Swimming and Diving Wins 2015 NEC Championship

The Central Connecticut swimming and diving team won the 2015 Northeast Conference Swimming and Diving Championships on Saturday at MIT's Zesiger Sports and Fitness Center in Cambrige, MA. The Blue Devils scored 301 points on the final day of competition to secure the victory over Wagner 837-813.

2015 NEC Swimming & Diving Championships Team Results
CCSU: 837
WC: 813
BRY: 587
SFU: 436
MSM: 276
SHU: 234
SFBK: 161

The title marks the fourth NEC Championship in program history for the Blue Devils and the first since they won back-to-back championships in the 2008 and 2009 seasons. CCSU's other championship came during the 2001 campaign.

The Blue Devils took three gold medals in seven events on the fourth and final day of competition. Two of the three first place finishes broke NEC meet and school records.

Sophomore Christine Rasile earned the first gold medal of the day for CCSU in the 100 free finals. Rasile clocked in a time of 51.15 to defend her 100 free title from a year ago. Her younger sister, freshman Lauren Rasile, joined her on the podium recording a third place finish with a time of 51.94. Classmate Lauren Czulewicz also recorded a top-five finish in the event. Czulewicz touched the wall at 52.38 to pick up a fifth place overall finish.

Freshman standout swimmer Maddy Garber broke the NEC, school and freshman record in the 200 breaststroke finals with a blistering NCAA b-cut qualifying time of 2:13.37. It marked the second time at the 2015 championships that she accomplished this feat. The time was 2.95 seconds faster than the previous NEC record and 2.33 seconds faster than the school record she set earlier this season. Garber's performances throughout the week earned her the NEC Rookie of the Meet award.

In the final event of the night, the 400 free relay, the Blue Devils team of Lauren Rasile, Lauren Czulewicz, Christine Rasile and senior Helene Neuhaus topped the field in record breaking fashion to clinch the NEC title. The team combined to finish with a time of 3:24.55, breaking the NEC meet record and smashing the CCSU school record.

Neuhaus also picked up a runner-up finish in the 200 back finals for the Blue Devils. The senior broke the CCSU school record and recorded a NCAA b-cut qualifying time after she clocked in at 1:58.84. She was joined on the podium by sophomore Stephanie Czulewicz who finished third overall with a time of 2:01.49.

Sophomore Sabree Thomas led the way for the Blue Devils in the 200 meter butterfly. Thomas touched the wall at 2:06.71 to record a sixth place finish.

In the 3-meter dive finals, senior Kaitlyn Dwyer took the silver after recording a score of 231.45 in her six dive attempts. Junior Kaitlyn Beaver also finished in the top-five in the event. Beaver dove to a score of 216.65 to earn a fifth place overall finish.

The Blue Devils also picked up some other hardware on the night. Head Coach Bill Ball was named the 2015 NEC Coach of the Year and first-year Diving Coach Anthony Cortright was tabbed the 2015 NEC Diving Coach of the Year in a vote amongst the league's coaches.