Bridgewater, NJ -- The race for the top spot in NEC women’s swimming & diving couldn’t be much tighter heading into the 2026-27 season.

Defending champion Howard edged Central Connecticut for the top spot in the preseason coaches poll, collecting four first-place votes to the Blue Devils’ three. The Bison will look to build on last year’s breakthrough season after capturing the program’s first NEC title, while the Blue Devils will set their sights on a fourth crown in five years.
 
Wagner finished third, followed by LIU in fourth and Le Moyne in fifth. New league member VMI was voted to finish sixth in their maiden NEC swim and dive season, and Stonehill rounded out the poll in seventh place.

Since joining the league in 2023, Howard had come agonizingly close to claiming a conference title, finishing third in 2023 and runner-up in both 2024 and 2025. The Bison finally broke through in 2026, going toe-to-toe with Central Connecticut over four days before emerging with 856 points, just 19 ahead of the Blue Devils, to claim their first NEC crown. Head Coach Nic Askew’s efforts earned him his second NEC Coach of the Year honor.
 
The Bison’s repeat ambitions are fueled by the return of a number of key contributors from last year’s team. Senior Rhanishka Gibbs (Nassau, Bahamas/TCU) won the 100 breast and finished second in the 50 free at the 2026 NEC meet. She was also a member of the 200 and 400 medley relay teams that took gold. Alyssa Napier (Wilmington, DE) will look to build off of an outstanding freshman season where she claimed four gold medals. The sophomore won the 100 fly and was part of the first place 400 free, 200 medley and 400 medley relay teams. Chanice Posada (Houston, TX) enters 2026-27 coming off a year where she claimed four gold medals as well. The senior won the 100 back in 2026 and earned gold with three relay teams.
 
CCSU’s aspirations of reclaiming the throne are bolstered by a host of All-Conference returnees up and down the roster for veteran head coach Bill Ball, an eight-time NEC Coach of the Year. A pair of underclassmen shined for the Blue Devils last season, as Addison Kenney (Saratoga Springs, NY/Saratoga Springs) and freestyle specialist Grace M. Young (West Hurley, NY/Onteora) combined for ten NEC medals. Kenney was named Rookie of the Meet at the 2026 NEC Championship after collecting four relay medals to go along with a pair of individual silvers and a bronze. Sophie Milhomens (Wolcott, CT/Wolcott), Maggie Rutledge (Southbury, CT/Pomperaug) and Grace Young (Guilford, CT/Guilford) also return with 2026 gold medals on their resumes. Kaitlyn Carroll (Liverpool, NY/Cicero-North) swept the diving events for the second consecutive year, making her the fifth diver in league history to ever do so. Jewelle Maziarz (Newmarket, NH/Newmarket), the 2023 NEC Outstanding Diver, returns for her fifth year after earning a pair of silver medals last winter.

VMI is no stranger to NEC swimming and diving. The Keydets competed in the conference as an associate member in the early 2000s, with the women's program spending its first two varsity seasons in the NEC after the sport was introduced at VMI in 2006.
 
The NEC Women’s Swimming and Diving Championships will take place from February 17-20 and will be hosted at VMI Aquatic Center in Lexington, VA.
 
About The NEC
Now in its 46th season, the NEC is an NCAA Division I collegiate athletic association consisting of nine institutions of higher learning located throughout six states. Media coverage of the NEC extends to a number of the largest markets in the United States including New York (#1), Chicago (#3), Boston (#9). Hartford/New Haven (#32) and Syracuse (#88). Founded in 1981 as the basketball-only ECAC Metro Conference, the NEC has grown to sponsor 25 sports for men and women and now enjoys automatic access to 17 different NCAA Championships. NEC full member institutions include Central Connecticut, Chicago State, FDU, Le Moyne, LIU, Mercyhurst, New Haven, Stonehill and Wagner. For more information on the NEC, visit the league’s official website (www.necsports.com) and digital network (www.necfrontrow.com), or follow the league on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Instagram and TikTok, all @NECsports.