Rose Breaks 100 Backstroke Mark to Lead Bears at NEISDA Championships

SOUTH KINGSTON, R.I. -- Freshman Jameson Rose (Somerset, Mass.) broke a school record and earned All-NEISDA honors for the second time in as many days to lead the Bridgewater State University men's and women's swimming and diving teams during day two of the 2016 New England Intercollegiate Swimming & Diving Association (NEISDA) Division II/III Championships held at the University of Rhode Island on Saturday.

Rose posted a preliminary time of 53.12 seconds in the 100 backstroke as he broke Kyle Swardstrom's previous mark of 54.30 seconds set just last season. Rose finished fourth in the event with a finals time of 53.14 second. The top eight place-winners in each individual event garner All-NEISDA status.

Rose also earned an automatic qualifier to the upcoming ECAC Division III Championships for the second time in as many days with his preliminary time in the 100 backstroke.

The Bears' 200-medley relay squad featuring Rose, classmate Robert McDougall (Ronkonkoma, N.Y.), senior Eric Ford (Oakville, Conn.) and sophomore Max Medina (Marion, Mass.) qualified for the ECAC Championships with a preliminary time of 1:39.64. They became the first BSU men's relay team to qualify for the postseason since 1978.

Rose, McDougall, Ford and Medina finished fifth in the event with a finals time of 1:40.86.

Ford also captured All-NEISDA honors in the 100 breastroke with a finals time of 1:04.39. 

The men's squad is in seventh place with 207 team points after day two. Keene State College leads the way with 561 points with Roger Williams University (432.5 pts.) in second place and Norwich University (383.5 pts.) in third.

The BSU women's team is currently in 13th place with 165.5 points following the second day of competition. Roger Williams sits atop the team standings with 1,000 points followed by Keene State (918 pts.) and Simmons College (742 pts.).

On the women's side for the Bears, sophomore Abbie Grant (Mansfield, Mass.) finished 11th in the 50 butterfly (28.70), while freshman Nicole Moneghan (Lincoln, R.I.) placed 13th in the 400 individual medley (5:11.34). The team of Grant, classmate Shae Aiguier (Braintree, Mass.), senior Michaela Pereira (Rehoboth, Mass.) and junior Mikaela Ross (Andover, Mass.) finished ninth in the 200 medley relay (2:01.49).

The three-day championship event concludes on Sunday with the preliminary round getting underway at ten.