December 1, 2006
BRYANT WOMEN THIRD AFTER DAY 1 OF NE-10 CHAMPIONSHIPS
NEW HAVEN, Conn. - Southern Connecticut State University's men's and women's swim teams hold the lead after the first day of competition at the Northeast-10 Conference swimming and diving championships being held through Sunday at the Owls' Hutchinson Natatorium.
The Southern men scored 169 points with the College of St. Rose second with 137 points. Bentley is tied for third place with Le Moyne at 102 points, followed by St. Michael's with 79, Bryant with 62 and Pace with 38.
The Owls' women scored 167 points and hold a slim lead over Le Moyne, which has 156 points. Bryant is third with 99 points, followed by Bentley with 95, St. Rose with 84, St. Michael's with 62 and Pace with 50 points.
The Bryant women lead Bentley by four points thanks to strong relay performances in the 800 yard freestyle relay by Jess Looney, Dayna Konko, Lauren Jette, and Sarah Lang which finished third in 8:26.95. Looney finished second in the 1650 yard freestyle in 18:10.68.
The Southern women won all three events contested on Friday with meet records, the first day of the three-day competition. Freshman Cody Hall won the 1,650-yard freestyle with a NE-10 record time of 17:51.25, passing the provisional qualifying standard for the NCAA Division II championships. Bryant's Jess Looney was second (18:10.68) and Meghan Nugent of Le Moyne was third (18:34.10).
In the 200-yard medley relay, the Owls' team of Katie Meleg, Maria Zenoni, Megan Ladner and Crystal Turi placed first with a time of 1:50.81, also a NE-10 meet record.
Hall and Meleg teamed with Amy Browning and Emily Sundel to win the 800-yard freestyle relay with a time of 7:54.52, another meet record.
The Southern men swept the first three places in the 1,650-yard freestyle as junior Denny Shupe was first in 16:23.66, setting a meet record. He was followed by senior Marcus Cantu with a time of 17:34.64, and senior Matt Payne, who registered a time of 17:40.79.
Shupe and Pelton teamed with junior Shane Pelton and sophomore Andrew May for first place in the 800-yard freestyle relay with a time of 7:19.05.
