Pictured Above: Anu Nihipali (action shot and small photo on left) and Maggie Shaw (small photo on right)Day Two Results
Cambridge, MA – The Wagner College women's swimming & diving team delivered a dominant performance during the second night of the Northeast Conference (NEC) Championships, taking gold in three of five events while setting three school records as well as a NEC record, and currently stands in second place with a total of 277 points, trailing first-place Central Connecticut, which has amassed 325 points.
Junior
Maggie Shaw (Chantilly, VA/ Chantilly) set the tone in the first event of Thursday night's finals in the 500 Free, earning the first gold medal for the Seahawks in 4:58.38, over three seconds faster than the second place Central Connecticut (CCSU) finisher.
Fellow teammate
Anu Nihipali (Honolulu, HI/ Hawaii Preparatory Academy) followed Shaw's performance with two first place finishes in both of her events while breaking a NEC record, along with three school records. Nihipali defended her 200 IM title in a time of 2:01.88, shattering the previous NEC record (2:02.35 set in 2007), the second gold medal for Wagner, while setting a new school record. She then led off the 200 Free Relay with a 23.43, breaking the school record in the 50 Free for the Green & White.
Wagner finished the night in commanding fashion, edging out CCSU in the 200 Free Relay claiming the third victory of the night with a time of 1:34.63. The squad of Nihipali,
Kristine Sullivan (Overland Park, KS/ Notre Dame de Sion),
Corinne Rondina (Staten Island, NY/ Notre Dame Academy), and
Samantha Sides (Cherry Hill, NJ/ Cherry Hill East) broke the third school record of the night.
Sides finished third overall in the 50 Free with a time of 23.59 while freshman
Maggie Slocomb (Landenburg, PA/ St. Marks) took fifth overall in the 200 IM posting a personal best time of 2:06.47.
The Seahawk diving team had an impressive first night in 1-meter diving. Going into the second half of 1-meter (the last three dives), Wagner seeded fourth, fifth and sixth, respectively, to CCSU who had first, second and third. At the completion of 1-meter, Wagner's
Erica Curry (Fountain Valley, CA/ Fountain Valley) came back to take third place with a total of 223.75 points, just two points shy of first place.
Sam Lavrich (Audubon, PA/ Methacton) followed suit and took fourth place (216.55 points), edging out a CCSU diver by .05 of a point.
Mallory Lee (Newark, CA/ Moreau Catholic) took sixth place overall with 215 points.
The action continues Friday (Feb. 27) with the 400 IM, 100 Fly, 200 Free, 100 Breast, 100 Back, 400 Medley Relay. Prelims begin at 11:00 a.m. with finals starting at 6:00 p.m.
