Garber, Gomez Named Northeast Conference Swimmer and Rookie of the Week
Blue Devils opened the season last week at St. Bonaventure
Junior Maddy Garber and freshman Valentina Gomez were named the Northeast Conference Swimmer and Rookie of the Week on Wednesday. The pair helped the Blue Devils to a strong outing last weekend on the road at St. Bonaventure on Friday and Saturday.
Garber comes off a stellar season-opening meet for CCSU against St. Bonaventure, starting with a first place finish of 1:05.21 in the 100 breaststroke. Garber also added a win in the 200 breaststroke - the event where she is the NEC defending champion - by over two seconds in 2:21.55.
She has posted the best times in the NEC this season in both events. Garber also swam the 200 individual medley in 2:11.94, good for second place. The junior had legs on CCSU's first-place 400-meter medley relay team and the winning 200 medley relay team. The Milford, MA native scored 44 points with four first place finishes and one runner-up finish over the weekend.
Gomez began her freshman season with a sizzling start in the pool. Swimming against St. Bonaventure, Gomez earned her first individual victory in her first collegiate race, winning the 200 butterfly with a time of 2:08.65. She followed with a win in the 1,000 freestyle that same night, this time touching the wall with a 13-second lead and a time of 10:32.19.
On Saturday, Gomez continued her dominance and won the 500 freestyle in 5:10.01, eight seconds ahead of the runner-up. She also swam on the winning 400 medley relay (3:56.00) team and second place 400 freestyle relay squad. Over the two-day competition, the Harrisonburg, VA native accounted for 43 points and posted NEC-best times in the 200 fly and 1,000 free.
The Blue Devils host LIU Post this Saturday, October 22 at 1 p.m.