Robinson kept her foot on the gas moving into Saturday, as she delivered a time of 51.39 seconds in the 100-yard freestyle to place fourth out of 25 swimmers.
Robinson, along with Biglow, also competed in the 100-yard backstroke. Robinson placed 10th with a time of 59.04, just one spot ahead of Biglow in 11th with a time of 59.98.
Moving into the 1,650-yard freestyle, Arbeiter, Pauley and Carboni placed 1-2-3 in the race. Arbeiter finished with a time of 17:46.01, eleven seconds ahead of Pauley with 17:57.74. Carboni was just under four seconds behind her, with a time of 18:01.55.
Over the course of both days of the open, Rhode Island Head Coach Lilli Falconer Deering was pleased with how her team finished.
“I thought it was a good weekend,” Deering said. “I was relatively happy with how things went on the coaching side of things, but I think there’s things we can do to prepare a little bit differently next year. Overall, I was really glad we were able to provide that opportunity for them to have somewhat of a championship-style format in their last meet of the season.”
Although none of the five swimmers who competed in the events will be swimming in Virginia next week, Arbeiter is hoping her team takes more out of the competition than just the races.
“I hope they go and have fun,” Arbeiter said. “Yes, you are supposed to be competitive, and you’re supposed to put it all out there, but I hope the seniors enjoy their last time competing as Rhody swim and dive. The best races I’ve ever had is when I’ve been having the most fun.”
Along with Arbeiter, Deering believes a main focus for the championship should be the team’s enthusiasm, while also looking to place well overall.
“My only expectation is that we bring a lot of energy and excitement to it,” Deering said. “We’ve been working all season for this, and we’re a team who is more successful when we are having fun on the pool deck and supporting each other to the fullest. So, just making sure that we bring a positive mindset while also scoring more points than we did the year before, that’s always the goal.”
The Rams travel to Hampton, Va., to compete in the Atlantic 10 Conference Championship for the four-day meet beginning on Wednesday.
