Weekly Sports Update: Swimming Concludes First Northeast-10 Conference Championships; Women's Basketball Coach Mary Burke Earns 200th Coaching Victory

BRYANT WEEKLY SPORTS UPDATE
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THIS WEEK IN BRYANT SPORTS
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Sunday, Dec. 18
Women’s Basketball hosts Saginaw Valley State, 1:30 p.m.
(Toys For Tots Drive)

SPORTS ROUNDUP
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MEN’S BASKETBALL  (5-3, 2-3 NE-10)
Bulldogs Fall to Stonehill Saturday; Idle Till Dec. 28
The Bryant men’s basketball team dropped a 63-51 decision at Stonehill Saturday to fall to 2-3 in conference play this season (5-3 overall).  The Bulldogs shot just 30 percent from the floor.  Dan Hammond (Brunswick, ME) had three steals to move into second all-time for career steals at Bryant with 137. He passes former teammate Mario Correia (Brockton, MA) who had 134 steals.  The Bulldogs are currently 10^th in the conference standings as of Dec. 11 and will be idle until Dec. 28 when they host Bloomfield in the first game of the Comfort Suites Holiday Classic at the Chace Athletic Center.
 
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL (2-5, 0-5 NE-10)
Mary Burke Earns 200^th Win Last Monday; Bulldogs Host Saginaw Valley State Sunday
The Bryant women’s basketball team picked up a 68-67 win over Adelphi last Monday night as 15^th year coach Mary Burke (Providence ’87) earned her 200^th coaching victory at Bryant.  The Bulldogs dropped a 71-57 decision on Saturday to Stonehill College despite 19 points and four assists from junior Joanna Skiba (Providence, RI). Skiba currently leads the Bulldogs with 14.3 ppg and has 15 three-pointers and team-best 32 assists on the season.  The Bulldogs host Saginaw Valley State of Michigan this Sunday for a non-conference game starting at 1:30 p.m.
 
INDOOR TRACK
Three More School Records Fall at Harvard Invitational Saturday; Team Idle Until Jan. 28
A week after setting four school records at Northeastern’s New Balance Winter Carnival, the Bryant men’s and women’s indoor track teams headed across town to Harvard where the Bulldogs set three new school marks at the Harvard Invitational at Gordon Track.  
 
Sophomore Nicole Radzik of Sutton, MA ran well in the women’s 3,000 meters, placing fifth in the event and eclipsing her own school indoor record with a finish in 10 minutes, 58.25 seconds.  Her previous record was 11:01.70 set last year.  Last Saturday at Northeastern, sophomore Natasha Stevenson of Haverhill, MA broke Bryant’s two-year old record in the 200 meters with a time of 26.26.  This week, Stevenson extended her record with a new school record time of 26.06 to finish in third place in the event.  Stevenson also ran well in the 60 meter dash, placing fourth in the finals in 8.03 seconds after qualifying for the finals with a mark of 8.01 seconds in the prelims.  Teammate Amanda Early was 12th in the finals in 8.31.  
 
One of the many highlights of the afternoon was the performance of Amber Torrey in the throws.  The sophomore from Planfield, NH captured first place in the women’s weight throw with a mark of 15.15 meters and later followed with an eighth-place finish in the women’s shop put with a mark of 10.76 meters.   
 
On the men’s side, Mike Nessralla of Halifax, MA captured eighth-place honors in the men’s shot put at 13.79 meters and the senior added a 10th-place finish in the men’s weight throw at 12.76 meters. Dallas Lynch (Wayne, NJ) took fourth in the triple jump (13.81m) after earning a fifth-place finish in the long jump (6.50m). 
 
Caleb Paul (Addison, ME) was 13th in the men’s 5,000 meters, finishing in a time of 16 minutes, 6.72 seconds while teammates Jared Nelson (Cranston, RI) followed in 18th (16:32.62) and Andrew Holmes (Holden, MA) was 21st (16:54.58).  Speedster Hafiz Greigre (Attleboro, MA) did not compete in the men’s sprints Saturday, but did turn in a dazzling performance in the men’s 500 meters as the junior captured third place in the event in a new school record time of 1:05.70.  The Bulldogs will be off for the holidays before returning to action Jan. 28 at the Wesleyan Cardinal Invitational in Connecticut.
 
MEN’S AND WOMEN’S SWIMMING:
The Bryant men’s and women’s swim teams took part in their first Northeast-10 Conference Championships this past weekend at Southern Connecticut State. The Bryant men placed sixth out of seven conference teams competing with 209 points, while the women were seventh with 202 total points – just 10 points behind sixth-place finisher Pace University. Andrea Geoffroy (Belchertown, MA) turned in a strong performance in the 100 backstroke.  After an eighth-place finish in the preliminaries, the sophomore touched the wall in a time of 1 minute, 5.74 seconds to place sixth.  She was also key in the 200 freestyle relay squad that placed fifth in 1:47.17.  Kristen Brekne (Stony Brook, NY) and Christa Berard (Alfred, ME), each members of the relay squad with Geoffroy, fared well in the 100 breaststroke, placing 12 and 14 respectively. 
 
On the men’s side, Nate Olszewski (Blandford, MA) was 15^th in the men’s breaststroke in 1:12.21 while Ray Savner (Bethlehem, Conn.) took home a pair of top 10 finishes in the 50 and 100 free.  Savner, a sophomore was sixth in the finals of the 50 free in 22.94 – improving on his seventh place 23.20 time in the prelims.  He would follow with an eighth-place finish in the 100 free (50.72).  The men’s 200 freestyle relay team took sixth in the finals in 1:36.18.   The Bulldogs will return to action with a home meet with WPI at the Chace Athletic Center Pool on Saturday, Jan. 14.
 
OTHER NEWS AND NOTES …
 
TOY’S FOR TOTS:
Bryant will host a Toy’s-For-Tots Fundraiser this Sunday afternoon during Bryant’s women’s basketball game with Saginaw Valley State.  Fans are encouraged to bring an unwrapped new toy to the game and each fan will receive a free ticket to see the Bulldogs take on the Cardinals.  The event is sponsored by Bryant’s Student Athlete Advisory Committee (S.A.A.C.).
 
ADOPT A FAMILY:
Bryant’s student-athletes are in the holiday spirit by taking part in the Adopt-A-Family Program during the month of December. A total of 14 varsity teams are hosting eleven families and have been collecting money from students on campus and local businesses and will deliver all donations to the needy families at the Nickerson Community Center in Providence on Dec. 21.