FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 9, 2014
Pace’s Lynch, So.
Connecticut’s Cswerko, Bentley’s
Mancini, Le Moyne’s Byrne collect Most Valuable Athlete
honors
NEW HAVEN, Conn. – 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 last 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
LINKS: DAY 3 RECAP | DAY 2 RECAP | DAY 1 RECAP | PROGRAM | EVENT SCHEDULE | RECORDS | PHOTO GALLERY | NIKE
– #NE10 –