Lexington, Va. – Freshman diver Ember Stennett earned a silver medal and the 800 freestyle relay team took bronze as the UMBC women's swimming and diving team opened up the competition in the 2024 America East Conference Swimming and Diving Championships.

The quartet of Bruna de Padua, Megan Gangaway, Nyah Stahl and Roaa Farag dropped 7.68 seconds from their entry time and posted a mark of 7:36.95 to nip Bryant (7:29.74) for a spot on the podium. de Padua got the Retrievers off to a great start, turning in a time of 1:49.89 on the first 200 yards.

Stennett set a VMI pool record in the afternoon's 1-meter board preliminary round. She amassed 262.60 points and was the top qualifier for the finals. In the finals, Bryant's Megan
Beasley surpassed Stennett's mark at 265.45 and the Retriever freshman needed an outstanding final dive to hold off Vermont's Tannah Proudfoot (253.73-252.00) for second place.

Stennett and her teammates will be competing on the 3-meter board on Thursday and there will be four other swimming events also on the docket.