NEISDA Swimming Set For Pre-Thanksgiving Weekend

By Diana Pimer, Swimming World College Intern

KEENE – New England Intercollegiate Swimming & Diving Association (NEISDA) swimming is set for a busy Thanksgiving schedule.

The NEISDA schools with both men’s and women’s teams include Bridgewater State University, Colby-Sawyer College, Elms College, Gordon College, Husson University, Keene State College, University of Massachusetts- Dartmouth, University of New England, Norwich University, Regis College, Roger Williams University, St Joseph’s – Maine and Saint Michael’s College.

Eight institutions have only women’s teams — Eastern Connecticut State University, Plymouth State College, Rhode Island College, University of Saint Joseph – Connecticut, Simmons College, Western Connecticut State University, Western New England University and Westfield State University.

Looking back
The last two weeks provided team and individual successes in the NEISDA conference. On the women’s side, the conference was lead by Keene State College freshman Hope Walsh. Walsh won the 1,000-yard freestyle, (10:44.97) 200-yard backstroke, (2:15.15) and 500-yard freestyle (5:13.95) in a tri-meet against Springfield College and Wheaton College. Walsh was the only swimmer (men and women) who won three individual events in one dual meet in the last two weeks.

On the men’s side, a dual meet between Regis College and Gordon College posted impressive times. Sophomores Daniel Fauber (Gordon) and Kiet Luong (Regis) have made the most dominant impact on the top 32 lists thus far. Luong is currently third in the conference in the 100-yard (54.64) and 200-yard butterfly (2:01.24). Fauber is one position ahead of him in the 100 with a time of 54.43. This time is one of three top-two spots that do not belong to a Keene State swimmer for the standard dual meet format events. Fauber’s butterfly and sprint freestyle success thus far will challenge the Owls come February.

The Louise Goodrum Invitational also introduced many teams. UMass-Dartmouth and Bridgewater State posted sprint freestyle success from Kyle Swardstrom of BSU (23.65) and Grayham Ronan of Dartmouth (51.63). On the women’s side, Eastern Connecticut State University opened their season with a splash. Macaire Jones led the way in the 50-yard (26.40) and 100-yard freestyles, (57.46) with teammate Shannen Barnard posting a successful 1:03.85 100-yard butterfly to round out the meet. Katherine Sterpka of Westfield State also dominated on both the 1-meter and 3-meter boards by over 40 points. As last year’s conference champion in both events, she has already made it apparent that she is ready to go this year.

Post-Thanksgiving meets
While some colleges have mid-season taper meets the weekend before Thanksgiving, most NEISDA teams participate in such events the weekend after. This always makes it a challenge for teams to stay in shape over the break. However, NEISDA teams typically stray from each other come December, as many schools are members of smaller conferences. Most NEISDA schools will be participating in the Little East Conference Championships, (Dec. 6) the Gompei Invitational at WPI (Dec. 5), or the Great Northeast Athletic Conference Championships (Dec. 6-7).

Non-conference match-ups
Nonetheless, before the turkey and the taper, there are still some last-minute dual meets coming up this weekend. Keene State College will head over to the NESCAC conference to challenge Tufts University and Middlebury College. The women’s meet appears to be the closer of the two, as the breaststroke, butterfly, and IM events could be the deciding factors.
Roger Williams will also take on non-conference Wheaton College. They will look to Sophomore Andrea Almondoz (2:15.42) and freshman Hannah Nolte (2:15.95) to compete against a strong Wheaton freshman, Aleza Epstein, (2:15.79) in the 200 IM. Their medley relay will also have a good match-up against the team from Wheaton. The sprint freestyle events will also have some close match-ups. Wheaton sophomore Frederick Garneau will challenge Roger Williams’ backstroker Jamie Lutz (55.66 and 2:07.84).

Conference match-ups
Upcoming conference match-ups include Norwich vs. Saint Michaels on Tuesday. Also, unlike many of the other teams in the conference, SMC will compete in the North Country Invitational before the holiday break. Swimmers to watch include Pierce Farrington and Nathan Paluso for the men, and Elizabeth Portch, Stephanie Nadow, and Julie Shea for the women.

Western Connecticut State will travel to Western New England University on Friday, where a young WCSU team will challenge the freshman talent of WNE. WNE first-year Erika Shenihalt is likely to win the 50 and 10-yard freestyles (26.61, 58.83). Freshman Alison Johnstone will also make an impact in the breaststroke events (1:16.17). Underclassmen Sarah Basile and Ashlyn LaVallee were the top scorers for WCSU last weekend, and will be looking to continue their success. Basile took the 50-yard backstroke (33.04) and 200 IM (2:37.74) titles, while LaVallee claimed victory in the 100-yard backstroke (1:20.94) and 100-yard butterfly (1:26.56).

Women’s distance free domination
While the sprint freestyle events still remain the closest in time so far this season, competition in the distance events for the women is also heating up. As of now, KSC’s Hope Walsh (5:13.95) and Gordon’s India Boland (5:18.02) will be fighting for the top time in the 500-yard freestyle. Two others will also be in the mix, as both KSC’s Caitlyn Shea and RWU’s Shannon Earley are both under 5:30 and within one second of each other. Boland (10:51.72), Walsh (10:44.97), and Earley (10:58.34) may also duke it out in the 1,000-yard freestyle, depending on who swims the event come February. Since it is not an NCAA-qualifying event, team score strategies may come into play. Unfortunately, these three teams will not meet up until February, so the hard work and fast racing from these women will be greatly anticipated.

Boys’ breaststroke breaking out
On the men’s side, the breaststroke events are still looking to be the most competitive between schools. Three different schools are represented in the top 3 of the 200, and the top 4 in the 100. Nathan Shepard (1:00.73/2:16.00) and Ethan Etheridge (1:01.66/2:18.05) of KSC, David Kitchen (1:01.06/2:17.11) of RWU, and Joshua Florez (2:17.41/1:02.21) of Gordon currently round out the top breaststrokers in the conference.

Schedule

November 21: Colby-Sawyer vs. SUNY Potsdam
November 21: Roger Williams vs. Wheaton
November 21: Western CT vs. Western New England
November 22: Elms vs. UMass-Dartmouth
November 22: Bridgewater vs. Gordon
November 22: Keene State vs. Middlebury/Tufts
November 22: Husson vs. Saint Joseph’s (ME)
November 22: UNE vs. Plymouth
November 22: Westfield State vs. Smith College

Diana Pimer is a senior breaststroke/IMer at Keene State College who has won 10 NEISCA championship titles in her career. Prior to joining KSC, Pimer swam for the Hopkins Mariner Swim Team as well as the West Haven High School squad. She’s also been a summer league head coach for the Rockingham Area Swim Team.

Name*

Email*

Welcome to our community. We invite you to join our discussion. Our community guidelines are simple: be respectful and constructive, keep on topic, and support your fellow commenters. Commenting signifies that you agree to our Terms of Use