BRISTOL, R.I. - Roger Williams University's women's swimming team faced a tough test Saturday in a tri-meet with the U.S. Coast Guard Academy and Montclair State University, falling 201–79 to Coast Guard and 226–60 to Montclair State.
The Hawks' top performance of the afternoon came from Alexis Gentile (Wayne, N.J.), who captured the 500-yard freestyle in 5:12.67. Gentile controlled the race from the middle splits on, pulling away down the stretch to give Roger Williams its lone event victory of the meet.
Roger Williams also found the podium in the 200 butterfly, where Kallie Fournier (Berkley, Mass.) placed third in 2:23.15. Fournier's swim stood out in a competitive field and marked one of the Hawks' strongest stroke performances of the day.
Distance events provided additional scoring depth. Lauren Clark (Trumbull, Conn.) (12:09.02) and Natalie Herl (Rocklin, Calif.) (12:14.51) finished fifth and sixth, respectively, in the 1,000 freestyle, while Kendall Noonan (Southington, Conn.) added a sixth-place effort in the 500 freestyle in 5:54.58.
In sprint and middle-distance races, Claire Dombrofski (West Hartford, Conn.) led the Hawks with a 2:05.53 in the 200 freestyle and later touched in 57.60 in the 100 freestyle. Avery Benigni (Meriden, Conn.) contributed across multiple events, finishing fourth in the 50 freestyle (25.82) and adding a fourth-place swim in the 100 butterfly (1:03.86).
Roger Williams also scored valuable points in backstroke and IM events. Shae Gonzales (Pottstown, Pa.) recorded times of 1:06.36 in the 100 backstroke and 2:21.64 in the 200 backstroke, while AvaGrace Zettler (Allendale, N.J.) posted a 2:24.31 in the 200 individual medley and 2:40.06 in the 200 breaststroke.
The Hawks opened the swimming portion of the meet with a 1:58.11 effort in the 200 medley relay and continued to battle throughout the lineup, using the competition as preparation for the upcoming championship phase of the season.
Roger Williams will next take part in the NJAC Championships beginning on Thursdyay, Feb. 12 through Sunday, Feb. 15 in Hampton, Va.
