Loaded NEISDA Swimming Has Produced Strong Times So Far

By Diana Pimer, Swimming World College Intern

KEENE – In February 2014, 21 women’s and 12 men’s swimming and diving teams took part in the New England Intercollegiate Swimming & Diving Association (NEISDA) Swimming Championships. Young talent took the stage, and successful senior swimmers left their mark on the competition. Similar patterns have already risen this season, as the month of October and early November brought fast times and great races to the NEISDA conference.

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.

Top Two Teams Face Off

Always deep in competition, Keene State College took on Roger Williams University in Bristol, R.I. in October. As the top two women’s and men’s teams in the conference last year, the meet was set up for some pretty close races. The KSC Owls came out on top in the team scores for both men and women. However, despite strong performances by Keene, the Hawks performed better than they have in previous years.

Senior Stephanie Niman won the 200-yard freestyle (2:02.01), freshman Hannah Nolte won the 100-yard backstroke (1:01.11) and sophomore Shannon Earley was victorious in the 200-yard backstroke (2:11.51). All three races were won by less than a second, but this is ahead of where the Hawks finished in 2013. In last year’s contest, Earley was the lone victor against the Owls in the 200-yard backstroke. Against a strong Keene State group, this could predict a strong future for the young Hawks team.

On the men’s side, the two most intense races came between KSC’s Nathan Shepard and RWU’s David Kitchen. At last year’s NEISDA Championship, Shepard edged Kitchen in the 50-yard breaststroke, with the opposite result in the 100. In Bristol, Shepard fought for the win in both the 100 (1:00.73) and 200-yard breaststroke (2:16.99) with help from the strong back half of his races. The battle between these two will continue come February.

Women’s Sprint Freestyle will be Loaded in February

Along with Keene’s Alison Bartlett and RWU’s Niman, a pair of Simmons College sophomores is leading the pack in the sprint freestyle events so far. In a tri-meet with Gordon College and Elms College, Miriam Swisher won the 50-yard freestyle in 24.99 and Shylee Stewart tied with Gordon’s India Boland in the 100-yard freestyle with a time of 55.01.

Colby-Sawyer College and Norwich College also matched up, proving more sprint freestyle success for the conference. Colby-Sawyer’s Elaine Miller was victorious in the 50 (25.85) and 100-yard freestyles (56.47). With Bartlett, Niman, Stewart, Swisher and Miller, making the top heat of any sprint freestyle event in February is going to be a challenge.

“I think it [sprint freestyle events] is extremely competitive and I think that any of those women can win it,” Simmons head coach Mindy Williams said. “It is going to come down to the details and who wants it more. When the top 32 list comes out every week some of our swimmers pick names, targets and goals within New England competition.”

Out with the Old, In with the New

One of the main headlines leaving the 2013-14 season for NEISDA was the Keene State men’s successful run at the NCAA Championships. The seven-man team finished ninth in the country, grabbing seven All-American titles and four Honorable Mentions. So the question for 2014 is, will the KSC men continue their NCAA success?

While All-Americans Shahar Resman, Cole Hogg, Ryan Boraski and Gregory Youngstrom will all be returning, the Owls are looking to replace three standout seniors with a strong freshman class. Leading the way are Christopher Deegan, Christopher DiGiacomo and Bobby McDowell. All three come from strong swimming backgrounds and have already made an impact on the season.

On the women’s side, Eastern Connecticut State University is facing some tough losses this season. Three of the team’s highest point scorers graduated last year, and NEISDA 100-yard breaststroke runner-up Katherine King transferred to Division I West Virginia University.

However, despite these losses, ECSU captain Abby Arisco said the team still has some talented swimmers to watch this season. “I am excited to see the great things our team does this year,” Arisco said. “I think everyone is going to surprise themselves with how fast they go.”

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.

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