BRISTOL, R.I. — The Roger Williams University Women's Swimming team opened Day One of the Menck Invitational with several strong performances across events as they hosted the Engineers of WPI at the Aquatics Center.
Prior to the meet RWU celebrated four members of the squad who are completing their degrees this year. Avery Benigni (Meriden, Conn.), Fionna Cashman(Bath, Maine), Victoria Fahey (Scituate, Mass.), and Brooke Irons (Cranston, R.I.).
The Hawks began the meet in the 400-yard freestyle relay, where the RWU quartet of Benigni, AvaGrace Zettler (Allendale, N.J.), Shae Gonzales (Pottstown, Pa.), and Claire Dombrofski (West Hartford, Conn.) placed first overall with a time of 3:41.82.
In the 100-yard breaststroke, Zettler led the Hawks with a second-place finish, touching in at 1:10.83. Benigni paced Roger Williams in the 100-yard freestyle, posting the top finish with a winning time of 55.50.
Kendall Noonan (Southington, Conn.) recorded the Hawks' best finish in the 100-yard backstroke, placing second overall with a time of 1:05.95. In the 500-yard freestyle, Gonzales was back in the pool and turned in RWU's top performance, earning a second-place finish with a time of 5:25.88.
Zettler continued her strong day in the 100-yard butterfly, finishing second overall with a time of 1:02.25 to lead the Hawks. Benigni swam again for the Hawks and posted the top finish in the 50-yard freestyle, winning the event outright with a time of 24.91.
In the 100-yard individual medley, Dombrofski led Roger Williams with a fourth-place finish, recording a time of 1:05.03. Lauren Clark (Trumbull, Conn.) paced the Hawks in the 200-yard freestyle, earning a second-place finish with a time of 2:05.77.
The day concluded with the 400-yard medley relay, where RWU's top lineup of Avery Watson (Niskayuna, N.Y.), Mattia McIntyre (Norton, Mass.), Benigni, and Dombrofski finished second overall with a time of 4:10.58.
Roger Williams returns to action tomorrow Saturday, Jan. 24 at WPI for the second and final day of the Menck Invitational.
