SCSU Men Claim Second-Straight, Women Third-Straight NE10 Titles.
WORCESTER, Mass. – Southern Connecticut claimed the 2023 Men's and Women's Northeast-10 Swimming & Diving titles as the championship came to a close at the WPI Sports & Recreation Center Sunday night. The women finished with 1050.5 total points, winning by over 200 points, while the men won by over 100 points with 710 total. Both SCSU teams edged Bentley in another tight race for the league title.
MEN'S RECAP
After leading, for the first three days of the 2023 Northeast 10 Conference Championships, the Southern Connecticut State University Men's Swimming & Diving team posted a final score of 710 points ,edging Bentley's 576. The Owls' 2023 title is their 15th since joining the NE10 in 2003.
Southern placed four swimmers in the top 10 in the 1,650 Yard Freestyle, including a Gold-medal finish for Dylan Prescher at 16:14.23, followed by Samir Souidi in third-placed at 16:25.38. Aiden Kennedy and Nicholas Zerva finished fifth and seventh, respectively.
Chandler Tucker, and Kobe Dominguez swept the top two spots in the 200 Backstroke, and Collin Doyle grabbed fifth, followed by Christopher Roewer in fourth in their heats. In the backstroke event, Tucker won his third Gold medal of the championships, going a perfect 3-for-3 in individual events, while adding three more in the 200, 400 and 800 Freestyle Relays. Tucker posted a time of 1:50.80 – followed by Dominguez in third at 1:55.36.
Following that race, the energized Owls continued to rack up points. First, in the 100 Yard Freestyle, Franklin Kuhn captured his sixth medal of the weekend when he finish first with a time of 45.72. Jack Fry finished first in the B- Final with a time of 47.33 . The 200 Yard Breaststroke events, McCalister Milne posted first with a time of 2:03.17. Mason Wilde also provided the last punch, finishing second at 2:08.19. Skarzynski and Fournier finished second and third with a time of 2:16.42 and 2:17.00 in their heats, respectively. In the 200 Butterfly, Henry Velazquez finished second with a time of 1:53.95, followed by, Aielllo in third at 1:53.99. Zerva finished third with a time of 2:05.45 in B-Final. The final race of the weekend was the exclamation point, Kuhn, Wilde Milne and Tucker finished first with a time of 3:03.49.
Matheus Silva completed the sweep in the diving events with a second place in the 3 Meter Diving. Silva posted a total of 435.30
For the weekend, Southern captured 25 medals, including 16 Gold, 3 Silver and 6 Bronze. Tucker and Kuhn won seven medals each while Tucker won five Gold medals, while Kuhn captured three.
McAllistar Milne of SCSU was named the Men's Most Outstanding Swimmer of the Meet after finishing first in the 500 Free, 400 IM and 200 Breaststroke, with two NCAA B-Cuts along the way. Sean Rorke of Pace won both the Men's 1-Meter and 3-Meter dives to earn Most Outstanding Diver of the Meet accolades. Christopher Roewer of SCSU took home the Elite 24 award with a 3.894 GPA in business administration.
WOMEN'S RECAP
The Southern Connecticut State University Women's Swimming & Diving team repeated as Northeast 10 Conference Champions with a convincing win against the conference field. The Owls have now five of the last five NE10 titles (2023, 2022, 2020, 2018, 2017) and 15 since the Owls joined the conference in 2003. Southern has never finished lower than second place at the NE10 Championships.
For the weekend, the Owls accounted for 30 total medals – 9 Gold, 13 Silver and 8 Bronze. Olivia Strelevitz captured a team-high six medals including Gold in the 400 and 800 Yard Freestyle Relays. Sophomore Justice Glasgow won three Gold medals, one Silver medal in the 200 Freestyle Relay and one Bronze medal in 200 Butterfly. Maddie Dean competing in her final conference championship, also had four medals, including Gold in the 400 Medley Relay, Silver in 400 Medley Relay and Bronze in 400 Medley Relay and 200 Breaststroke. Hailey Nyquist took home four medals, three Gold and one Silver.
To start the final day of the four-day event, freshman Paola Castillo finished second in the 1,650 Yard Freestyle with a time of 17:34.11. Faith Littleton and Natalia Weier finished third and fourth, respectively.
In the 200 Yard Backstroke, Olivia Strelevitz won her fifth medal of the weekend with a first-place finish for Gold with a time of 2:04.69. Brooke Keeney was close-behind in second place at 2:05.17. Marzec, Nyquist and Celmer finished fifth, sixth and eighth, respectively. Arturi then won her third medal with a second-place finish in the 100 Yard Freestyle event with a time of 53.05. Darroch in sixth at 53.78.
Lindsay McCawley won the 200 Yard Breaststroke Championship with a time of 2:23.29, finishing alongside senior Maddie Dean, who captured Bronze, with a time of 2:26.80. Jasmine Uricchio, Paola Castillo, and Justice Glasgow swept the three spots. Uricchio posted a time of 2:06.28- followed by Castillo at 2:07.27. Glasgow was close-behind at 2:10.21. In the final race of the weekend, Olivia Strelevitz, Emily Darroch, Brooke Keeney, and Ariana Arturi finished second with a time of 3:32.03
Emma Hapkiewicz and Mary Huminski of Bentley were named the Women's Most Outstanding Swimmer and Diver of the Meet, respectively. Hapkiewicz took gold in the 1,000 Free, 500 Free and 1,650 Free, setting new records in both the 1,000 and 1,650 - and made three NCAA B-Cuts. Huminski won both the 1-Meter and 3-Meter diving events, to earn Diver of the Meet for the third year in a row.
This year's Elite 24 winner for the women was Gabrielle Lupe of Saint Rose who earned a 4.0 GPA as an early childhood and childhood education major.
-Recap provided by SCSU athletic communications-
Men's Scores
1) Southern Connecticut - 710
2) Bentley - 576
3) Le Moyne - 350
4) Adelphi - 286
5) Pace - 248
6) saint Michael's - 231
7) Saint Rose - 211
Women's Scores
1) Southern Connecticut - 1050.5
2) Bentley - 796
3) Assumption - 605.5
4) Le Moyne - 438
5) Pace - 399
6) Saint Michael's - 274
7) Adelphi - 219
8) Saint Rose - 144
ABOUT THE NE10
The NE10 is an association of 13 diverse institutions serving student-athletes across 24 NCAA Division II sports. Together we build brilliant futures by embracing the journey of every student-athlete.
Each year, 4,500 of those student-athletes compete in conference championships in 24 sports, making the NE10 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 NE10 is proud of its comprehensive program and the experience it provides student-athletes.
