NEC Release
Full Championship Results

Cambridge, MA - The Wagner College women's swimming & diving team finished second overall at the 2015 Northeast Conference (NEC) Swimming & Diving Championships, scoring a total of 813 points, while Central Connecticut claimed the title with 837 points.
 
Sophomore Anu Nihipali (Honolulu, HI/ Hawaii Preparatory Academy) earned Outstanding Swimmer of the Meet honors for the second year in a row while freshman Samantha Lavrich (Audubon, PA/ Methacton) garnered Outstanding Diver of the Meet honors, a first for the diving program.
 
Wagner had secured 24 spots in the top 16 in seven different events for finals Saturday evening. In preliminaries that took place on Saturday morning, freshman Maggie Slocomb (Landenburg, PA/ St. Marks) broke the Wagner school record in the 200 Breaststroke with a time of 2:19.10. Slocomb's record was short-lived as sophomore Katja Claesson (Fullerton, CA/ Troy), in the very next heat, established a new school mark with a time of 2:18.44. Claesson was in second place heading into finals while Slocomb was third. At finals, the tag-team finished second and third overall, with Slocomb taking second and once again setting yet another new standard in the 200 Breast, lowering the school-record time to 2:16.88 in the finals while Claesson took third overall.
 
In the finals on Saturday night, Wagner took home gold honors in four out of the seven events.
 
The night began with sophomore Grace Baird (Lexington, NC/ West Davidson) defending her title in the 1,650 Free, swimming an incredible race, finishing with a time of 17:05.38. Junior Maggie Shaw (Chantilly, VA/ Chantilly) also made her way to the podium after earning silver in the event with a 17:13.57.
 
In the 200 Backstroke, Nihipali captured her third individual championship title, while breaking the NEC record she set last year, establishing a school record and NCAA 'B' cut qualifier with a time of 1:58.33. Over the course of the four-day championship, the Honolulu native broke two conference records and made two NCAA 'B' cuts. Junior Erin Malone (Sewell, NJ/ Washington Township) took fourth in the event while classmate Kara Lacoste (Chicopee, MA/ Chicopee Comprehensive) secured eighth place.
 
Senior Samantha Sides (Cherry Hill, NJ/ Cherry Hill East) moved up a place in the 100 Free, taking fourth place overall in a time of 52.17. Freshmen Maddie McNichol (Downington, PA/ Henderson) finished sixth (52.47) while Kirsty Hessing (Bloomington, IL/ Normal Community) placed eighth overall for the Green & White with a time of 53.25.
 
In the final individual event, the 200 Fly, junior Amanda Lucia (Easthampton, MA/ Easthampton) was dominant throughout, going under two minutes breaking an NEC standard that had stood since 2009, roaring home in a time of 1:59.34. This mark is also a school record and an NCAA 'B' cut qualifying time. Lucia, along with Nihipali, swept all three of their individual events, both setting conference records while achieving NCAA qualifying times. Malone took fifth in the event for Wagner with her time of 2:05.71, edging out her CCSU opponent by one second.
 
Lavrich made Wagner diving program history on Saturday night. Seeded second after prelims on the 3-meter, and trailing CCSU Katie Dwyer by more than 30 points, the freshman delivered a virtuoso performance, passing Dwyer to take first place with a total of 246.65 points, a first for the program and a school record for the 3-Meter. Senior Mallory Lee (Newark, CA/ Moreau Catholic), seated fifth after prelims, made a comeback of her own in placing third with a total of 226.85 points. Junior Erica Curry (Fountain Valley, CA/ Fountain Valley) finished fourth overall on the 3-meter with 224.45 points, more than nine points ahead of CCSU's Kaitlyn Beaver, who took fifth after being seated third going into finals.  
 
In the final event of the 2015 NEC Championships, the 400 Free Relay of Sides, freshman Kristine Sullivan (Overland Park, KS/ Notre Dame de Sion), McNichol and Nihipali took silver with a time of 3:26.77.
 
With the championship drawn to a close, the final standings are as follows:
 
1. Central Connecticut State - 837
2. Wagner - 813
3. Bryant - 587
4. Saint Francis U. - 436
5. Mount St. Mary's - 276
6. Sacred Heart University - 234
7. Saint Francis Brooklyn - 161