February 18, 2008

BRYANT WEEKLY SPORTS UPDATE: Basketball Showdown Tuesday at Stonehill; Lacrosse Teams Ready To Open Seasons This Week

February 18, 2008

Bryant Sports News Update
More at http://www.bryantbulldogs.com/

WOMEN'S SWIMMING PLACES THIRD AT NEW ENGLAND'S; WOMEN'S BASKETBALL EARNS WIN OVER DEFENDING NATIONAL CHAMPIONS; BASKETBALL SHOWDOWN TUESDAY AT STONEHILL
It was another busy weekend for the Bulldogs as men's and women's basketball swept a doubleheader from Southern Connecticut, women's swimming took third at the New England Championships, and baseball earned a pair of doubleheader splits in its season-opening weekend.  Baseball will close out its trip to Florida with a doubleheader Monday.  This week, basketball travels to Stonehill Tuesday for a pair of crucial conference games.  Women's lacrosse visits Louisville Friday for the season opener and men's lacrosse hosts Adelphi in their season opener this Saturday at 1 pm. 

BULLDOG WEEKLY ROUNDUP ...

MEN'S AND WOMEN'S SWIMMING
The Bryant University women's swim team placed third at the 2008 New England Swimming & Diving Championships hosted by UMass Dartmouth over the weekend.  Keene State College of New Hampshire was the overall winner with 982 points followed by Bentley College with 900 points for second.  The Bulldogs earned 748 points and placed third out of 21 teams from throughout New England competing.  Sophomore Jess Looney (Goffstown, NH) was named the Swimmer of the Meet. 

On Sunday, Looney helped anchor the women's 400 yard freestyle relay team to a third place finish in 3:42.86.  Other highlights on Sunday include Jill Squillante's (Sayville, NY) second place finish in the 50 backstroke. The freshman touched the wall in a time of 28.59 seconds.  Jill Hira (Cheshire, CT) placed fifth in the 100 freestyle (56.61 seconds) while Margaret Dickinson (West Newbury, MA) was also fifth in the 100 yard individual medley (1:06.23).  The men's team will swim at the New England Division II-III Championships at Roger Williams University in Bristol, RI Feb. 22-24.

WOMEN'S BASKETBALL (16-9, 11-9 NE-10)
The Bryant women's basketball team picked up a pair of wins this past week, knocking off Saint Michael's Wednesday before earning a solid 77-72 victory over defending national champion Southern Connecticut Saturday afternoon at the Chace Athletic Center.  Kelsey O'Keefe (Warren, MA) posted her sixth double-double of the season, netting a game-high 26 points and grabbing 12 rebounds.  Freshman Siamone Bennett (Newburgh, NY) had eight points and 12 rebounds while Bryant's lone senior, Lynne-Ann Kokoski (Hatfield, MA) added 10 point to go with nine assists and seven rebounds. Kokoski was honored prior to the start of the game. The Bulldogs are currently in sixth-place in the NE-10, just a half-game back of AIC for fifth with two games left.  Bryant will travel to first-place Stonehill Tuesday before wrapping up the regular season next Tuesday at Merrimack.

MEN'S BASKETBALL (16-9, 12-8 NE-10)
Winners of four in-a-row and seven of its last eight, the Bryant men's basketball team is peaking at just the right time.  The Bulldogs cruised past Saint Michael's 78-56 Wednesday and followed with a 74-57 win over Southern Connecticut Saturday at home.  Senior John Fogarty (Smithfield, RI) got his first start of the season on Senior Day and responded with 2 points, 3 rebounds, 1 block and 1 steal in six minutes.  Classmate Jon Ezeokoli (South Orange, NJ) led the way with a game-high 19 points on 6 of 9 shooting and added three rebounds.  Ezeokoli and Fogarty were both freshmen on Bryant's 2005 NCAA finalist team. The win moved the Bulldogs a half-game ahead of Stonehill for fourth-place in the conference standings.  Bryant will travel to Easton, MA this Tuesday for a re-match with the Skyhawks (15-11, 11-8 NE-10) who knocked off the Bulldogs, 59-56 back on Dec. 12 in Smithfield, RI.  Since that loss, Bryant is 12-4.

INDOOR TRACK
The Bryant men's and women's indoor track teams were idle this past weekend in preparation for the upcoming Northeast-10 Championships this weekend in New Haven, CT.

MEN'S LACROSSE
The Bryant men's lacrosse team opens the 2008 season this Saturday hosting Adelphi University at the Turf Complex. Game time is set for 1 p.m.  The Bulldogs, under the direction of second year coach Mike Pressler, enter the season ranked seventh while Adelphi is ranked eighth in the preseason.  The Panthers knocked off the Bulldogs at home last year in the season opener, 6-5.  Last year, Bryant was ranked No. 8 and Adelphi was seventh.  The Bulldogs return all but one starter from last year's team that captured the school's first Northeast-10 regular season title.

WOMEN'S LACROSSE
The Bryant women's lacrosse team opens its 2008 season under first year coach Jess Davos this Friday when the Bulldogs visit Louisville for a non-conference matchup at 1 pm. The Bulldogs travel to Florida in early March to take on Lees-McRae (Mar. 9) and Rollins College (Mar. 12) before opening Northeast-10 play at AIC on Mar. 19.  The home opener is set for Mar. 22 against national power C.W. Post.

BULLDOG NOTES ...

PRESSLER FAMILY HONORED BY WORDS UNLIMITED SUNDAY
Words Unlimited, the statewide organization of sports writers, sportscasters and sports publicists, held its 62nd annual Sports Awards Banquet Sunday, Feb. 17, at The Radisson in Warwick.  Among the various honors and awards handed out during the evening was the 2007 Story of the Year which went to Bryant men's lacrosse coach Mike Pressler and family.    

-30-

 

 

 

 

 

 

View: Mobile | Desktop