Avey Martin – Contributor
Health and human services major Hailey Nyquist, a junior, was named the NE10 Swimmer of the Week.
Nyquist excelled in a tri-meet against Central Connecticut State University, CCSU, and Wagner College, where she had a time of 58.41 in the 100 Backstroke, a time of 2:13.11 in the 200 Backstroke, and a time of 59.74 in the 100 Butterfly. She then proceeded to earn a time of 27.69 as the lead in the 200 Medley Relay.
“She is certainly a leader. She won the conference championship title in the 100 backstroke last year. She’s probably in the best shape she’s been in at the beginning of the year. She has already shown a lot of promise in all of her events,” Head Coach Tim Quill said.
Nyquist is also highly praised by her teammates, including finance major Kobe Dominguez, a junior.
“She’s a good leader. She’s very ambitious. She works pretty hard toward her goals,” Dominguez said.
Leadership is clearly Nyquist’s strongsuit outside of the pool. Quill said she is a great example for the underclassmen on the team.
“Because she’s a returner, a junior upperclassman, I think what we want from her is what we want from all the upperclassmen, which is to take more of a leadership role and help the underclassmen adapt and adjust as quickly as possible,” Quill said.
Nyquist is a team player, said her teammates and coaches. When she discusses goals for the season, she is insistent that swimming is a team sport.
“Although it is individual races, we are still a team. Our goal is to get NE10 champs at the end of the season. We just work hard each day together to get as much points at the end as we can,” said Nyquist.
Despite her highlights outside the pool, it is her performance in the pool that has earned her the NE10 Swimmer of the Week.
“I know she’s dreaming big, and she wants to put herself in a situation where she might be able to get invited to an NCAA meet. And based on what I have been seeing as far as her practice, performance and competitiveness so far, I think she’s got a shot to do that,” Quill said.
Dominguez also believes Nyquist is a standout athlete. She encourages others to do their best, he said.
“She is very competitive. She doesn’t like to lose. She makes her goal in practice to be the first one at the wall,” Dominguez said.
Nyquist boasts several major accomplishments, including championship wins in the 400 medley relay, 100 backstroke and 200 medley relay. She also has a silver medal from the NE10 Conference Championship in the 100 butterfly last year.
Above all, Quill hopes audiences will most be impressed by Nyquist’s perseverance to go far in the demanding sport.
“She had a surgical procedure on her knee and couldn’t even train for the first half of the first year. We decided to utilize her, and she did a really good job in her first season with minimal training. If anybody is deserving of any type of comeback award, it would be Hailey,” Quill said.
