Anton sets backstroke record to lead PSU Swimmers at New England Championships

WALTHAM, Mass. - Sophomore Cait Anton (Woolwich, Maine) broke her own school record twice and finished runner-up in the 200-yard backstroke Friday to highlight Plymouth State University's performance on Day One of the New England Women's Swimming and Diving Championships, hosted by Bentley College.

The Panthers as a team have scored 55 points and are in 11th place among 22 schools in the three-day event.  Bentley leads the standings with 320 points, with Brandeis second (261) and Keene State third (209).

Anton (left), who set PSU's 200-yard backstroke record at last year's New England Championships with a time of 2:19.24, which was good for fifth place, broke the standard in Friday's preliminaries with clocking of 2:18.42. She qualified for the finals in sixth place, then cruised home with a blistering 2:14.81 in the finals to smash the school record and finish runner-up in the race. Anton also swam the backstroke leg of PSU's 10th-place 400-yard medley relay team, which included sophomore Katie Bouffard (Essex Jct., Vt.) and freshmen Erin Musto (Westford, Mass.), and Melissa Walczak (Farmington, Conn.)

The other top PSU individual performances came from sophomore Danielle DeStefano (Centerville, Mass.), who placed 12th in the one-meter diving (248.00 points), and freshman Christina DiGiacomo (Meriden, Conn.), who finished 16th in the 500-yard freestyle (season-best 5:50.30).

The competition continues Saturday and Sunday with preliminaries in the morning and afternoon and finals in the evening.

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