Swim & Dive Wins Tri-Meet on Senior Day
The Blue Devils topped NEC foes Sacred Heart (161-90) and St. Francis Brooklyn (165-105) on Saturday in New Britain, CT.
The Central Connecticut swimming and diving team celebrated senior day on Saturday with a win over NEC foes Sacred Heart (161-90) and St. Francis Brooklyn (165-105). The Blue Devils placed first in 14 of the 16 events and will meet the two squads again for the NEC Championships on Feb. 19-22.
Prior to the start of the meet, CCSU's five seniors, including Kasey Chilton, Kristina Gulia, Kathryn Kiely, Erin Massey and Kellen Power were honored by their coaches and teammates.
The Blue Devils kicked off Saturday's races with a one-two finish in the 400 yard medley relay with times of 4:02.81 and 4:05.78. The first squad was made up of Gulia, junior Kaylin Sylvester and freshmen Christine Rasile and Sabree Thomas. The runner-ups consisted of Power, junior Karen Novak, sophomore Alaina Papiro and freshman Stephanie Czulewicz.
Central claimed the top two spots in five more events throughout the day.
In the 200 yard freestyle, Rasile and Power placed first and second. Rasile led the field with her time of 1:58.16 and was followed by Power in a season-best time of 2:00.39.
Czulewicz and Sylvester finished back-to-back in the 100 backstroke. The pair registered times of 1:01.49 and 1:03.70, respectively with Czulewicz earning a new career-best time en route to her victory.
In the 100 yard breaststroke, Gulia earned the win with her time of 1:07.48. She placed just in front of Papiro, who touched the wall in 1:09.40.
Thomas won the 200 yard butterfly, setting a new career-best time of 2:11.44, and was followed by fellow freshman Lisa Ward who also set a new career-best time. Ward touched the wall in 2:14.42, good for second place.
The Blue Devils also claimed the top two spots in the 1-meter diving event. Junior Kaitlyn Dwyer won with a season-best score of 228.50 and was followed by five-time 2013-14 NEC Diver of the Week Jessica Goldman. Goldman finished second, tallying a score of 224.40.
Dwyer's 1-meter score shatters her previous season-best of 214.65.
From the 3-meter board, Goldman finished with a win, registering 237.35 points.
Sophomore Reyna Zascirinskis posted a career-best time of 10:58.89 in the 1,000 yard freestyle event, claiming her first collegiate victory in the race.
Other gold-medal performances for the Blue Devils include Rasile's time of 53.64 in the 100 free, Czulewicz's 2:13.18 in the 200 back, Gulia's 2:25.97 in the 200 breast, Kiely's 5:14.45 in the 500 free, Thomas' 2:14.86 in the 200 IM and Power's time of 1:00.39 in the 100 fly.
Central capped off the successful day of competition fielding a team of seniors for the 400 yard freestyle relay. The foursome, consisting of Massey, Power, Kiely and Chilton, touched the wall in 3:44.90.
The Blue Devils are set to return to action on Saturday, Feb. 1 at Wagner. The meet is scheduled to begin at 2 p.m.
