Women's Swimming Caps First Half of Season at Bridgewater Invitational

Bridgewater, Mass. (December 3, 2022) – After the Thanksgiving break, the women's swim team was back in action on Saturday afternoon. The team headed east for the Bridgewater State University Invitational. After a long afternoon of swimming, the team finished fourth out of eight teams.

Result:

Finished 4th/8

How it Happened:

The meet started with the 200-yard medley relay, which saw WNE's 'A' relay, comprised of Taylor Gravel, Jillian Croteau, Amanda Pillard, and Hannah Delude, grab an eighth-place finish and 22 points for the team. After not having a swimmer in the 1000-yard freestyle, Alexa Adams and Katarina DaSilva got in the water for the Golden Bears and earned points in the 50 butterfly. Adams also earned a best time in the event. Megan Morrissey was next for WNE. Morrissey earned 13 points for the team in the 200-yard freestyle. Pillard and Delude claimed points in the event as well. Pillard was able to drop around four seconds in the event for a best time. After that race came the 100-yard backstroke and Caitlin Guntly. Guntly claimed second place and dropped over two seconds for a best time, which earned the team 17 points. Taylor Gravel also grabbed a point in the event and dropped five seconds. Hailey Dion then secured 14 points for the team in the 100 breaststroke. 

The 50-yard freestyle was up next for the Golden Bears. Caitlin Hall grabbed third place in the race and conjured up 16 more points. Hall's time of 27.15 was a new personal best time. Hall was followed by Reneé Lussier, Alexa Adams, and Amanda Pillard. All three of them earned points in the event. After the diving, WNE returned to work with two swimmers in the top five of the 100-yard freestyle. Guntly and Hall were those two swimmers. Hall earned a best time of 59.30. Lussier, DaSilva, and Pillard also got points for the team in that event. Both DaSilva and Pillard earned best times to go along with the points. Morgan Potler and Hannah Delude took part in that race too. Both earned best times on the season. 

The best finish of the day was from Caitlin Guntly. Guntly earned a first-place finish in the 200-yard backstroke. Guntly earned a best time of 2:20.17 and was over three seconds removed from the rest of the field. The 100-yard IM was the next event on the program, and it saw three WNE swimmers earn points. Dion, Lussier, and Croteau earned points, with Dion getting a best time of 1:13.97. The biggest time drop of the day came from Alexa Adams in the 500-yard freestyle. Adams dropped 51 seconds in the race, earning WNE 5 points. Morrissey also earned points for the Golden Bears in the 500-yard freestyle. Katarina DaSilva also earned a best time of over 16 seconds in that event. Morissey had a quick turnaround to get in the water for the 50 backstroke, but it was not a problem. Morrissey earned another best time and more points for the team. 

After a second diving break, Hailey Dion swam the 200-yard IM. Dion finished fourth and earned 15 points for the Golden Bears. Hall and Croteau followed that swim with two 50-yard backstroke swims. Again, both earned points, and Croteau swam a best time of 47.61. Finally, the meet finished with the 200-yard freestyle relay. Dion, Guntly, Lussier, and Hall earned fourth place in the relay and scored the final 30 points of the day for the Golden Bears. 

Up Next:

The Golden Bears will go on winter break before hosting Rhode Island College at home. That meet will occur on Sunday, January 8, at 1:00 pm.