Golden Bears Defeat Western Connecticut State in Home Opener, 142-103

Junior Erika Sheinhait posts pair of event wins & two New England A Cut qualifying times

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (November 5, 2016) – The Western New England University women's swimming team defeated Western Connecticut State University, 142-103 in its home opener last night at the Alumni Healthful Living Center Pool.

Top Performers
• Junior Erika Sheinhait (Framingham, Mass.) won two events and posted a pair of New England Championship A Cut qualifying times in the 200-yard freestyle (2:12.99) and the 50-yard backstroke (32.49 seconds) leading off the 200-yard medley relay.
• Sophomore Megan Empie (Delmar, N.Y.) also posted a pair of event wins in the 50-yard backstroke (31.52 seconds), a New England A Cut effort, and the 100-backstroke (1:12.10). Empie's time of 31.90 seconds in the 50-yard butterfly was good for a B Cut qualifying performance.  
• Freshman Brittany Bosma (North Port, Fla.) finished first in the 100-yard freestyle with an A Cut time of 1:00.45, while also registering a first place finish in the 50-yard freestyle (27.58 seconds).

• Annelise Alfieri and Brianna Christiano led the way for the Colonials, winning two events each.

Other Notable Performances
• Junior Ali Johnstone (Southwick, Mass.) was among three Golden Bears to post New England B Cut efforts with her time if 38.12 seconds in the 50-yard breaststroke. Johnstone also finished first in the 100-yard breaststroke, clocking in at 1:22.29, an improvement of four seconds from her time in the event last week.
• Junior Janelle Lief (San Jose, Calif.) turned in B Cut performances in both the 100-yard butterfly (1:10.62), improving on last week's time in this event by two seconds, and the 50-yard butterfly (31.70 seconds). Lief finished second in both events.
• Sophomore Anna Boucher (Merrimack, N.H.) dropped two seconds from last week's time in the 100-yard breaststroke (1:23.53) and one second in the 200-yard individual medley (2:50.10).
• Junior Jacquelyn Peterson (Beverly, Mass.) earned a first-place finish in the 1000-yard freestyle with a time of 12:37.42.

Up Next
Western New England will be back in action on Wednesday night as the Golden Bears host Westfield State at the AHLC Pool.