By Michael Ghika
The fourth and final day of the 2014 Northeast-10 Conference Swimming & Diving Championships concluded Sunday night with Assumption College claiming its first-ever women’s title, while the host Southern Connecticut State University men won the crown for the 12th time in 13 years.
Assumption, in just its seventh year of existence as a program, claimed the 2014 Northeast-10 Championship with 818 points, defeating second-place So. Connecticut by 164 points, while the Owls men totaled 914 points in their victory.
For the complete team standings, please see below.
So. Connecticut junior Raymond Cswerko earned the Men’s Swimming Championship Most Valuable Athlete honor, as he set two new conference records on Saturday and another on Sunday.
On Saturday, Cswerko shattered the conference record in the men’s 400 IM, finishing first with a time of 3:53.64 (the previous mark had been 4:00.58), before grabbing his second conference record of the night in the men’s 100 breaststroke with a time of 54.81, which also reset the pool record at Hutchinson Natatorium.
Then on Sunday, Cswerko took the men’s 200 breast in 1:59.15, setting another Northeast-10 and another Hutchinson pool record. All three of his record-setting times were good for top-six in Division II this season or better.
Cswerko was also a part of four Northeast-10 record-setting relays for the Owls, as So. Connecticut set new benchmarks in the 200 free relay (1:23.34), the 400 free relay (3:05.59), the 200 medley relay (1:31.08) and the 400 medley relay (3:20.61).
So. Connecticut freshman Christian Berg, junior Dan Elliot and sophomore Brendan Murphy combined with Cswerko to break the conference mark in both the 200 and 400 medley relays and the 400 free relay, while junior Jared Thurston combined with Murphy, Elliot and Cswerko in the 200 free relay.
Receiving the 2014 Northeast-10 Women’s Swimming Championship Most Valuable Athlete was Pace University grad student Kaitlyn Lynch, who had wins in three events. Her time of 24.17 in the 50 free set a new Northeast-10 record, and she also was victorious in the 100 fly (50.82) and the 100 back (57.06).
Bentley University sophomore Nicola Mancini claimed both the 1-meter (403.00) and 3-meter (452.50) women’s diving competitions to claim Most Valuable Diving Athlete honors of the women’s championship. Her 3-meter score set the new Northeast-10 record.
The performance makes her 4-for-4 in her Northeast-10 Championship career, as Mancini also won both events as a freshman last winter.
Le Moyne College sophomore Josh Byrne was named the Men’s Diving Championship Most Valuable Athlete after winning gold on both the 1-meter and 3-meter boards. He posted a score of 419.40 on the 1-meter on Thursday, and his 464.75 Sunday score on the 3-meter is good for fourth-best in conference championship history. Byrne was named Co-Diver individual honors at leasy year's meet.
In Sunday’s action, So. Connecticut freshman Christian Berg set a new Northeast-10 record in the morning prelims in the men’s 200 backstroke, finishing with a time of 1:50.74. Then in the evening’s finals, he took the A-final in 1:47.48, resetting the conference benchmark for the second time in less than 12 hours. The finals time also set a new pool record at Hutchinson Natatorium.
Also on Sunday, Assumption senior Monique Haney won her third event of the weekend with a time of 2:06.87 in the women’s 200 butterfly, while So. Connecticut freshman Dylan Swanepoel took the men’s A-final in 1:52.33.
Assumption junior Katherine Medeiros won the women’s 100 free in a time of 53:89, while So. Connecticut sophomore Brendan Murphy took the men’s event in 46.52.
Le Moyne sophomore Tara O’Donnell took the women’s 200 back in 2:02.70.
Assumption freshman Rachel Lanam won the women’s 1650 free with a time of 17:44.37, while Le Moyne freshman Timothy Buff took first in the men’s 1650 free in 16:21.69.
In the 400 freestyle relay, the So. Connecticut men set the Northeast-10 record with a time of 3:05.59, while the So. Connecticut women won their their A-final in 3:35.37.
Earlier Sunday afternoon in the men’s 3-meter diving finals, Byrne took the title with his score of 464.75, defeating Bentley sophomore Colton Bridge (389.50) and The College of Saint Rose junor David Genender (374.00).
The Northeast-10 Conference is an association of 15 NCAA Division II colleges and universities located in New England and New York that is committed to supporting balanced academic and athletic opportunities for more than 6,000 student-athletes. Each year, 4,000 of those student-athletes compete in conference championships in 23 sports, making the NE-10 the largest DII conference in the country in terms of sport sponsorship. Leading the way in the classroom, on the field and within the community, the Northeast-10 is proud of its comprehensive program and the experience it provides student-athletes.
2014 Northeast-10 Championship Individual Awards
Women’s Swimming Championship Most Valuable Athlete – Kaitlyn Lynch, Pace
Men’s Swimming Championship Most Valuable Athlete – Raymond Cswerko, So. Connecticut
Women’s Diving Championship Most Valuable Athlete – Nicola Mancini, Bentley
Men’s Diving Championship Most Valuable Athlete – Josh Byrne, Le Moyne
Final Women’s Team Standings
1. Assumption – 818
2. Southern Connecticut – 684
3. Bentley – 549
4. Saint Rose - 546
5. Pace – 545
6. Le Moyne - 249
7. Saint Michael’s – 230
8. Adelphi – 174
9. Merrimack – 32
Final Men’s Team Standings
1. Southern Connecticut – 912
2. Bentley – 743.5
3. Le Moyne – 591.5
4. Saint Rose – 535
5. Pace – 364
6. Adelphi – 243
7. Saint Michael’s – 206
