Saint Joseph Takes Eighth In GNAC Championship Meet

WELLESLEY, Mass. – The University of Saint Joseph (USJ) women's swimming and diving team finished eighth of 10 schools in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Championships, held at the Boston Sports Institute in Wellesley, Mass. this past weekend.

The Blue Jays fought hard all weekend long despite being met with some of the best competition the GNAC has seen. USJ was able to pull off some solid performances despite the odds. Senior captain Shelby Cios (Rocky Hill, Conn.) once again rose to the occasion with a pair of top 10 swims to score 29 key points (50 and 200 Breaststroke respectively). Cios finished the 50 Breaststroke in 34.45 seconds, as less than a second separated fourth through eighth (Cios' finishing position). Freshman Gabriela Targonska (Newington, Conn.) impressed as well with a ninth-place finish in the 100 Backstroke in 1:05.95 (14 points).

Similar to the men though, the story was on the diving board, as senior captain Brielle Bergeron (Easthampton, Mass.) broke the school record in the 3-Meter dives, with an overall score of 322.85, nearly 20 points clear of her own record, set nearly three years earlier to the day (Feb. 3, 2019).

Saint Joseph kept its heads held high in this one scoring 277 points and finishing in eighth out of 10 schools. Roger Williams claimed victory with 1,247 points, while the Sharks of Simmons rallied on the final day to take back second overall (654 points), just four points ahead of the University of New England in third (650).

COACH QUOTE [Brenda Straker] "The Women were small because of a number of factors, but with the group who competed, there was personal bests across the board. Brielle Bergeron led the way with a school record, and ALL GNAC status finishing second on the 3-meter board. Resilience and finishing strong was the theme for this strong group of swimmers and divers."

The Blue Jays broke eight school records on the weekend (one on the women's side), and 14 members of the teams qualified for the upcoming NEISDA Championships (five on the women's side).

UP NEXT
The Blue Jays will now have two-plus weeks to prepare for the season finale, the NEISDA Championships, which will be held Thursday, February 24 through Sunday, February 27, at the Tootell Aquatics Center in Kingston, R.I. Head to usjbluejays.com to catch all the action!

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