NEC Championships Day Two Coverage

Central Connecticut State Maintains Leads After Day Two Of 2009 NEC Swimming and Diving Championships
Central Connecticut State maintained its first-place standing after the second day of the 2009 NEC Swimming and Diving Championships as the Blue Devils captured another six events to total 365 points. Wagner remained in second with 347 points, followed by Saint Francis (PA) in third (271) and Sacred Heart in fourth (150). Bryant moved into fifth with 126 points, as Mount St. Mary’s (97) and St. Francis (NY) (83) round out the field of seven.

CCSU started the night with a victory in the 200 yard medley relay as the combination of Alex Czaplicki (North Haven, CT/North Haven), Kristen Malski (Stratford, CT/Laurlton Hall), Megan McGorry (West Haven, CT/West Haven) and Erin Crowley (Plainville, CT/Plainville) touched in at 1:46.73, narrowly edging out Wagner. The Seahawks’ Jakki Guenther (South Hadley, MA/South Hadley), Bethny Brown (Enfield, CT/Ennco Fermi), Jessica Hart (Summerfield, NC/Northwest) and Lindsey Rodgers (Anaheim Hills, CA/Canyon) finished with a time of 1:47.18, while Saint Francis (PA) captured third place as Elise Merrill (Carlisle, PA/Big Spring), Elyse Peterman (Lock Haven, PA/Central Mountain), Elyse Dobrick (Zelienople, PA/Seneca Valley) and Angela Marino (Hollidaysburg, PA/Hollidaysburg Area) clocked in at 1:49.28.

The Blue Devils continued their success as McGorry and senior Heather Vendetta (South Windsor, CT/South Windsor) took first and second place, respectively, in the 400 IM. McGorry finished in 4:29.55 to earn her second individual victory of the meet and Vendetta touched the wall at 4:32.68, while Saint Francis (PA)’s Kristen Low (Mississauga, Ontaro/Cawthra Park SS) took home the bronze with a time of 4:40.04.

Wagner’s Hart, who set a new Northeast Conference record and pool record in the 100 fly during the preliminary round (54.07), continued her dominance in the event as she won the final with a time of 54.23, besting the field by over four seconds. Hart’s prelim time also met the NCAA B standard. Sacred Heart’s Katie Marshall (Cumberland, RI/Saint Mary Academy-Bay View) finished with the silver (58.68), while Abi May (Pittsburgh, PA/Shaler Area) of Saint Francis (PA) took third in 59.24.

CCSU’s Crowley, the defending champion in the 200 free, eclipsed her mark from a year ago (1:52.31) as she swam the event in 1:51.45 to take home the gold for the second consecutive year. WC’s Chelsea Beck (Reading, PA/Wilson) earned the silver with a time of 1:53.82 and CCSU’s Kandra Kane (Coram, NY/Newfield) rounded out the top three by clocking in at 1:54.19. Picking up the Blue Devils’ fourth win of day two was sophomore Alyssa Carlucci (Danbury, CT/Danbury) in the 100 breaststroke (1:06.37). The Seahawks’ Brown earned her second silver medal of the day with a second-place time of 1:06.86, while CCSU’s Malski captured third in 1:07.10.

The 100 backstroke saw CCSU’s Czaplicki capture her second gold medal of the 2009 NEC Swimming and Diving Championships as she clocked in at 1:06.37. WC’s Guenther took the number-two spot in 58.44, while SFPA’s Merrill finished in third place (58.66). Winning the final event of day two, the 800 yard freestyle relay, was the CCSU quartet of McGorry, Kane, Czaplicki and Crowley with a time of 7:32.99.

Placing second (7:46.88) was WC’s squad of Beck, Sarah Plucinsky (Allentown, PA/Allentown Central Catholic), Lauren French (Colmar, PA/North Penn) and Alexandra Tomlinson (Telford, PA/Souderton) and racing for the bronze medal was Saint Francis (PA)’s Melissa Heintz (Boyertown, PA/Oley Valley), Jessica Dunn (Bristow, VA/Seton School), McKenzie Madore (State College, PA/State College) and Kaitlin MacDonald (Olney, MD/Academy of the Holy Cross), clocking in at 7:59.52. The final day of the 2009 NEC Swimming and Diving Championships will begin tomorrow, February 14, at 10:00 am.

CCSU Swimming Holds 18 Point Lead Heading Into Final Day at NECs
The Central Connecticut swimming and diving team won six of seven events, but lost ground to second place Wagner as the Blue Devils lead 365-347 after day two at the Northeast Conference Championships at Yale University.  CCSU heads into final day action with an opportunity to match last year’s record of winning 18 of 20 events in competition at the conference championship meet.

Erin Crowley won her second event of the meet, taking first in the 200 freestyle with a time of 1:51.02.  Kandra Kane took third in the event, touching in at 1:54.10 to score 12 points for the Blue Devils.

Alyssa Carlucci came from behind in the 100 breaststroke to win gold, recording a time of 1:06.37.  Kristen Malski and Shauna Lynch also scored points in the 100 breast.  Malski took third in 1:07.10, while Lynch was eighth, touching in at 1:12.16.

Alex Czaplicki won for the second time on the weekend, taking the 100 backstroke in a time of 57.79.  Kelly Kreho garnered three points in the event, placing 10th in a time of 1:02.36.

Megan McGorry and Heather Vendetta finished first and second in the 400 IM.  McGorry timed in at 4:29.55 for her second victory of the championships, while Vendetta recorded a time of 4:32.68 to place second.

Both CCSU relays took home gold on Friday evening.  The team of Czaplicki, Malski, McGorry and Crowley placed first in the 200 medley relay, touching in at 1:46.73.  The victorious 800 freestyle relay team of McGorry, Kane, Czaplicki and Crowley set a pool record with a time of 7:32.99.

Central will finish competition Saturday in final day action of the NEC Championships with preliminaries beginning at 10:00 a.m. and finals to start at 6:00 p.m. at Yale University.

O'Connell Places Fifth In 100 Fly To Help Women's Swimming To Sixth After Second Day At NEC Swimming & Diving Championships
Maggie O’Connell (Hagerstown, Md.) finished fifth in the 100 fly to help the Mount St. Mary’s women’s swimming team move up to sixth place after the second day at the Northeast Conference (NEC) Swimming & Diving Championships on Friday.

O’Connell posted her fourth Top-8 finish in her career at the NEC Championships and the best finish in the team’s three-year history with her fifth-place standing in the 100 fly (59.83) to give the Mountaineers 10 points. The junior finished seventh in the 100 fly in her freshman year and then placed eighth in the 100 fly and 200 fly last year in the championships.

O’Connell also swam the third leg of the 200-medley relay (1:57.08) that placed seventh to earn 18 points for the team. Paige Chenet (Berwyn, Pa./Conestoga) and Elise Radziwill (Cherry Hill, N.J./Cherry Hill) swam the first two legs and Courtney Gaddi (Silver Spring, Md./Our Lady of Good Counsel) wrapped up the relay team’s seventh-place standing.

Mary Beth Kasda (Woodbine, Md./Glenelg) finished 11th in the 100 breast (1:14.59) to pick up two points for Mount St. Mary’s and also finished 13th in the 400 IM (5:01.29). Heather Kurtzman (Bel Air, Md./Bel Air) earned a point for the Mount with her 12th-place finish in the 400 IM (4:57.68) and also finished 14th in the 100 back (1:05.89). Eileen Coyne (Haddonfield, N.J./Haddonfield Memorial) also notched a point for the team, finishing 12th in the 100 back (1:05.76)

Jeanne Marie Benedetti (Olney, Md./Our Lady of Good Counsel), Kasda, Chenet and Gaddi teamed up to place seventh in the 800-free relay (8:12.69) to earn 18 points for the team. Gaddi also finished 13th in the 200 free (2:00.45) and Chenet placed 18th in the event (2:06.36).

Central Connecticut State continues to lead the three-day event with a score of 347 while Wagner (347), Saint Francis (Pa.) (271), Sacred Heart (150), Bryant (126), Mount St. Mary’s (97) and St. Francis (N.Y.) (83) round out the seven-team field.

The Mount has posted two Top-6 finishes in the championships this year. Along with O’Connell’s fifth-place standing in the 100 fly, Katie Fives (Silver Spring, Md./Academy of Holy Cross) placed sixth in the 1-meter dive on Thursday.

Mount St. Mary’s returns to the pool on Saturday on the final day of the NEC Swimming & Diving Championships. Preliminaries start at 10 a.m.