Edgar Ayala – Sports Editor
The Owl trio of Tim Quill, Raymond Cswerko and Katherine Crochet of Southern Connecticut’s swimming and diving programs earned prestigious postseason awards by the Northeast-10 Conference.
Quill, the head coach of the men’s and women’s swimming and diving team, was honored with being the NE-10 Coach of the Year. Cswerko was named NE-10 Men’s Swimmer of the Year, and Crochet achieved NE-10 Women’s Swimmer of the Year.
“It was a little different this year on the women’s side. Traditionally the winning team coach gets Coach of the Year,” Quill said. “This year they decided to vote differently. But it’s nice to be recognized by my peers in the sport.”
The women’s swimming and diving team finished in second at the NE-10 Conference Championships, 36.5 points behind conference winners Assumption College. At the meet, Crochet also took home the Most Outstanding Performer award.
Even though Assumption took home the glory, Crochet said she had no idea she was going to be considered for this year’s award.
“When considering the level of competition I was up against throughout the season, this latest accomplishment definitely takes the cake,” Crochet said. “I am extremely honored to have been named the 2016 NE-10 Female Swimmer of the Year, and I thank the deciding members that have bestowed upon me this great honor.”
On the other side, the men’s swimming and diving team managed to win their sixth consecutive NE-10 Championship. Where star swimmer Cswerko, earned Most Outstanding Performer.
Cswerko, the 2014 NCAA Champion in the 200 butterfly, had an injury that caused him to miss the 2014-15 season. After he came back from his injury, he said he knew he was going to go through obstacles to get back to the shape he was in.
“I knew that I would have to work twice as hard just to get back to where I was, and that improving would be even harder after the great year I had the year before,” he said.
This year, at the NCAA Championships, Cswerko didn’t have as much success as he did in the previous years.
After becoming a national champion in the 200 butterfly, Cswerko said he was not proud of what he accomplished this year.
“I did not perform even close to my potential at that meet,” said Cswerko, “considering my results from previous championships. My races did not reflect my ability or the effort that I had put in this season.”
He added: “I took that meet as a reason to work even harder when returning, because I could not end my career the way I swam there.”
Crochet on other hand, finished in 16th place in the 50 yard freestyle at the NCAA Championships with a time of 23.31. Additionally, she also earned honorable mention All-America honors in the event.
At NCAA’s, Crochet said she was not feeling the confidence an athlete should be feeling heading into this type of competition.
“I am very happy and proud to bring these accomplishments back to SCSU as a representation of the team as well as myself,” Crochet said. “However I truly feel there’s more gas in the tank. I look forward to next season with hopes of improved performances and results.”
Now a senior, Cswerko time for the Owls and the swimming program has come to an end. And Quill couldn’t help but praise the star swimmer after serving his four years of collegiate swimming.
“It’s a huge loss,” Quill said. “Not only on a championship level, but on a dual meet level. He’s our go to guy. He can pretty much win most races in a dual meet format. To lose a guy like that is big for our team.”
Despite the departure of six seniors on the men’s team, Quill said the team is scouting for new swimmers to replace the likes of Cswerko, while still having a shot at next year’s conference championships.
Photo Credit: Katherine Krajcik