Women Finish First at Rhode Island Invitational; Men Finish Second

Jan. 15, 2006

KINGSTON, R.I. - At the Rhode Island Invitational, the Minutewomen dominated the competition as they took first place overall. The women garnered 935 points as they beat host URI (767 points), George Washington (642 points) and La Salle (555 points). The Minutemen (884 points) were edged out and placed second after La Salle took the last relay of the meet to secure the victory with 890 points. George Washington finished third (607 points) followed by host URI with 593 points.

The women started fast, taking second place in the 400-yard medley relay. Vanessa Fleguel (Stittsville, Ontario), Samantha Demty (Seekonk, Mass.), Liz Lovejoy (Reading, Mass.) and Aimee Bourassa (Ottawa, Ontario) teamed up for the 4:07.21 finish. The women were strong in the 200-yard IM. Demty, Kelly Hoffrage (St. Charles, Ill.) and Jackie Porter (Holliston, Mass.) took second, third and fourth, respectively. In the 200-yard free relay, Nicole LeBarge (Lee, N.H.), Lovejoy, Allison Volpe (Pottstown, Pa.) and Hoffrage took first place in 1:39.00.

The one-meter diving was owned by the women. Mary Jenkins (Acton, Mass.), Karen Upperco (Titusville, N.J.) and Sarah Horstmann (Hockessin, Del.) placed first, second and third, respectively. Jenkins recorded the second best point total of the season for the women with her score of 256.75.

In the 200-yard fly, Lovejoy took first place in 2:08.84; the best time of the season for the women. LeBarge also earned a first place finish in the 50-yard free. Her time of 24.83 is the second best time of the season for the team. The three-meter diving saw a one-two-three finish by UMass. Upperco took first and was followed by Horstmann and Jenkins. The women also saw a one-two-three finish in the 100-yard free. Liz Lovejoy took first and was followed by LeBarge and Hoffrage. For Lovejoy, her time of 53.77 gave her the top time of the season for the women. The women finished the weekend with a first place finish in the 400-yard free relay (3:38.98) led by LeBarge, Lovejoy, Bourassa and Hoffrage.

For the men, it was an even faster start as they took first and second place in the 400-yard medley relay. Evan Swisher (North Bennington, Vt.), Ross Clay (North Andover, Mass.), Nate Bromage (Three Rivers, Mass.) and A.J. Vozella (Weymouth, Mass.) teamed up for the first place finish in 3:34.03. Tristan Partridge (Lake Forest, Ill.) placed second in the 1000-yard free in 9:57.24; the fastest time of the season for the men. Greg Chartier (Amherst, Mass.) placed first in the 200-yard IM in 1:58.24. The men earned another first place relay finish in the 200-yard free relay led by Bromage, Mike Herald (Chambersberg, Pa.), Gordon Leonard (Cinnaminson, N.J.) and Vozella.

Reuben Rappe (Farmington, Minn.) took second in the one-meter diving. Swisher, Mike Cordes (Highland Lakes, N.J.), Bromage and Leonard took first in the 200-yard medley relay. Swisher (53.23) took first in the 100-yard back and Clay (1:00.76) took first in the 100-yard breast. Swisher (1:53.69) took his second first place finish of the day in the 200-yard back. Bromage (52.07) placed first in the 100-yard fly.

With UMass holding a slight 824-820 advantage over La Salle, the 400-yard relay, the last event, decided the meet. Leonard, Swisher, Chartier and Vozella took second place (3:13.52) as they were edged out by La Salle (3:13.09). The meet was decided when La Salle also took fourth, while UMass took sixth.

The men and women return to action when they travel to Chestnut Hill, Mass. to take on Boston College at 1:00 PM on Saturday, January 21, 2006.

Scoreboard