FULL MEET RESULTS


Boston, MA - For the first time in program history, the Wagner College swimming & diving team has been crowned Northeast Conference (NEC) Swimming & Diving Champions.

The Seahawks scored 844 team points, the first team to break the 800 barrier since 2003 and only the fourth team since the first championship in 1999. 

The well-deserved accomplishment comes just one year after the Seahawk squad placed a respectable second at the 2013 Swimming & Diving Championships.

In addition to the overall title, Wagner head coach Colin Shannahan earned Coach of the Year, while freshman Anu Nihipali swept the individual swimmer awards, earning Rookie of the Meet and Outstanding Swimmer of the Meet. This marks the second year the trio of honors have been awarded to Wagner.

The Seahawks proved to be the team to beat throughout Championships, holding a considerable lead over the seven-team field after each night of competition.

Wagner also posted incredible results event after event, earning the championship titles for the the 100-yard backstroke, the 200-yard backstroke, the 200-yard medley relay, the 200-yard individual medley, the 400-yard individual medley, the 500-yard freestyle, the 1650-yard freestyle, the 400-yard medley relay, the 400-yard freestyle relay, and the 800-yard freestyle relay, while also posting a bevy of impressive season-best and personal-best times.

After all was said and done, the Green & White set 15 school records in 19 events, and medaled at least one athlete in 18 events, an incredible accomplishment for any swimming & diving program.

In the first event of the final night of competition, the 1650-yard freestyle, Grace Baird not only clinched the championship title, but also trampled the school record, which has stood since 2005, touching in with a time of 16:53.17. The win marked Baird's second individual event championship title, the first of which was the 500-yard freestyle event. Maggie Shaw finished fourth in the event, while Alexandra Cooney secured eighth-place.

Baird's 1000-yard split during the 1650-yard freestyle also set the school record for the 1000-yard event, which had also stood since 2005.

In the 200-yard backstroke event, Anu Nihipali captured her third individual championship title, while also setting the school and conference record with a time of 1:59.38. Nihipali also earned the championship title in the 100-yard backstroke and the 200-yard individual medley. Not only did Nihipali set a new NEC mark of 53.42 in the 100-yard backstroke, the freshman earned a spot in the NCAA B-Qualifier.Teammate Kara Lacoste took fourth in the event.

Sarah Menendez earned the silver in 'A; final of the 100-yard freestyle event, while fellow senior Meredith Ketchmark took home the bronze.

In a photo finish, Michelle Greenough took the gold in the 'B' final of the 200-yard breaststroke event, snatching the victory from Central Connecticut State University's Alaina Papiro by .43 of a second.

Kelsey Thomas finished with the bronze in the 'A' final of the 200-yard breaststroke event, while also tabbing the school record with a time of 2:20.42. Freshman Katja Claesson earned fifth overall.

For the final individual event, the 200-yard butterfly, Amanda Lucia took home the hard-earned silver, having been out-touched by .31 seconds by Mount St. Marys' Erin Regan. Malone earned the eight-spot overall.

Contributing to Wagner's point tally were divers Erica Curry and Mallory Lee, whose terrific performances during the three-meter board final earned them third and sixth-place, respectively.

In the final event of the 2014 NEC championships, the 400-yard freestyle relay, Wagner's Menendez, Sides, Ketchmark, and Nihipali took the gold , finishing the relay with a school record-setting time of 3:26.59.

With championships having drawn to a close, the final standings are as follows:

1. Wagner College - 844
2. Bryant - 643.5
3. Central Connecticut State - 628
4. Saint Francis U - 574
5. Mount St. Mary's - 284.5
6. St. Francis College - 180
7. Sacred Heart - 167


Night one of Championships:

During the first night of competition at the 2014 NEC Championships, Nihipali, Claesson, Sides, and Ketchmark earned silver in the 200-yard medley relay with a time of 1:43.17, crushing the previous school record of 1:46.16, which was set during the 2013 NEC Championships.

In an incredible come-from-behind performance, Grace Baird, Cooney, Menendez, and Ketchmark proceeded to take gold in the 800-yard freestyle relay, with a time of 7:28.38, setting the school record in the process.

Despite Bryant as the front runner for much of the relay, Wagner was able to stay within two body lengths of the leader. With Ketchmark as the closer, Wagner suddenly began to eat away at Bryant's lead. In the final 50 yards, Ketchmark charged past Bryant, leading the Seahawks to victory.


Night two of Championships:

During the second night of competition, Baird captured the top spot in the finals of the 500-yard freestyle event, earning herself the title of NEC champion, and Wagner their first conference gold in an individual event. Baird also re-broke her own school record, posting a fierce time of 4:55.34. Following Baird's gold-medal performance in that event were Amanda Lucia, who earned silver, Shaw, who took sixth, and Cooney, who rounded out the Seahawks with an eighth-place finish.

Nihipali was the second Seahawk of the night to be crowned an NEC champion, taking the 200-yard individual event in incredible fashion, annihilating her own school record with a final time of 2:02.78. Kara Lacoste took the bronze in the event, while Ketchmark finished in fourth-place.

Menendez took home the bronze in the 50-yard freestyle final, while teammate Sides earned fourth.

Immediately following the 50-yard freestyle event, divers Curry and Lee produced impressive performances in the one-meter board final, having faced quite a bit of adversity earlier in the day. With both divers slated in the latter-half of the diving standings after prelims, the pair's determination carried them to top-five finishes, with Curry earning bronze in the event, and Lee earning fourth.

In the final event of day two, the 200-yard freestyle relay, Wagner rallied to take silver behind the team of Menendez, Corinne Rondina, Sides, and Ketchmark. In addition to tallying valuable points to the Seahawk total, the foursome also set the school record in the event, touching in with a time of 1:34.88.


Night three of Championships:

In the first event final of the third night of competition, Lucia defended her 400-yard individual medley championship title, earning not only gold, but also the school record in the event, finishing in 4:22.20. Lucia's time marked the seventh school record Wagner has broken while at Championships. Teammate Kara Lacoste took the bronze in the event, and Kaitlin Murtha earned fourth-place. Following that event, Malone earned a very respectable seventh-place finish in her first-ever NEC championship final, the 100-yard butterfly event.

The 200-yard freestyle event was positively thrilling, as Wagner's Ketchmark and Bryant's Taylor DeBever battled back and forth for the gold medal. After all was said and done, DeBever narrowly out-touched Ketchmark by .17 of a second to secure the top-spot. Ketchmark not only added another hard earned silver medal to her collection, but also set her first individual school record at the Championships, with a time of 1:50.42. Menendez took home the bronze, Cooney earned sixth, and Grace Baird finished seventh.

Immediately following the 200-yard freestyle was the 200-yard breaststroke, which saw Thomas clock in with a speedy 1:04.96, earning her a fifth-place finish overall, as well as the school record. Claesson was close behind Thomas, taking sixth-place in the event. Michelle Greenough earned the top-spot in the 'B' final of the event.

In the final individual event of day three, the 100-yard backstroke, yet another Wagner school record fell as Nihipali knocked even more time off of her blazing prelim go, finishing in 53.42. Nihipali not only set the conference record once again, but also broke the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's (MIT) pool record in the event, held by Olympian Elizabeth Beisel, in addition to Nihipali earning her second individual NEC championship title. Teammates Malone and Mendez earned fourth and eighth-place, respectively.

Wagner made conference history in the closing event of the night, the 400-yard medley relay, finishing with a spectacular time of 3:44.69, crushing the previous conference record of 3:46.64, and setting the school record to boot. Nihipali, Thomas, Lucia, and Menendez took the gold in the event, finishing almost two seconds ahead of second-place finisher Saint Francis U.



For the full release of day one of Championships, CLICK HERE.

For the full release of day two of Championships, CLICK HERE.

For the full release of day three of Championships, CLICK HERE.

To watch a brief video of action from day three, CLICK HERE.