By Jim Fenton
BRIDGEWATER, Mass. -- The winter athletics season at Bridgewater State University concluded on Saturday in Greensboro, N.C.
That is where record-setting junior diver Cailey Simard (Haverhill, Mass.) took part in the NCAA Division III Women's Swimming & Diving Championships.
It was back on Oct. 26 when the first BSU winter teams competed as the men's and women's swimming & diving teams took part in the Roger Williams Invitational. Twenty-one weeks later, the winter season ended with Simard diving in the nationalsin North Carolina.
The highlights of the winter season included freshman Alex Huynh (Stoughton, Mass.) and senior Serenity Sands (East Bridgewater, Mass.) earning first-team All-American honors in track & field; the women's basketball team returning to the NCAA Division III tournament for the 12th time in program history; and Simard becoming the first Bridgewater State female swimmer or diver to reach the NCAA Championships.
In addition, senior Kylie Grassi (Plymouth, Mass.) was named the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference Player of the Year for a third straight women's basketball season after becoming the Bears' all-time leading scorer, and BSU women's basketball coach Bridgett Casey joined the 400-win club.
Here's a look at the seven teams from the winter season:
WOMEN'S INDOOR TRACK & FIELD
Sands, making her fifth trip to the NCAAs, finished eighth in the high jump (five feet, 6 inches) in Rochester, N.Y.
She placed fourth in the event a year ago for first-team honors and was a second-team All-American during the 2024 outdoor season after finishing 12th.
Teammates Alison McDonough (Halifax, Mass.) and Kiara Abrantes (Somerset, Mass.) joined her at the NCAAs, competing in the 60-meter hurdles and 400, respectively, while earning second-team All-American accolades.
Abrantes broke BSU records in the 200, 400 and 500 during the season. McDonough, a graduate student, returned to school in January and had another productive season, breaking the Bears' mark in the 60-meter dash.
McDonough, Sands and Abrantes were Division III All-New England selections while Abrantes, Sands, junior Naomi Cass (Westport, Mass.) and freshman Grace Inacio (Taunton, Mass.) made the All-NEICAAA team.
MEN'S INDOOR TRACK & FIELD
Huynh made an immediate impact for the Bears, moving into the school record book in the high jump.
His jump of six feet, 8.75 inches at the NCAAs placed Huynh eighth in a field of 20 in Rochester, N.Y.
He also made the All-NEICAAA team after finishing second in the high jump, competing against athletes from all divisions.
Senior Kevin McBirney (East Bridgewater, Mass.) was a second-team All-American after finishing 16th in the 800 with a time of 1:56.02.
McBirney made the Division III All-New England team by finishing seventh in the 800.
Also earning All-NEICAAA honors were junior Kyle Ackroyd (Charlestown, R.I.) in the 5,000, sophomore Matthew Mooney (Douglas, Mass.) in the 200 and graduate student Corey Stalters (Norton, Mass.) in the shot put.
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
The Bears won the MASCAC regular-season and tournament championships, going 19-7 and 9-1 in the conference.
BSU had a seven-game winning streak early in the season and a 12-game winning streak from Jan. 11-March 1.
The Bears defeated Framingham State for the MASCAC title with junior Haley Burchhardt (Schenectady, N.Y.) scoring 26 points with six 3-pointers and 11 rebounds to earn the Most Outstanding Player Award.
BSU lost to Carnegie Mellon, 69-58, in the opening round of the NCAAs in Baltimore, Md.
Grassi broke the school record for points, held by Jenna Williamson since 2014, on Dec. 7 against UMass Dartmouth. She finished with 1,649 points, 447 rebounds, 226 assists and 203 steals.
She also owns BSU records for field goals (542) and free throws (459).
Grassi was joined on the All-MASCAC first team by graduate student Kylee Piche (Bridgewater, Mass.), who returned to school after a one-year absence and was the conference co Defensive Player of the Year.
Senior Arielle Cleveland (Groveland, Mass.) made the all-conference second team after the best season of her career.
Casey, who now has 411 wins, trails baseball coach Rick Smith and softball coach Dee Dee Enabenter on BSU's all-time list for coaching victories. Joe Farroba, in men's basketball, is also in the 400-club.
Casey reached 400 wins against Framingham State on Jan. 11.
MEN'S BASKETBALL
Junior guard Dante Kikuba (Framingham, Mass.) became the 31st player in program history to reach 1,000 points.
Kikuba did so on Feb. 5 against Framingham State and now has 1,097 points with one season left. He also broke the BSU record for assists and has 433, going past Mark Dias, who set the record of 408 in 1986.
Kikuba, who averaged 14.5 points 5.2 rebounds and 2.1 steals, and sophomore Josh Campbell (Plymouth, Mass.) made the all-conference second team. Campbell averaged 17.6 points on 50 percent shooting.
The Bears went 10-16, 5-7 in the MASCAC and lost to Framingham State, 63-60, in the first round of the MASCAC tourney.
BSU began the season 3-0 but was hit hard by injuries throughout the winter.
WOMEN'S SWIMMING & DIVING
Simard took part in the 1-meter and 3-meter diving events at the NCAAs last week after placing sixth on the 1-meter board at the Northeast/North Regionals.
She was the Little East Diver of the Year for a third straight season and has broken the conference championship meet records for both events all three years.
The Bears finished second at the Little East championship meet with Simard, graduate student Brynn Murray (Chelmsford, Mass.); seniors Jenna Fiebiger (Johannesburg, South Africa), Renee Goodale (Vineyard Haven, Mass.), Brianna Matte (Cumberland, R.I.), Summer Martin (Norton, Mass.) and Olivia Pelletier (East Kingston, N.H.); and juniors Ava Fenton (Bourne, Mass.), Julie Remson (Norwalk, Conn.) earning all-conference honors.
MEN'S SWIMMING & DIVING
The Bears finished third at the Little East Championships behind Eastern Connecticut State and Maine Maritime Academy.
Freshman Matthew Jo (Tewksbury, Mass.) was the conference Rookie Swimmer of the Year after winning the 500, 1000 and 1,650 freestyle events.
Junior Desmond Ng (Petaling Jaya, Malaysia) earned all-conference honors after setting meet records in the 200 breaststroke (2:05.26) and the 200 backstroke (1:58.01).
Along with Jo and Ng, seniors Michael Losardo (Pittsfield, Mass.) and Robbie Soucy (Frye Island, Maine); juniors Ryan McKenzie (Charlton, Mass.) and Richard Palanza (Mansfield, Mass.); and sophomores Drew Lawrence (Winchendon, Mass.) and Jirat Saengthong (Watertown, Mass.) also garnered All-Little East accolades.
WRESTLING
Senior Michael Hopkins (Swampscott, Mass.) and sophomore Vincent Player (Duxbury, Mass.) received All-Northeast Region honors for their performances.
Hopkins, at 174 pounds, finished sixth by going 3-3 at the DIII Northeast Regionals and wound up 27-16 this season, giving him 57 career wins.
Player, at 184 pounds, was also sixth at the regional championships with a 3-3 record.
Sophomore Christian Curley (Bridgewater, Mass.) was second on the team in wins, going 23-11, and led the Bears with 13 pins.