Abigail Will Named to GNAC Sportsmanship Team
WINTHROP, Mass. – Simmons College sophomore Miriam Swisher has been named the 2015 GNAC Women's Swimmer of the Year, as voted upon by the league's head coaches.
Swisher (pictured, right) was dominant this season, winning 31 of 39 individual events that she entered, including six of the seven 100-yard freestyle races she competed in. Swisher was also the top scorer for the Sharks at the GNAC Championship with 36 points after winning all four of her individual events, which included three GNAC and two pool records.
At GNACs, the Albuquerque, N.M. native won the 50 free (24.40), set a new GNAC record in the 200 free (1:57.57), and set new GNAC and pool records in both the 50 back (27.36) and 100 free (51.75). Her time in the 100 free was good enough for an NCAA qualifier 'B' cut, and she was also a part of Simmons' winning 400 medley relay (4:10.25) and 200 free relay (1:42.64).
The eight-time GNAC Women's Swimmer of the Week was also stellar at the 2015 New England Intercollegiate Swimming & Diving Association (NEISDA) Championship, finishing second in a pair of freestyle events and setting a school record with a 27.35-second 50-yard backstroke split in the 200 medley relay. She also broke her own school standard (1:54.81) in the 200 free to place 20th during the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Championship prelims.
Regis College freshman Jessica Higgins received the 2015 GNAC Women's Rookie of the Year Award after a strong first season with the Pride. At the GNAC Championships at Simmons, the Peabody, Mass. native Higgins won both the 100 back (1:03.73) and 200 back (2:15.94) events, while setting a new GNAC record in the 200.
Higgins also had top-10 finishes in the 100 back (1:02.44) and 200 back (2:13.81) at the 2015 NEISDA Championships and was a member of three top-10 relay teams for the Pride at the event.
Simmons head coach Mindy Williams (pictured, left) was selected by her peers as the 2015 GNAC Women's Swimming & Diving Coach of the Year, earning her the honor for the third straight season and fourth time overall. The seventh-year head coach led her program to a 10-2 record and its 11th straight GNAC Swimming & Diving Championship title in December. The Sharks also placed third at the NEISDA Championship for the second straight year, collecting 725 points.
Simmons also received the 2015 GNAC Institutional Sportsmanship Award, as voted upon by the conference's seven head coaches. Also out of the pool during the 2014-15 campaign, the Sharks were honored with an NEISDA Team Sportsmanship Award and Fall Scholar All-America Team recognition from the College Swimming Coaches Association of America (CSCAA).
For the All-Sportsmanship Team honorees, please see below.
Information Provided by Simmons & Regis Athletics Communications.
Founded in 1995, the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) is an NCAA Division III association made up of 12 member institutions and over 3,000 student-athletes across the New England region. Each year, the GNAC sponsors and administers 17 championships, while balancing academic integrity, athletic opportunities and community involvement.
Women's Swimmer of the Year - Miriam Swisher, Simmons
Women's Rookie of the Year - Jessica Higgins, Regis
Women's Coach of the Year - Mindy Williams, Simmons
Institutional Sportsmanship Award - Simmons College
2015 GNAC All-Sportsmanship Team
Abigail Will, Elms (So., Hopkinton, Mass.)
Katrina Aman, Husson (Jr., Lakeville, Mass.)
Justina George, Norwich (Jr., Wallingford, Conn.)
Haley Bowen, Regis (Sr., Litchfield, N.H.)
Amanda Willhoft, Saint Joseph (Conn.) (Sr., Manchester, Conn.)
Kelly Carter, Saint Joseph's (Maine) (Sr., Dedham, Mass.)
Alexandra Vutech, Simmons (Jr., Woodstock, Vt.)
