EAST MEADOW, N.Y. -- The LIU Brooklyn women's swimming team  scored 106 points on day three at the 2019 Northeast Conference Swimming and Diving Championships, highlighted by a bronze medal for Amanda Peren in the 100 backstroke on Friday night. The Blackbirds currently stand in 5th place with 256 points in the four-day event concluding tomorrow night at the Nassau County Aquatic Center.

Peren tied her school record in the 100 back, going 55.52 to take third place for the second consecutive year. Despite being 0.41 faster than her top seeded time, she was 0.38 off the lead pace in the final. Also in the 'A' fInal in the event was senior Nathalie Meyers, whose 57.13 time was good for eighth place in the event. Blackbirds Alyssa Juris (58.53), Lydia Amon (58.89) and Jacqueline Grabowski (1:00.23) all swam in the 'C' final.

Junior Noemie Lacroix-Moreau, a former winner of the 100 butterfly in her freshman season, placed fifth in the 2019 final with a time of 56.33. Grabowski also swam in the event (59.26) in the 'C' final.

Four-time NEC Rookie of the Week Amanda San Juan slotted seventh in the 200 freestyle final in 1:53.11. LIU had two finaliest in the 400 individual medley, Jeanne Touchette-McGowan (4:36.60) and Kyleigh Barao (4:40.86), to add to the team's point total, along with seniors Briana Vega (1:05.83, 12th) and Mads Carrigan (1:06.25, 15th) in the 100 breaststroke. Avery Vernon (1:07.76) and Mackenzie Burnett (1:08.03) swam in the 'C' final in the event.

The Blackbirds closed the night with a fourth place finish in the 400 medley relay, going a season-best 3:51.27 with the experienced foursome of Peren, Carrigan, Lacroix-Moreau and Vega.

In the morning preliminaries, Peren had the top time in th 100 backstroke, going 55.93, while Meyers slotted seventh in the race (57.09). Barao led the way in the 400 individual medley, going 4:36.93, which was her personal best time by 3.44 seconds to qualify for her first-ever 'A' final.

Junior Co-Captain Noemie Lacroix-Moreau had a strong opening in the 100 butterfly prelims, going 56.64 to place 6th going into finals. One spot below, in the 200 freestyle was Amanda San Juan (1:53.32) in seventh place. In the 100 breaststroke, LIU had two seniors, Briana Vega (1:05.35) and Mads Carrigan (1:05.60), each qualify for the 'B' final during the night session.

"The team is right where we need to be going into the final day" said Head Coach Matt Donovan. "We knew today was the hardest day of the week for us, but we have some of our best events tomorrow with the mile swim, 100 free and 200 back. Both Vega and Peren each want to improve on last year's silver medals this time."

The four-day meet will conclude on Saturday, Feb. 16, with a morning preliminary session at 10:00 a.m. followed by the 1,650 (mile) swim at 4:30 pm, just before the night session beginning at 6:00 p.m., where the last six events will be contested.

The Blackbirds have seeded swimmers in all five individual events on Saturday, including: the 1,650 freestyle (Amanda San Juan, Macie Madden), 200 backstroke (Amanda Peren, Nathalie Meyers, Jeanne Touchette-McGowan, Alyssa Juris), 100 freestyle (Briana Vega, Lydia Amon), 200 breaststroke (Mads Carrigan, Avery Vernon), 200 butterfly (Noemie Lacroix-Moreau, Kyleigh Barao), followed by the 400 freestyle relay to close out the championships.

FOLLOW LIVE
Get more info about the event (including tickets) on the NEC Championship site:
2019 Women's Swimming & Diving NEC Championship Tournament Central
Also, all four days of the 2019 Northeast Conference Swimming & Diving Championships will air live on NECFrontRow.