NIAGARA UNIV., N.Y. – The Niagara swimming and diving teams prepare for a Battle of the Bridge contest against the Canisius Golden Griffins on Saturday, Jan. 19 at the Oxy Aquatic Center during Senior Day.  The meet is scheduled to begin at noon.

Last Time vs. Canisius
The Golden Griffins swept the Purple Eagles last season, taking the men’s event by a 159-84 score and dropping the women by a score of 151-92.

Shane Baxter earned first place in the 200-yard IM, and the 200-yard backstroke.  Jason Ellis  nabbed a second-place finish in the 200-yard freestyle. 

The senior trio of Lindsey Jackson,  Aubrey Kettrick and Julia Bulmahn each earned first place in their respective events.  Jackson placed first in the 200-yard IM, Kettrick won the 100-yard freestyle and Bulmahn finished tops in the 200-yard backstroke. 

The women also had strong showings from juniors Emily Kisloski and Ashley Harrington. 

Last Time In The Pool
Both the men’s and women’s team fell to the Buffalo Bull in last week’s meet.  The Purps fell by a 147-80 score in on the men’s side, and 139-96 for the women.

Lindsey Jackson, Carl Roycroft and Shane Baxter each grabbed first place finishes in their respective events during the meet.  Jackson won the 200-yard IM (2:17.62), Baxter placed first in the 100-yard backstroke (52.32), while Roycroft swam the 100-yard breaststroke in 1:01.06 (1:01.06)

Aubrey Kettrick broke her own Niagara record in the 200-yard freestyle set last season, swimming the event in 1:56.21. 

Both teams saw their relay groups nab first place. Kettrick, Emily Kisloski, Emily York and Ashley Harrington placed first in the 200-yard freestyle relay (1:44.90), clocking in at 1:44.90, while Eric Ebert,  Tyler McCrobie ,  Joshua Remaniak and Jason Ellis swam the 200-yard freestyle relay in 1:33.31 for the top spot.  

Honoring The Senior Class
The team will be honoring 11 Purple Eagles on Saturday during Senior Day.  Niagara will be losing 10 vital  members of the squad in Brian Sawma  Nick Zehr,  Julia Bulmahn, Emily Hughes,  Lindsey Jackson, Aubrey Kettrick, Megan Marcin,  Faith O'Malley,  Shannon Ronald,  Renee Parsons and Adrienne Thomas. 

Up Next For Niagara
Niagara wraps up the 2012-13 regular season with a battle against St. Bonaventure on Friday, Jan. 25.  The meet is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. at the Reilly Center pool.  

2013 Swimming & Diving MAAC Championships
For the third consecutive year, the 2013 Men’s and Women’s Swimming & Diving Championships will take place at the Burt Flickinger Center at Erie Community College in Buffalo, N.Y. with Canisius College and Niagara co-hosting the three-day event from Feb. 14-16.  Tickets are available for the event via TicketLeap.com.