After a tough loss to New Hampshire last week, the Central Connecticut Swimming and Diving team started off November with a tri-meet against Bryant and Wagner. This is the fourth year in a row that the three teams have come together for the tri-meet. Central has had a stellar season thus far with a minor fumble at New Hampshire, here they faced their toughest competition yet.

The events for the competitive strokes were broken up into two days, with diving taking place on the second day.

Although Wagner and Bryant made them struggle for high spots in each event, the Central swim team played to their strengths against the competition, placing in the top 5 in freestyle, backstroke and breaststroke.

A double-winner from the Sacred Heart meet and a 2nd and 3rd place winner from the New Hampshire meet a week prior, sophomore Erika Maercklein has been leading the charge on many of the freestyle events. Maercklein, along with sophomores Katie Czulewicz and Simona Visnski, got on the board for the 200-yard freestyle event on the first day of competition, placing 3rd, 6th and 7th, respectively.

On the second day of competition, Maercklein kept up the pace and placed 4th in the 100-yard freestyle with sophomore Jeannette King placing 5th. King placed 3rd in the 500-yard freestyle.

The backstroke events were in similar shape, held that way with the help of Kaylin McMahon, who was also a double-winner at Sacred Heart. McMahon took the 5th place in the 100-yard backstroke event with help from Erin Brown and Kendall, who came in 7th and 8th place, respectively. Kendall had a strong outing the next day as she placed 4th in the 200-yard backstroke event with McMahon taking 5th place and Brown 6th.

The breaststroke events were anchored by senior Alex Lindgren, with help from Mariana Espino, Grace Regan and Katelyn Mann, who each scored 5th, 7th, and 8th in the 100-yard event respectively behind Lindgren’s 4th place. Lindgren likewise finished 4th in the 200-yard event the next day, helped then by Regan, who came in 6th.

Wagner dominated the butterfly events, grabbing the top six spots in the 200-yard event, with the exception of 5th, which was tied with welcome at a time of 2:14:06.

The Central diving team headlined the second day of competition. Kristen Bednarz and Reagan Kenney placed 5th and 6th with 162.5 and 127.05 points, respectively in the 1-meter diving event. Bednarz placed 3rd in the 3-meter event with 173.55 points while Kenney took 5th with 135.9.

CCSU took the top three places in each of the relay events for both days. Four sophomore swimmers Jeannette King, Czulewicz, Perrin, and Visinksi placed 3rd in the 200-yard freestyle relay. King with a team of McMahon, Espino, Mann, went onto win 3rd in the 400-yard medley relay. The next day, King, Espino, Mann, and Czulewicz took 2nd in the 200-yard medley relay. Her and Czulewicz teamed up with Maercklein and Visinski to place 3rd in the 400-yard freestyle relay.

Although Central did not score in the top two in any of the non-relay events and did not win an event last weekend, they still put up a strong fight that cemented them in the ranks. The Blue Devils will be back in action on the 22nd, as they host the Blue Devil Invite.