Pictured Above: Junior
Leahi Camacho (photo by Patty Zarriello)
Staten Island, NY – The Wagner women's swimming and diving team opens 2017 when they travel to the University of Rhode Island on Saturday at noon.
The Seahawks prepared for the second half of the season in Pompano Beach, Florida, where they used the sunny conditions to practice outdoors twice a day.
Wagner enters the meet after winning the Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference (ECAC) title in their last competition of 2016, finishing ahead of LIU Post and fellow Northeast Conference (NEC) rival, Sacred Heart. The Seahawks are 5-1 overall in dual meets this season, most recently winning over Saint Francis U at the Spiro Sports Center in November.
The Seahawks' relay teams look to carry over their strong form into the new year. The 200 free relay team, consisting of freshmen
Kelsey Eastman (Effort, PA / Pleasant Valley) and
Kirsty Hessing (Bloomington, IL / Normal Community), along with sophomore
Andrea Gustafsson (Malmo, Sweden / ProCivitas Privata Gymnasium), and senior tri-captain
Anu Nihipali (Honolulu, HI / Hawaii Preparatory Academy) posted a finals time of 1:33.84 at the Frank Elm Invitational, which bested the previous school record by 0.42 seconds. In the process, they rewrote the NEC record books as their time is the fastest in the league's history.
Following the ECAC Championships, Nihipali was named NEC Co-Swimmer of the week. The Hawaii native will look for a strong second half of the season after winning gold medals in the 200 Back (2:02.01) and 100 Back (55.50) at the ECAC Championships.
On the diving board, junior
Sam Lavrich (Audubon, PA / Methacton), who won the NEC's Co-Diver of the week award following the ECAC Championships, will look to build on her impressive performances in the first half of the season. Lavrich set the school record in the 1-meter competition at the Frank Elm Invitational (244.45 points) and swept both events at the ECAC Championships. Teammates
Grace Solipaca (Philadelphia, PA / Bishop Eustace, 197.95) and
Daniele Polatnick (Huntingdon Valley, PA / Lower Moreland, 159.05) finished fourth and sixth, respectively.
After this weekend, the Green and White will compete across the Verrazano Bridge as they take on both LIU Brooklyn and Northeastern in the LIU Brooklyn Tri-Match on January 27 before returning home on January 29 to swim against conference member, St. Francis Brooklyn on Senior Day.
The Northeast Conference (NEC) Championships will be held in Cambridge, MA from February 15-17.
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