FAIRFIELD, Conn. — The Bryant University men's and women's swimming and diving teams opened the 2025–26 season Saturday at Fairfield University, with the women earning a 156–143 victory and the men falling 191–109.
The meet featured standout performances in both the pool and on the diving boards, with several Bulldogs making strong season debuts.
Words from Coach:
"Great way for the women to start the season," Coach
Katie Cameron said.
"It was a tight meet from start to finish. Proud of our resilience and ability to finish races. Ruby and Megan had an amazing afternoon. Jocie shined in the last 10 meters of 200 br to really help the momentum of the meet. Overall great performance excited to host Binghamton next Friday."
On the men's side, Cameron praised Buonocore's leadership and performance.
"The men were led by captain diver Chris. He dominated both boards to be only male to win two events. Patrick was Texas tough in his first collegiate meet and won the 800 with a great last 75. Tim had a great 100 fly. Fairfield looked great and just outperformed us today. We will reset and be fully ready for Binghamton on Friday."
On the boards,
Megan Beasley swept both the 1-meter (252.98) and 3-meter (256.73) events, leading a dominant day for the Bryant women's divers.
Molly Gordon and
Avery Bischoff rounded out the top five in the 1-meter, while Chris Buonocore claimed both the men's 1-meter (285.83) and 3-meter (270.45) titles.
In the pool, Bryant's women started strong with a win in the 200-medley relay (1:56.76), led by
Clara Steen, Jocie Niemczyk, Ruby Tonelli, and
Marcella Figueroa. Tonelli was a triple winner for the Bulldogs, topping the 200 butterfly (2:19.42), 100 butterfly (1:02.12), and 200 IM (2:22.35).
Other top performances came from
Megan Diamond, who won the 100 freestyle (1:00.46), and Niemczyk, who captured the 200 breaststroke (2:42.45).
Makayla Pearce (4:33.39) and
Aurelie Honsberger (4:37.97) added key points in the 400 freestyle, while Figueroa sprinted to victory in the 50 freestyle (27.66).
On the men's side,
Arthur Newton earned a win in the 100 freestyle (52.17), while
Patrick Maldonado took first in the 800 freestyle (8:35.67). The Bulldogs also secured strong runner-up finishes from
Calix Hammett in the 100 backstroke (58.83) and
Aidan Trenery in the 200 breaststroke (2:27.81).
Bryant closed the meet with a close second-place finish in the men's 400 freestyle relay (3:30.78), while the women took second in their 400 free relay (4:00.96).
The Black and Gold will host their first home meet of the season Friday and Saturday, Oct. 17–18, against Binghamton University. Diving will take place at Brown (Friday 5pm), while swimming events will be held in Smithfield (Saturday 12PM).
