NORTH DARTMOUTH, MASS 2/20/09 - The Keene State College women's swim team leads the 21-team field following the first day of competition at the New England Intercollegiate Swimming and Diving Association (NEISDA) Championships taking place at the Tripp Athletic Center pool on the campus of UMass-Dartmouth.

The defending champion Owls has 330 points after nine events.  Bentley College is second with 303 points.

KSC Coach Jack Fabian was delighted with the teams' performance on Friday.  "Were usually behind after the first day, so that's a good sign," he said.  "The team spirit is tremendous, but they know we have a long way to go.

Keene State, which won six of the nine races, set five school records, posted three NCAA Championship provisional times, and established three pool marks on Friday. 

The team of juniors Kristine Trutor (Holden, Mass.), Jackie Foster (Bedford, N.H.), Alea Paddock (Newbury, N.H.) and freshman Jillian Whitaker began the meet by setting a KSC record with their first place finish in the 200 free relay (1:39.65). 

Foster followed with a school and pool record in the 500 free. Her time of 5:06.77 was an NCAA championship provisional qualifying mark.

Trutor joined the Owl record parade, winning the 200 back with a pool mark and NCAA provisional qualifying time of 2:07.47. In the next race, Whitaker won the 50 free with a time of 24.95.

Paddock broke her school record with her first place performance in the 200 I.M. (2:13.65) The team of freshman Maureen O'Leary (Nashua, N.H.), Trutor, Paddock, and Whitaker concluded the day by setting a KSC and pool record  and recording an NCAA provisional qualifying time (3:57.68) with their victory in the 400 medley relay.

Other top finishes for the Owls were posted by sophomore Jackie Laidley (Brockton, Mass.) who was third in the 500 free (5:16.74), O'Leary, who was second in the 100 fly (58.61), freshman Meghan Wilson (Torrington, Conn.) who placed third in the 50 breast (32.08), sophomore Bridget Kline (Norwalk, Conn.), who was third in the 200 back (2:16.34), and senior Rose Harrington (South Orleans, Mass.) who finished sixth in the 200 I.M. (2:23.51).