Lady Bears Sail Past Mount Saint Vincent
BROOKLYN, NY – The St. Joseph's College women's swimming team jumped back into the pool Saturday after being idle for over a month. The team showed little rust however, as they defeated Mount Saint Vincent, 50-36.
The match was actually closer than the score might indicate. The Lady Bears jumped ahead to a 15-1 lead after two events, but the Dolphins crept their way back into the meet. Amanda Costa's win in the 100 yard breaststroke meant that the meet would come down to the final event, the 200 yard freestyle relay to determine the winner.
In a spirited relay, that was neck and neck most of the way, junior Alison Nunziata (Brooklyn, NY/Bishop Kearney) was able to pull ahead to win the event and meet for St. Joseph's. The Lady Bears time of 2:06.48 was only a few seconds ahead of Mount Saint Vincent. Nunziata had the fastest split of any of the girls, finishing her leg in 29.91.
Junior Kristen McMaster (Brooklyn, NY/Fontbonne Hall) celebrated her birthday with two individual wins and was the first leg in the 200 freestyle relay. McMaster's victory in the 100 yard freestyle set the tone for the Lady Bears, as they jumped out to the early lead. She also captured first place in the 50 yard freestyle with a time of 31.46.
Despite the long layoff, the Lady Bears were still able to post some of their best times of the season. Although she didn't win the event, senior Brianne Reilly (Queens, NY/Frank Sinatra) set a school record, becoming the first girl to break 40 seconds in the 50 yard breaststroke. She completed the race in 39.59 seconds, .55 seconds faster than her previous record of 41.14.
Sophomore Olivia O'Hara (Brooklyn, NY/Fontbonne Hall) took second place in the 100 yard breaststroke, but her time of 1:27.63 is the fastest by a Lady Bear this season. O'Hara had been stuck on 1:28 her last two races.
Mount Saint Vincent hung around in the meet thanks in part to Costa's three individual wins. In addition to the 100 breaststroke, Costa also won the 50 yard breaststroke and the 200 yard freestyle. Janna Libby also won two events for the Dolphins, the 50 yard backstroke and the 50 yard individual medley.
After the long layoff, the Lady Bears conclude their season with four meets in a span of 11 days. Their next meet is a double-dual at New Rochelle against the College of New Rochelle and these same Mount Saint Vincent Dolphins on Tuesday, January 25th. The meet is set to go off at 7:00 pm.