2022-23 Northeast Conference Men's Swimming & Diving Preseason Coaches Poll                 1. LIU (2)                 2. Howard (2)                 3. St. Francis Brooklyn                 4. Wagner                 First place votes in parenthes

Somerset, NJ -- There may be some-fin special brewing in Brooklyn.
 
Looking to capture its first NEC crown, LIU was tabbed the favorite to take home the 2022-23 NEC Men’s Swimming and Diving Championship trophy, but it won’t come easy.
 
The Sharks split four first place votes with Howard, but narrowly edged out the Bison for the number one spot in the annual preseason poll as voted upon by NEC head coaches. St. Francis Brooklyn took third in the rankings, followed by Wagner in fourth to round out the poll.
 
Head coach, Bobby Smith returns to campus for his second year leading a rising Sharks’ program that comes off a third-place finish at last year’s six-team NEC Championship. Junior Alejandro Pascual Del Cid (Madrid, Spain/IES Ortega Gasset) is a swimmer to watch after taking gold in the 50 freestyle (20.30), setting a personal best at last year’s conference meet. Junior Marcell Matyikó (Veszpén, Hungary/Lovassy László Gimnásium) is also expected to play a pivotal role as a returning gold medalist in the 400 individual medley (4:01.32) and silver medalist in the 200 butterfly (1:51.51). The 2021 NEC Men’s Swimming and Diving Rookie of the Meet, Daniel Chocano Fernandez (Madrid, Spain/IES Ortega Gasset), returns to the pool for his third season after earning bronze medalist status last season in both the 500 freestyle (4:33.41) and the 400 individual medley (4:02.32).
 
Howard will have 2021-22 NEC Winter Scholar-Athlete of the Year Luke-Kennedy Thompson (Nassau, Bahamas) back for his senior year to lead a deep and talented squad. Thompson placed first and set a school and NEC meet record in the 500 freestyle (4:29.0), and earned a silver medal in both the 1650 freestyle (15:50.28) and 400 individual medley (4:02.06) as part of a 54-point performance in Geneva, OH last season. Joining Thompson is classmate Mark-Anthony Beckles (Chaguanas, Trinidad & Tobago), who took gold at the NEC Championship in the 100 butterfly (48.84) and second in the 100 freestyle (44.40). Miles Simon (Atlanta, GA) will return to campus after standing atop of the podium in the 200 individual medley (1:49.55) at Spire Institute a year ago. Recently inducted into the Howard Athletic Hall of Fame, head coach and HU alum Nicholas Askew will seek the program’s first conference crown following a 2022 runner-up finish that netted him and his assistant NEC Coaching Staff of the Year honors.
 
The 2023 NEC Men’s & Women’s Swimming Championships will take place from February 21 to February 25 at Spire Institute in Geneva, OH.
  
About The Northeast Conference
Now in its 42nd season, the Northeast Conference is an NCAA Division I collegiate athletic association consisting of nine institutions of higher learning located throughout six states. Media coverage of the NEC extends to a number of the largest markets in the United States including New York (#1), Boston (#9), Hartford/New Haven (#33) and Providence (#53). Founded in 1981 as the basketball-only ECAC Metro Conference, the NEC has grown to sponsor 24 championship sports for men and women and now enjoys automatic access to 15 different NCAA Championships. NEC member institutions include Central Connecticut, Fairleigh Dickinson, LIU, Merrimack, Sacred Heart, St. Francis Brooklyn, Saint Francis U, Stonehill and Wagner. For more information on the NEC, visit the league’s official website official website (www.northeastconference.org) and digital network (www.necfrontrow.com), or follow the league on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Instagram and TikTok, all @NECsports.