Courtesy: Howard Athletics
BRIDGEWATER, N.J. (October 9, 2024) – The Northeast Conference (NEC) uncovered its swimming & diving weekly accolades where v. The announcement came Wednesday afternoon.
On the men’s side, graduate Tristan Stevens (Chicago) won Swimmer of the Week. Senior Zay Swilley (Bradley, Ill.) earned Diver of the Week while newcomer Mark Brown (Greensboro, N.C.) claimed Rookie of the Week.
For the women, junior Zuilda Nwaeze (Columbia, Md.) received Co-Swimmer of the Week while freshman Seannia Norville-Smith (Nassau, Bahamas) took home Rookie of the Week.
All five Bison made the NEC Prime Performers list, along with fellow teammates sophomore Mason Green (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) and senior Zaylie-Elizabeth Thompson (Nassau, Bahamas).
Nwaeze shared Swimmer of the Week with Central Connecticut State’s (CCSU) Sophie Milhomens. CCSU’s Jewelle Maziarz was named Women’s Diver of the Week.
On Oct. 11-12, the Bison are back in the pool when they kick off their weekend in Jersey at the annual NJIT Invitational, hosted by the Highlanders.
CONFERENCE RELEASE
Courtesy: Northeast Conference
NEC Women’s Rookie of the Week: Seannia Norville-Smith, HU
NEC Women’s Diver of the Week: Jewelle Maziarz, CCSU
NEC Men’s Swimmer of the Week: Tristan Stevens, HU
NEC Men’s Rookie of the Week: Mark Brown, HU
NEC Men’s Diver of the Week: Zay Swilley, HU
Previous NEC Releases: Men’s Preseason Poll Release | Women’s Preseason Poll Release
NEC WOMEN’S CO-SWIMMER OF THE WEEK
Sophie Milhomens, Central Connecticut
So., Wolcott, CT/Wolcott
Milhomens competed in four separate events in CCSU’s tri-meet with Army and Vermont, most notably finishing fourth overall and first against Vermont in the 200 backstroke after touching the line with a time of 2:07.37, a time that placed her atop the NEC leaderboard. The sophomore also took fifth in the 100-backstroke (59.57) and ninth in the 200 butterfly (2:14.40), both of which rank second in the conference. The Wolcott, CT kicked off CCSU’s 200 yard medley relay with a leadoff time of 27.70, the second-best time in the league this fall.
NEC WOMEN’S CO-SWIMMER OF THE WEEK
Zuzu Nwaeze, Howard
Jr., Columbia, MD
Kicking off her junior year, Nwaeze started strong in front of a packed house at the annual Battle of the Burr meet against local rival Georgetown. The Columbia, MD native recorded an impressive league-leading 1:53.91 in the 200 freestyle, a feat that earned her first place by nearly three seconds. Nwaeze, who was the Co-Outstanding Swimmer at the 2024 NEC Swimming & Diving Championships, then finished the day with the leadoff leg on HU’s 200 freestyle relay, clocking in at an NEC-best 24.11 to help lead the Bison to a second place finish.
NEC WOMEN’S DIVER OF THE WEEK
Jewelle Maziarz, Central Connecticut
Jr., Newmarket, NH/Newmarket
Competing against Army and Vermont, Maziarz placed second in the 1-meter dive with a score of 235.50 that leads the NEC by nearly 27 points. The Blue Devil junior added a seventh place finish in the 3-meter competition with a score of 205.75.
NEC WOMEN’S ROOKIE OF THE WEEK
Seannia Norville-Smith, Howard
Fr., Nassau, Bahamas
Norville-Smith made her collegiate debut for the Bison at the Battle at the Burr. She recorded an NEC-best 58.76 time in the 100 butterfly to place fourth behind three Georgetown competitors.
NEC MEN’S SWIMMER OF THE WEEK
Tristan Stevens, Howard
Gr., Chicago, IL
Entering his last season at Howard, Stevens opened the 2024-25 season with a strong showing at the electric Battle at the Burr meet against Georgetown. Sweeping every event he competed in, the graduate student recorded a 51.57 in the 100-yard backstroke, the top time in the NEC this season. He led off Howard’s winning 200 medley relay team with a 24.76 leg in the 50 backstroke, the fastest time in the conference this season by over two seconds. The Chicago, IL native also played a pivotal role in the Bison’s first place showing in the 200 freestyle relay, covering the second leg in 20.96 seconds.
NEC MEN’S DIVER OF THE WEEK
Zay Swilley, Howard
Sr., Bradley, IL
The top finisher for the Bison, Swilley landed a 6th place finish at the Battle at the Burr, scoring 238.13 points in the 1-meter dive.
NEC MEN’S ROOKIE OF THE WEEK
Mark Brown, Howard
Fr., Greensboro, NC
Competing in the Battle at the Burr against Washington D.C. rival Georgetown, Brown opened his collegiate career by competing in four events. The freshman secured a fourth place finish in the 200 individual medley with a time of 1:57.97 and a fifth place finish in the 100 breaststroke, clocking a time of 58.26. Both ranked him in the top-three in the NEC. Additionally, Brown swam legs in the 200 freestyle relay and 200 medley relay, to help lift the Bison to third place finishes in both events.
NEC WOMEN’S PRIME PERFORMERS
Jewelle Maziarz, Jr., CCSU
- NEC Diver of the Week
Sophie Milhomens, So., CCSU
- NEC Co-Swimmer of the Week
Seannia Norville-Smith Fr., HU
- NEC Rookie of the Week
Zayie-Elizabeth Thompson, Sr., HU
- at Battle at the Burr
- 50 breastroke (extracted), 1st place, 31.24 (1st in NEC)
- 100 breastroke, 1st place, 1:06.09 (1st in NEC)
- 200 individual medley, 1st place, 2:07.79 (1st in NEC)
- 200 medley relay, 2nd place, team time of 1:43.34 (1st in NEC)
Zuzu Nwaeze, Jr., HU
- NEC Co-Swimmer of the Week
Kristy Barry, Jr., STO
- vs. Merrimack/Sacred Heart
- 200 freestyle, 5th place, 2:03.07 (5th in NEC)
- 200 individual medley, 1st place, 2:16.12 (2nd in NEC)
- 400 freestyle relay, 3rd place, team time of 3:51.60 (1st in NEC)
Lily Peterson, Fr., STO
- vs. Merrimack/Sacred Heart
- 50-yard breastroke (extracted), 4th place, 33.11 (3rd in NEC)
- 100-yard breastroke, 4th place, 1:10.39 (4th in NEC)
- 200-yard breastroke, 2nd place, 2:33.19 (2nd in NEC)
NEC MEN’S PRIME PERFORMERS
Mark Brown, Fr., HU
- NEC Rookie of the Week
Mason Green, So., HU
- at Battle at the Burr
- 50-yard freestyle (extracted), 1st place, 21.28 (2nd in NEC)
- 100-yard freestyle, 1st place, 47.05 (1st in NEC)
- 200-yard freestyle, 1st place, 1:42.53 (1st in NEC)
- 200-yard freestyle relay, leadoff (21.28), 3rd place team time of 1:24.90 (2nd in NEC)
Tristan Stevens, Sr., HU
- NEC Swimmer of the Week
Zay Swilley, Sr., HU
- NEC Diver of the Week
Alex Pilieci, Fr., LEM
- vs. Binghamton
- 50-yard butterfly, 3rd place, 24.30 (2nd in NEC)
- 100-yard butterfly, 3rd place, 52.26 (2nd in NEC)
- 200-yard medley relay, individual (23.29), 3rd place team time of 1:36.32 (2nd in NEC)
Michael White, Fr., LEM
- vs. Binghamton
- 500-yard freestyle, 4th place, 4:56.03 (1st in NEC)
- 1000-yard freestyle, 4th place, 10:31.67 (3rd in NEC)
WOMEN’S SWIMMER OF THE WEEK
Oct. 9: Sophie Milhomens, CCSU & Zuzu Nwaeze, HU
WOMEN’S DIVER OF THE WEEK
Oct. 9: Jewelle Maziarz, CCSU
WOMEN’S ROOKIE OF THE WEEK
Oct. 9: Seannia Norville-Smith, HU
MEN’S SWIMMER OF THE WEEK
Oct. 9: Tristan Stevens, HU
MEN’S DIVER OF THE WEEK
Oct. 9: Zay Swilley, HU
MEN’S ROOKIE OF THE WEEK
Oct. 9: Mark Brown, HU
