Sacred Heart University swimming and diving coach John Spadafina announced the commitments of 11 members of the Class of 2020. Merideth Bertoni (Medfield, Mass.), Bryana Cielo (Montville, N.Y.), Lindsay Dell’Isola (Norwalk, Conn.), Alana Donabie (Peekskill, N.Y.), Shanna Haddow (Northport, N.Y.), Sara Hensal (Sussex, N.J.), Kimberly Hylan (Bristol, Conn.), Haley McCurdy (Framingham, Mass.), Nikole Rudis (Andover, Mass.), Lauren Somers (Hudson, N.H.), and Julia Pusateri (Franklin Square, N.Y.) will join the Pioneers in September.
“I am happy to announce the 11 members of our recruiting class,” said Spadafina, “and am excited to watch them perform over the course of their Pioneer careers. They are a talented group of athletes, that have had success in the pool and in the classroom.”
Bertoni is an honor roll student at Medfield High School. As a member of the Adirondack Aquatic Club she has competed at Speedo Sectionals, NASA and New England Seniors. Bertoni is an athlete representative on the New England Swimming Age Group Committee.
Cielo was selected team captain at Montville High School, where she earned NJAC First Team All-Conference and All-Academic Team accolades. A member of the Lakeland Hills YMCA swim team, she is also an intern for the swimming website, SwimSwam.
Dell’Isola is a senior at McMann High School where she was a CIAC finalist and a member of the National Honor Society. She is a member of the Zeus Swim Club and a CT Senior qualifier.
Donabie earned All-League in each of her four seasons at Peekskill High School. As a member of the Patriot Swim League, she qualified for the Senior Metropolitan Championships.
Haddow is a New York State qualifier at Northport High School, where she is a National Honor Society member. She swims for Team Suffolk, where she is a Senior Metropolitan Championship qualifier.
Hensal is a senior at High Point Regional High School, where she is a High Honor Roll student. She is a four-time YMCA National Qualifier with the swim team at Lakeland Hills YMCA.
Hylan earned CIAC All-State honors in 2015 in the 100 and 200 freestyles at St. Paul High School. She has qualified for Speedo Sectionals with her club team, WHAT Swimming.
McCurdy is a four-year varsity letter winner at Framingham High School, earning Bay State Conference All-Star honors as a senior captain. She swam for both Shawmut Aquatic Club and Phoenix Swimming.
Rudis helped Andover High School to three MIAA Division 1 State Championships and was an individual finalist at the state championship meet. With Crimson Aquatics she posted Speedo Sectional qualifying standards and is a New England Senior Championship qualifier.
Somers won four individual state titles at Alvrine High School, earning Nashua Telegraph Swimmer of the Year honors in 2014 and 2015. She is the second ranked female swimmer in the New Hampshire Class of 2016, according to Collegeswimming.com. Somers posted Speedo Sectional qualifying times and is a New England Senior Championship finalist with her club team, Southern New Hampshire Fins.
Pusateri is a National Honor Society at Frank Carey High School. A member of the Long Island Aquatic Club, she has posted Speedo Sectional qualifying swims, as well as competing at Senior Metropolitan Championships.
The 2015-16 Pioneer swim team equaled a program-best for dual meets win in a season, including the program’s first-ever win over Fairfield. SHU student-athletes set five school records during the season; posting 23 career-best and 32 collegiate-best swims at the NEC Championship.
Swimming news courtesy of SHU Swimming & Diving.
YES!!! GO PIOS!!! ❤️❤️❤️