Southern Connecticut Sweeps Northeast-10

The Southern Connecticut State University men's and women's swimming & diving teams claimed their sixth straight Northeast-10 Championship this past weekend at the annual three-day event held in New Haven, Conn.

On the mens' side the Owls recorded 692 points to claim the championship, while Bentley University finished the championship with 441 points to finish second. Le Moyne College followed closely behind with 400 points for a third place finish, while the College of Saint Rose (346), Saint Michael's College (190) and Pace University (89) finished fourth through sixth respectively.

The Southern Connecticut women finished the championship with 904 points ahead of the championship's runner-up Le Moyne. The Dolphins had 816.5 points. Saint Rose finished in third place with 556 points followed by Bentley with 469.5 points and Saint Michael's with 295. Assumption College claimed sixth place with 251 points just ahead of Pace who finished with 237 points.

Southern Connecticut's Aaron Rocheleau (Newington, Conn.) was named the championship's most valuable men's swimmer as he went on to win two individual events and was part of three first-place relay teams.  Rocheleau won the 500 freestyle (4:40.93) and the 200 IM (1:57.56) and was part of the winning relay teams in the 200 medley (1:34.75), 800 Free (7:06.44) and the 400 medley (3:24.53).

Saint Rose's Ryan Brauer (Clifton Park, N.Y.) took home two first-place finishes as well, winning the 400 IM (4:05.92) and the 100 butterfly (52.23).  Brauer also finished second in the 500 free (4:43.55).  Le Moyne's Ricky Chidsey (Liverpool, N.Y.)also won two events as he took top honors in the 200 backstroke (1:52.52) and the 100 backstroke (51.33).  Bentley's Jon Andrews (Southbury, Conn.) was named the championships most valuable men's diver as he won both the one-meter and three-meter events.  Andrews scored 397.80 points in the one-meter and 369.20 in the three-meter event.

On the women's side, Southern Connecticut'sKristen Frost (Madison, Conn.) took home victories in the 200 backstroke (2:04.11), 50 freestyle (24.66), 100 freestyle (52.38) and the 200 butterfly (2:01.91).  She set new NE-10 records in each event and qualified for the NCAA A-Cut in the 200 butterfly.  Frost was named the championship's Most Valuable Swimmer.

Bentley's Anne Kaduboski (Dedham, Mass.) set the NE-10 record while winning the 100 butterfly with a time of 57.62.  Kaduboski also qualified for the NCAA A-cut in the event as well.  In addition she placed third in the 200 free (1:58.44) and fourth in the 100 free (55.66).  Le Moyne's Katie O'Donnell (Delmar, N.Y.) picked up two indivual victories in the 400 IM (4:38.66) and in the 100 backstroke (59.93) setting a new NE-10 record.  O'Donnell also tallied second-place finishes in the 200 backstroke (2:10.16) and the 200 IM (2:14.24).

Southern Connecticut's Amanda Burden (Orange, Conn.) was named the championships most valuable diver as she won both the one-meter and three-meter events.  Burden scored 337.25 points in the one-meter and 345.05 points in the three-meter event.

With 15 member institutions the Northeast-10 is the second largest NCAA Division II athletic conference in the nation. Its 23 championship sports provide athletic opportunities for over 5,500 student-athletes, the largest such program of any Division II conference.

Kaduboski Turns in A-Cut Performance in 200 Fly at NE-10 Championships
Sophomore Anne Kaduboski (Dedham, Mass./Dedham HS) became the first women’s swimmer in Bentley University history to post an A-cut time when she achieved the feat in the 200 yard butterfly Sunday night during the Northeast-10 Conference Women’s Swimming and Diving Championships at Southern Connecticut State’s Hutchinson Natatorium.

Kaduboski finished second in the event, behind Southern Connecticut All-America Kristen Frost, with a time of 2:04.12. That shattered her own school record by 3.33 seconds in addition to qualifying her for the NCAA Division II Championships (Mar. 11-14 in Houston). Frost’s winning time was 2:01.91.

The school record was the second of the meet for Kaduboski, who earned gold in the 100 fly Saturday night with a Bentley all-time best time of 57.62 seconds (an NCAA “B” cut).

Also on Sunday, Kaduboski finished fourth in the 100 freestyle (55.66) and helped the Falcons to a third-place showing in the 400 free relay. She teamed with senior Kristen Thuerk (Cheshire, Conn./Cheshire HS) and a pair of juniors, Erin Koslosky (Washington Depot, Conn./Shepaug Valley HS) and Carolyn Connolly (Palm Desert, Calif./Palm Desert HS), for a time of 3:48.56.

Bentley had two other fourth place finishes in Sunday’s action, sophomore Emily Travers (Brentwood, N.H./Exeter HS) in the three-meter diving (276.40) and freshman Susie Boretti (Westford, Mass./Westford Academy) in the 100 breaststroke (1:10.76).

Fourth is also where Bentley finished as a team, with a score of 495.5. The Falcons trailed repeat champion Southern Connecticut State (958), Le Moyne (839.5) and Saint Rose (563).  A total of seven teams participated.

The next action for Bentley is Jan. 4 against Plymouth State.
                   Women - Team Rankings - Through Event 40                   
 
  1. Southern CT State University        958   2. Le Moyne College Swimming         839.5
  3. The College of Saint Rose           563   4. Bentley University                495.5
  5. Saint Michael's College             308   6. Pace University                     254
  7. Assumption College                  251                                            
 
                    Men - Team Rankings - Through Event 40                    
 
  1. Southern CT State University        692   2. Bentley University                  441
  3. Le Moyne College Swimming           400   4. The College of Saint Rose           346
  5. Saint Michael's College             190   6. Pace University                      89