Senior Eileen Mullowney Named Top Women's Swimmer at NEISDA

Saint Michael's College swimming & diving senior Eileen Mullowney (Burlington, Vt./Burlington) was named Women's Swimmer of the Meet after winning her third freestyle race at the New England Intercollegiate Swimming & Diving Association (NEISDA) Championship on February 19.

Seven more school records fell on the final day of the meet, with 18 of the programs' 46 swimming marks being rewritten over the weekend. The men were sixth among 13 squads thanks to 235 points, while the women captured sixth place out of 22 institutions with 623 points, as both teams earned their high standing despite not sending any participants to the diving portion last weekend. Bentley University won both competitions.

After winning the 50-, 100- and 200-yard freestyle races at the Northeast-10 Conference Championship two weekends ago, Mullowney repeated the feat this weekend, breaking a school record and provisionally qualifying for the NCAA Championship in all three events. Her winning time in the 100 free on Sunday was 52.70, as she topped the field for the first time since her freshman year thanks to her fifth career victory at the NEISDA meet.

Mullowney played a role in a second record on Sunday, joining senior Kaytlyn Kelley (Jefferson, Mass./Wachusett Regional), junior Corine McAllister (South Glastonbury, Conn./Glastonbury) and sophomore Julie Mullowney (Burlington, Vt./Burlington) on the fifth-place 400 free relay, which clocked in at 3:42.34.

 Kelley placed second in the 50-yard backstroke in 27.83, breaking Cassie Littlefield's '04 11-year-old record of 28.35 and coming within 0.02 seconds of the winning swimmer, while freshman Steph Nadow (Charlton, Mass./Saint Peter-Marian) was fifth in 28.40, also nearly surpassing the prior standard. Julie Mullowney notched another record in the 200-yard breaststroke trials, touching the wall in 2:32.80 while coming within 0.06 seconds of qualifying for the A finals. Senior Sammy Sweeney (Waterbury Center, Vt./Harwood Union/Franklin & Marshall) broke her own school record in the 200-yard butterfly during the morning trials, finishing in 2:16.14 before taking eighth in the finals.

Freshman Nathan Paluso (Windham, Maine/Windham) broke a three-year-old school record in the 200 breast during the trials, with his time of 2:18.16 besting the old mark by 0.02 seconds. He took eighth in the finals. Senior Dan Healy (South Burlington, Vt./South Burlington) also set a mark during the day, notching a showing of 48.90 in a 100 free time trial. In the 1,650 free, juniors Kyle Esposito (Endicott, N.Y./Union-Endicott) and Andrew Marshall (Kittery, Maine/Saint Thomas Aquinas/Saint Joseph's [ME]) were eighth and ninth, respectively, in times of 17:45.28 and 17:50.57. Both approached the program standard of 17:40.32.

In all, each Mullowney played a role in seven school records at the meet, Kelley had a hand in five, and Sweeney put her name on three. Healy helped four men's marks fall, and Paluso played a role in three.

Eileen Mullowney will now await word on whether she becomes the first swimming & diving student-athlete in Saint Michael's history to qualify for the NCAA Championship, as the entry lists will be revealed on Feb. 29. Based on national results entering the weekend, her performances at NEISDAs would have had her tied for 43rd in Division II in the 50 free and alone in 49th and 34th in the 100 and 200, respectively. At the 2011 NCAA Championship, 56 swimmers qualified for the 50 free, 58 for the 100 free, and 50 for the 200 free.