Tuesday, February 20
Geneva, OH
6:00 p.m.
Sacred Heart
vs
Northeast Conference Championship
Photo by: Greg Vasil
Swim and Dive Head to 2024 NEC Championships
2/19/2024 1:12:00 PM | Women's Swimming and Diving
The five-day event starts Tuesday
FAIRFIELD, Conn. – The Sacred Heart University women's swimming and diving team is on the cusp of the 2024 Northeast Conference Championships, which spans Feb. 20-24 at the Spire Institute in Geneva, Ohio.
The Pioneers enter the 2024 NEC Championships after a sixth-place finish in 2023, scoring 377 points. SHU finished fifth in 2022 with a program-record score of 378.5. In 2021, the Pioneers took fourth, the team's best placement since the 2008 campaign.
Sacred Heart heads into the league championship off a big win against conference foe Merrimack. The Pioneer secured the 183-79 victory with 12 first-place finishes.
Leading the way for the Pioneers this season has been senior diver Olivia McNicholas. A five-time NEC Diver of the Week this season, McNicholas collected her fifth DOW nod after winning the 3M board and breaking the school record on the 1M against CCSU. The Hicksville, N.Y., native broke the 1M diving record again, just a week later, against Holy Cross with a winning score of 252.30.
On the swimming side, first year Sophia Velleco has thrived as a Pioneer in her first season. The Seymour, Conn., native started her season off hot with an NEC Rookie of the Week award after winning the 100 and 200-yard freestyle against Stonehill. In addition, Velleco broke the 200-yard backstroke at the Gompeii Invitational in the fall with a time of 2:04.02. She has also cracked SHU's all-time top five fastest times in the 200-, 500-, 1000-, and 1650-yard freestyle.
Junior Rosemery Nieto also heads into the conference championship on a hot streak after earning a handful of wins against the Warriors. The Stratford, Conn., native posted the best swimming performance for the Pioneers in the 100-yard breaststroke and 200-yard IM against Merrimack. Nieto broke her own school record last year at the NEC Championship in the 200-yard breaststroke with a time of 2:21.58.
The 2024 NECs are slated to begin on Tuesday with the women's 800-yard freestyle relay with a meet start time of 6:00 p.m. Prelims will be held at 11:00 a.m. and finals at 6:00 p.m. with diving preliminaries and consoles estimated to start 20 minutes after prelims Wednesday through Saturday.
Relevant Links:
NEC Championship Homepage
Schedule of Events
The Pioneers enter the 2024 NEC Championships after a sixth-place finish in 2023, scoring 377 points. SHU finished fifth in 2022 with a program-record score of 378.5. In 2021, the Pioneers took fourth, the team's best placement since the 2008 campaign.
Sacred Heart heads into the league championship off a big win against conference foe Merrimack. The Pioneer secured the 183-79 victory with 12 first-place finishes.
Leading the way for the Pioneers this season has been senior diver Olivia McNicholas. A five-time NEC Diver of the Week this season, McNicholas collected her fifth DOW nod after winning the 3M board and breaking the school record on the 1M against CCSU. The Hicksville, N.Y., native broke the 1M diving record again, just a week later, against Holy Cross with a winning score of 252.30.
On the swimming side, first year Sophia Velleco has thrived as a Pioneer in her first season. The Seymour, Conn., native started her season off hot with an NEC Rookie of the Week award after winning the 100 and 200-yard freestyle against Stonehill. In addition, Velleco broke the 200-yard backstroke at the Gompeii Invitational in the fall with a time of 2:04.02. She has also cracked SHU's all-time top five fastest times in the 200-, 500-, 1000-, and 1650-yard freestyle.
Junior Rosemery Nieto also heads into the conference championship on a hot streak after earning a handful of wins against the Warriors. The Stratford, Conn., native posted the best swimming performance for the Pioneers in the 100-yard breaststroke and 200-yard IM against Merrimack. Nieto broke her own school record last year at the NEC Championship in the 200-yard breaststroke with a time of 2:21.58.
The 2024 NECs are slated to begin on Tuesday with the women's 800-yard freestyle relay with a meet start time of 6:00 p.m. Prelims will be held at 11:00 a.m. and finals at 6:00 p.m. with diving preliminaries and consoles estimated to start 20 minutes after prelims Wednesday through Saturday.
Relevant Links:
NEC Championship Homepage
Schedule of Events
Players Mentioned
/ Women's Swimming and Diving
/ Women's Swimming and Diving
/ Women's Swimming and Diving
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