Courtesy: Bryant Athletics
SMITHFIELD, R.I. – Bryant University women’s swimming and diving seniors Jillian Rice (Trumbull, Conn.) and Kelci Abernethy (Chandler, Ariz.) have been named the Northeast Conference Swimmer and Diver of the Week, respectively.
Rice picked up her second swimmer of the week honor, while Abernethy picked up her league-leading fifth diver of the week accolade.
Rice continued to pile up the wins in 2019 as she did in 2018, with five more individual victories in a pair of dual meets against Boston University and Rider. The Trumbull, Connecticut, native didn’t miss a beat coming out of the long holiday break, posting a time of 52.31 in the 100 free, an event that she holds the NEC’s best time in this season. She also clocked in at 24.30 against BU in the 50 free. Both would be considered top-10 times in the conference. Rice notched additional wins against Rider in the 50, 100 and 200 freestyle events, and as an anchor in the 400 free relay, to help the Bulldogs swim away with a 158-142 triumph.
Abernethy collected a league-leading fifth NEC Diving award after compiling the best average score of the week in both the 1 and 3-meter competitions. In Wednesday’s meet against BU, she scored a 239.5 on the 3-meter board following a 211.80 finish in the 1-meter that were good for second and third place, respectively. Abernethy was back on the diving board just a few days later to face Rider, and she tacked on another pair of third place showings. She posted a 224.02 in the 1-meter, while scoring a 220.86 in the 3-meter.
In addition, junior Alaina Scifo (Ipswich, Great Britain) was named an NEC Prime Performer.
The Bulldogs return to the Chace Athletic Center Pool this weekend when they host Cornell (Friday) and Marist (Saturday).