By Jim Fenton
BRIDGEWATER, Mass. -- Bridgewater State University is returning to the ECAC Open Swimming & Diving Championships for the first time in nearly a decade.
The Bears are sending seven men and seven women to the event, to be held at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md. The meet begins Friday, Feb. 28 and concludes Sunday, March 2.
The last time BSU participated in the ECACs was at the end of the 2015-16 season. Freshman Jameson Rose competed in the 50 freestyle, the 100 backstroke and the 200 backstroke in addition to being part of the medley relay team with Robert McDougall, Eric Ford and Max Medina.
The Bears are making a return trip to Lejeune Hall, on the campus of the Naval Academy, to go against mostly Division I men's and women's schools at the end of the season.
"It's a great way for us to show what our program is about," said BSU men's and women's coach Michael Caruso, whose team leaves on Thursday. "Any time you get an opportunity to participate in the postseason, it's really good.
"It helps you with recruiting, with long-term stability for the program. It's exciting for the student- athletes. They really, really love this opportunity."
The men's team members participating include seniors Michael Losardo (Pittsfield, Mass.) and Thomas Roch (Chelmsford, Mass.) juniors Desmond Ng (Petaling Jaya, Malaysia), Ryan McKenzie (Charlton, Mass.), Richard Palanza (Mansfield, Mass.) and Cooper Sever (Edgewater, Md.) plus sophomore Jirat Saengthong (Watertown, Mass.).
The women's team will be represented by graduate student Brynn Murray (Chelmsford, Mass.), seniors Jenna Fiebiger (Johannesburg, South Africa), Renee Goodale (Vineyard Haven, Mass.), Summer Martin (Norton, Mass.) and Olivia Pelletier (East Kingston, N.H.) plus juniors Ava Fenton (Bourne, Mass.), Julie Remson (Norwalk, Conn.).
Ng is coming off an outstanding performance at the recent Little East Championships.
He broke conference meet records in winning the 200 backstroke (1:58.01) and the 200 breaststroke (2:05.26) in addition to finishing second in the 400 individual medley (4:10.52).
A transfer from Sacramento State University, Ng has been the Little East Swimmer of the Week twice and the Rookie of the Week four times.
"What has surprised us about him is how humble he is," said Caruso. "He's just a humble kid that really cares about his teammates and it's fun to see that."
McKenzie enters the ECACs after placing second in the 100 breaststroke (59.50) at the Little East meet.
Saengthong took third in the 50 butterfly and Losardo was third in the 1,650 at the conference meet.
For the women, Remson posted a victory at the Little East Championships in the 50 backstroke with a time of 28.21 seconds and was second in the 100 backstroke, just missing the school record with a time of 1:01.57.
"She had an awesome championship meet," said Caruso. "She's the first woman here to win an individual swimming title at the Little East. She works really hard and still has a lot of goals to achieve."
Fiebiger had two second-place performances (100 freestyle and 50 freestyle) and was third in the 50 butterfly at the Little East meet.
"She is having an incredible finish to her career," said Caruso. "She's just an absolute joy to coach. She's a wonderful teammate who is a really aggressive sprinter."
Fenton (100 butterfly) and Murray (200 freestyle) placed third at the Little East while the medley relay team of Martin, Fiebiger, Remson and Fenton broke a 17-year-old school record with a time of 4:11.08 to finish third at the Little East.
"This meet is a reward for their efforts," said Caruso. "We had 105 season-best swims out of 113 (at the Little East). Our numbers were pretty phenomenal -- 97 lifetime bests. That's a staggering number. We're very proud of what they accomplished at that meet.
"They were team-first at all times. They kept a strong, positive attitude all weekend. It was probably one of the best championship meets I've been a part of as a head coach and that includes championship seasons.
"At the end of the meet when you looked at the teams on the deck getting awards and the celebrations, you'd have thought our team won both meets. It was all about team.
"Now, a couple extra weeks with them is fun. You're extending a very, very fun, very exciting season."
There are nearly two dozen teams competing in both the men's and women's events at Navy.
The ECACs open Friday and Saturday at 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. with the competition taking place at 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. on Sunday.
The Navy men have won 10 straight ECAC titles while the Navy women have been champions two years in a row.