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East Meadow, NY -- Bryant won its first NEC Women's Swimming & Diving Championship in school history at the Nassau County Aquatic Center in East Meadow, NY. The Bulldogs took the lead on day one and continued to pile onto their point total ending the week with 793 over the four-day competition.
Wagner finished as the runner-up amassing 728 points while Saint Francis U took third with 582.5 total points.
Central Connecticut’s Maddy Garber (Milford, MA/Milford) was named the NEC Outstanding Swimmer of the Meet for the second consecutive year after dominating the breaststroke events yet again.
The Bulldogs earned three major awards with Katie Cameron collecting a Coach of the Year award. Elin Svard (Falun, Dalarna, Sweden/Hagstronska gymnasiet) was selected Rookie of the Meet after winning five gold and six medals overall. Bryant’s Chuck LoCurto and CCSU’s Dave Maliar were selected as the Co-Diving Coaches of the Year.
Also from Central Connecticut, Annemarie Durham (East Lyme, CT/East Lyme) was tabbed as the NEC Outstanding Diver of the Meet after collecting gold’s in the 1-meter and 3-meter events. Her score of 280 in the 3-meter diving event on Saturday set an NEC record.
The 1,650 freestyle race started the night’s competition with Wagner’s Maddie McNichol (Downingtown, PA/Henderson) winning her second consecutive gold in this event with a time of 17:07.50- besting her time last year. Alyssa DiFiore (Wethersfield, CT/Wethersfield) collected a silver medal posting a time of 17:14.04, and Margaret Flaherty (Middlebury, CT/Pomperaug) won bronze clocking in at 17:14.79.
The Seahawk freshman Wyeth Spike (Portland, ME/Casco Bay) won her first ever gold in the 200 backstroke at 2:00.16 to narrowly edge LIU Brooklyn’s Amanda Peren (Alexandria, VA/Thomas Edison) who earned the silver at 2:00.67. Alaina Scifo (Ipswich, GB/Lakenheath American HS) rounded out the medal stand finishing the race in 2:00.90.
Bryant’s Jillian Rice (Trumbull, CT/Saint Joseph) won her sixth gold and seventh overall medal in the 100- yard freestyle, posting the winning time of 50.07. Saint Francis U’s Katie Lafferty(Bremen, IN/Bremen) concluded what was a successful week for her totaling seven overall medals with a 50.39 time that was good for silver. LIU’s Briana Vega (Brooklyn, NY/St. Saviour) touched the wall at 50.44 for third place.
Garber concluded her collegiate career as one of the more dominating breaststroke swimmers in NEC history with seven total medals. She won gold in the 200 breaststroke with a time of 2:15.42 to edge out the field by more than two seconds. Mackenzie Lawson (Charlottesville, VA/The Covenant School) followed to claim the silver at 2:17.91, and Bryant’s Heather Wong (Ramsey, NJ/Ramsey) made the medal stand with a time of 2:18.18.
In the last individual event of the evening, Valentina Gomez (Harrisonburg, VA/Hudson Catholic) posted the winning time of 2:02.79 to win her first ever gold medal. Spike earned her second medal of the night for the Seahawks, this time a silver, touching the wall at 2:03.42. Kelli Boston (Portland, ME/Casco Bay) also collected a medal for Wagner taking the bronze in 2:04.28.
The diving competition also concluded on Saturday with the 3-meter event as CCSU’s Durham shattered the record score of 284.85 with her 288 score. Adrianna Warning (Henderson, NV/Coronado/Indian River State College) from Wagner posted a score of 252.80 through six dives that was good for a silver medal, and Bryant’s Stephanie Jennings (Elmont, NY/Elmont Memorial) garnered her second medal of the meet with a 241.95 overall score.
Bryant capped its dominating relay performance due to the efforts of Rivera, Scifo, DiFiore and Rice that clocked in at 3:26.16. LIU Brooklyn, with Jeann Touchette-McGowan (Dorval, Quebec, Canada/College Sainte Anne De Lachine), Noemie Lacroix-Moreau(Montreal, Quebec, Canada/Cegep John Abbott College), Vega and Peren finished what was a successful final day for the Blackbirds earning a silver medal with a 3:27.66 time. Wagner took bronze, with McNichol, Ida Eriksen (Sundbyberg, Sweden / Universal School), Andrea Gustafsson (Malmo, Sweden / ProCivitas Privata Gymnasium) and Kirsty Hessing (Bloomington, IL/Normal Community) that finished the race in 3:27.72.
Final Team Scores
| Bryant |
793 |
| Wagner |
728 |
| Saint Francis U |
582.5 |
| Central Connecticut |
482 |
| LIU Brooklyn |
271.5 |
| Sacred Heart |
247 |
| St. Francis Brooklyn |
223 |
| Mount St. Mary's |
174 |