2022-23 Northeast Conference Women's Swimming & Diving Preseason Coaches Poll                 1. CCSU (7)                 2. Wagner (2)                 3. LIU                 4. Sacred Heart                 5. Howard                 6. Saint Francis U                 7. St. Francis Brooklyn                 8. Merrimack                 9. Stonehill                 First place votes in parentheses

Somerset, NJ -- After three straight runner-up finishes at the NEC Women’s Swimming & Diving Championships, CCSU is ready to reclaim the throne.
 
The Blue Devils have been favored to finish atop the competition and claim their seventh NEC title and first since a three-year reign from 2015-17.
 
CCSU received seven first place votes, while Wagner tallied two first-place nods and landed second in the annual preseason poll. In third place was LIU, followed by Sacred Heart and Howard sitting in fourth and fifth, respectively. Saint Francis U, St. Francis Brooklyn, Merrimack and Stonehill rounded out the poll in that order. This will be the Skyhawks' first season as an NEC member as they begin their four-year DI reclassification.
 
Head coach Bill Ball, who has headlined the NEC Coaching Staff of the Year a record six times – most recently last season – over the course of his decorated 20-year career, has led his program to five championship titles and eight runner-up finishes as the Blue Devils have never finished lower than fourth at the NEC Championship. CCSU racked up a total of 721 points at the 2022 conference meet, falling just 25 points shy of the top spot.
 
Central Connecticut welcomes back a roster with great depth, including graduate student Katie Czulewicz (Norwalk, CT/Norwalk), who earned gold in the 500 free (4:55.90) and bronze in the 100 & 200 free events at last year’s NEC meet. She also took first as part of the 200 & 400 free relays and 400 medley relay. Sophomore Cassidy Stotler (New Hartford, CT/Northwest Regional) returns to the pool after placing first in the 200 individual medley (2:03.04) and 200 & 400 medley relays, and second in the 100 breaststroke at the 2022 NEC Championship. Her twin sister Kelly Stotler (New Hartford, CT/Northwest Regional) was a gold medalist in the 200 freestyle relay. Junior Shannon Welcome (Freeport, NY/Freeport) was a part of two champion relay teams in the 200 and 400 free races.
 
The Seahawks return standout grad student Ellie Eastwood (Whangarei, New Zealand/Epsom Girls Grammar School), who claimed gold medals in the 100 (1:02.00) and 200 breaststroke (2:17.17) at last year’s NEC Championship.
 
The 2023 NEC Men’s & Women’s Swimming Championships will take place from February 21 to February 25, and for the second straight year will be held 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.