Week 1 - October 17, 2023
NE10 Swimmers of the Week
Rafael Kowal, Saint Michael's College
Sophomore l Plattsburgh, N.Y.)
Kowal (Plattsburgh, N.Y.) won all seven of his events while helping the Purple Knights start the season 2-0. During the Purple Knights' 165-126 win at Pace on Oct. 7, Kowal led off for the top 200 medley relay (1:40.80) before taking the 100 backstroke (54.58), 200 backstroke (2:01.53) and 200 IM (2:03.34) races in his Saint Michael's debut. In a 127-82 victory against Bridgewater State on Saturday, Kowal led off the top 200 medley relay (1:40.37) and won the 200 freestyle (1:48.06) and 100 backstroke (54.87).
Hailey Nyquist, Southern Connecticut State
Junior | Staten Island, N.Y.
Hailey Nquist had a dominant start to the season. To date, she owns the Northeast-10's top times in the 50 Back (27.77 at UConn), 100 Back (58.40 at UConn), 100 Butterfly (59.45 at UConn), 200 Butterfly (2:15.39 at Fairfield Invitational), the second best time in the 200 Individual Medley (2:20.29 at Fairfield Invitational) and the third best time in the 100 Freestyle (57.03, at Fairfield Invitational).
NE10 Divers of the Week
Isabella Reyes, Pace
Sophomore | Miami, FL
Reyes posted an NCAA Meet Qualifying score in a first-place finish in the 1m in a duel meet against Saint Michael's College with a score of 256.
Sean Rorke, Pace
Senior l Smithtown, N.Y.
Rorke posted an NCAA Meet Qualifying score in a first-place finish in the 1m in a duel meet against Saint Michael's College with a score of 290.93
NE10 Rookies of the Week
Lucas Quiroga, Southern Connecticut State
Freshman l Brookville, Md.
First-year Owl Lucas Quiroga posted the top NE10 time of the season in the 200 Butterfly (2:01.47) while also rounding out the first two weeks of the season with five additional top-5 times including the: 500 Free (5:02.14, 2nd), 1,000 Free (10:38.17, 3rd), 500 Butterfly (56.96, 5th), 400 Individual Medley (4:43.68, 5th) and the 200 Freestyle (1:52.43, 5th).
Madeline Waldt, Saint Michael's College
Freshman | Abingdon, Md.
Waldt won all four of her individual events during the Purple Knights' first two meets. On Oct. 7 against Pace, Waldt won the 500 freestyle (5:37.18) and 1,000 freestyle (11:33.34) while aiding fourth-place finishes in the 200 freestyle relay (1:55.67), which was 0.24 seconds outside the top three, and 200 medley relay (2:04.41). During a 114-101 win over Bridgewater State on Saturday, she won the 500 freestyle (5:33.43) and 1,000 freestyle (11:18.12) while anchoring the third-place 200 freestyle relay (1:51.85), which was 0.77 seconds short of second place.
NE10 Weekly Honor Roll
Nicholle Denault, Southern Connecticut State (Sr., West Hartford, Conn.)
Against West Chester and Shippensburg, Nicholle Denault posted scores of 194.18 in the 1 Meter event and 201.30 in the 3 Meter event. At the Fairfield Invitational, she totaled 172.85 (1M) and 139.80 (3M). Against UConn, she finished with tallies of 183.23 (1M) and 174.60 (3M).
Emma St. Hilaire, Southern Connecticut State (Fr., Erving, Mass.)
St. Hilaire made an impression in her first two weeks of her collegiate career, posting the top overall and freshman time in the NE10 in 100 Breaststroke (1:11.74 at UConn), 200 Breaststroke (2:32.30 at UConn) and 400 IM (4:52.43 at UConn). She also posted the top freshman in the NE10 in the 200 Backstroke (2:19.99 at UConn, 3rd overall), 200 IM (2:22.18, at WCU, 3rd overall) and the 100 Backstroke (1:05.08 at WCU, 5th overall).
Drew Ladner, Southern Connecticut State (Jr. Fulsher, Tex.)
Ladner, a transfer from LIU Brooklyn in his first season for the Owls, posted the Northeast-10's top times, from the start of the season through Oct. 12, in the 400 Individual Medley (4:27.77), 50 Freestyle (22.44) and the 200 Freestyle (1:48.10). In addition, Ladner also posted the second best 100 Freestyle time (49.77), the third best 200 Individual Medley (2:06.10) and the fourth best 100 Backstroke time (57.33).
JT Tressel, Southern Connectictu State (Jr., Meriden, Conn.)
Against West Chester and Shippensburg, JT Tressel posted a score of 175.88 in the 1 Meter event and 178.13 in the 3 Meter event. At the Fairfield Invitational, he posted scores of 145.75 and 142.25 while at UConn he posted scores of 162.15 and 158.93.
