BROOKLYN, N.Y. -- The LIU Brooklyn women's swimming team, along with the rest of the Northeast Conference, will converge on Long Island this weekend to compete in the 2019 NEC Championships at the Nassau County Aquatic Center in East Meadow, N.Y.
The four day meet begins Wednesday, February 13, with an abbreviated night session beginning at 6:00 p.m. Then, from Thursday through Saturday, Feb. 16, the meet starts each morning at 10:00 a.m. with preliminaries in six events. The finals each day will be held during the night session, beginning at 6:00 p.m.
FOLLOW LIVE
All four days of the 2019 Northeast Conference Swimming & Diving Championships will air live on NECFrontRow.
TICKET INFORMATION
Championship Pass (Adult) - $25.00
Single-Day Pass (Adult) - $10.00
Seniors/Kids (10 yrs and younger) Championship Pass - $10.00
Seniors/Kids (10 yrs and younger) Single-Day Pass - $5.00
NEC Students with School ID - Free
* All Wednesday Night Competition Free
SCOUTING THE BLACKBIRDS
LIU will be looking for the team's first top four finish at the NEC Championships, after placing 5th in all three previous appearances. The 2018-19 Blackbirds are the deepest team in the program's brief history, and is led by co-captains Noemie Lacroix-Moreau and Briana Vega, two former individual event winners, who are hungry to get to the podium on Saturday.
"Each of us has grown significantly since last year," said Lacroix-Moreau. "We were not content with last year's NECs and it's really encouraging that our best finish is within our reach. As a team, we want to medal in every relay. It's right there for us to grab."
Lacroix-Moreau won the 200 butterfly as a freshman in 2017, and holds the third best time in the NEC in the same event this year. Vega won the 50 freestyle as a sophomore, also in 2017, before finishing in second in both the 50 and 100 freestyle last season. She currently holds the top time in the event, after winning the ECAC Winter title in the same event at the same facility, two years running.
One Blackbird looking to medal is sophomore Amanda Peren. Last year, Peren won a silver (200 back) and a bronze (100 back) at the NEC championships as a freshman and she currently holds the top time in the NEC in both backstroke events, as well as the second fastest time in the 200 freestyle and the 200 individual medley. Peren heads a powerful group of seven sophomores, who are now looking to make their marks as NEC veterans.
Another top swimmer this season is freshman Amanda San Juan, who has been named Rookie of the Week by the NEC four times this season. One of the best distance swimmers in the conference, she holds the top time in the one mile (1,650 freestyle) swim, going into the event. She heads an impressive freshmen class of six that will all contribute to the team's point total this week.
"We left NEC's in 2018 very hungry – this team had a great spring practice and really committed to training hard over the summer," said head coach Matt Donovan. "We had a very tough meet schedule to get us ready for the NEC championships. So far this team has passed most every test we put before them, so I am confident that we will do the same at NECs. For our seniors, we know that this will be their best meet ever. We cannot wait to see what they do this week"
The Blackbirds will begin the week with two of the team's strongest relays, the 200 medley relay, and the 800 freestyle relay. Following Wednesday, each session will end with a relay, with the 200 freestyle on Thursday, the 400 medley on Friday, and the 400 freestyle relay to conclude the championships on Saturday.
PACE SETTERS
Entering the championships, LIU has at least one athlete who hold a top-three time in 10 NEC events, including three league leaders:
- 50 freestyle (Briana Vega - 23.48), 1st
- 100 freestyle (Briana Vega - 51.54), 2nd
- 200 freestyle (Amanda Peren - 1:50.88), 2nd
- 1,650 freestyle (Amanda San Juan - 17:24.24), 2nd
- 100 backstroke (Amanda Peren - 55.52), 1st
- 200 backstroke (Amanda Peren - 2:00.18), 1st
- 100 breaststroke (Mads Carrigan - 1:05.00), 3rd
- 200 butterfly (Noemie Lacroix-Moreau - 2:07.04), 3rd
- 200 individual medley (Amanda Peren - 2:05.45), 2nd
- 400 individual medley (Jeanne Touchette-McGowan - 4:32.20), 3rd
NEC SCHEDULE
- Wed., Feb. 13, 6 p.m. - 200 medley relay, 800 free relay
- Preliminaries for the following events will be at 10:00 a.m. each day
- Thu., Feb. 14, 6 p.m. - 500 freestyle, 200 individual medley, 50 freestyle, 200 free relay
- Fri., Feb. 15, 6 p.m. - 400 individual medley, 100 butterfly, 200 freestyle, 100 breaststroke, 100 backstroke, 400 medley relay
- Sat., Feb. 16, 6 p.m. - 1,650 freestyle, 200 backstroke, 100 freestyle, 200 breaststroke, 200 butterfly, 400 free relay