The Sacred Heart University swimming and diving team was projected to finish in fifth place in this year’s upcoming season for their conference. In the Northeast Conference (NEC) last year, Sacred Heart placed fourth, and the team is looking to do better than last year this upcoming season.
“Our preseason ranking is the highest ranking we have received. Although we placed fourth last year, we are eager to get back in the top four in the NEC,” said coach John Spadafina.
The SHU swimming and diving team finished their first meet of the season against Fairfield University at Fairfield. This meet was known as the Fairfield Invite.
The matchup was Friday, Oct. 8 and Saturday Oct. 9, during which both swimming and diving competed very well.
Casey Barret finished her sophomore season strong, placing fifth in 200 IM finals at the NEC Championship last season, and she is looking forward to picking up from where she left off.
“I feel as though this year is going to be a good year. I have been looking forward to our team competing and doing well, especially in my junior season as a leader,” said Barret.
During the Fairfield Invite, sophomore diver Olivia McNicholas swept the diving events.
“In our team meet at the Fairfield invite, I think we have improved more from last year, and I was happy to compete,” said McNicholas.
Since Sacred Heart competed well at their two-day meet at Fairfield University, they are looking to use their momentum to boost them into their next competition.
“I was very happy how we swam and dove at the Fairfield Invitational last weekend. It was a tough two-day meet and our team responded very well,” said Spadafina.
Sacred Heart’s swimming and diving team also has fresh new faces who are looking forward to contributing to the team, including freshman Emma Chambers.
“My freshman year, the team has been super welcoming and I just want to help the team out the best way that I can,” said Chambers. “In my first meet, I think we did well as a team, and we can improve more throughout the rest of the season.”
Spadafina mentioned that the team has grown due to the challenges they faced last season.
“You are always going into the season with optimism, and after last year, you never knew what you were going to expect each day during Covid,” said Spadafina. “This year, we are very talented: we are getting more mature in the water and on the diving boards, so this will help us as college swimmers and divers. I am very excited to see how the 2021-22 team starts to perform on a weekly basis in competition.”
More recently for the SHU swimming and diving team, they faced Iona College and Wagner away at Iona College in New Rochelle, N.Y. on Oct. 16. On Oct. 30, they will be home against Stony Brook University.
Sacred Heart Athletics contributed to this article.
