WORCESTER, Mass. — The Southern Connecticut State University women's swimming and diving team kicked off the 2026 Northeast-10 Conference Championships on Thursday with several notable performances, positioning themselves atop the team standings after the first day of competition.
Southern Connecticut's "A" relay team dominated the opening Event 1, the 800 yard freestyle relay. The quartet of senior Jasmine Uricchio, senior Kali Dominguez, senior Paola Castillo, and junior Molly Kennedy combined for a winning time of 7:39.40, securing 44 points for the Owls. Their "B" relay team, featuring sophomore Aralyn Vogel, freshman Ava Emmerich, sophomore Sierra DuCharme, and junior Zoe McNeill, also contributed significantly with a fifth-place finish (7:53.49), adding 20 points to the team's total.
In the grueling 1,000-yard freestyle, Southern Connecticut showcased its distance prowess by placing three swimmers in the top six. Paola Castillo led the charge with a second-place finish, clocking in at 10:37.97, good for 17 points. Sierra DuCharme followed closely in third place with a time of 10:41.47, earning 16 points. Kali Dominguez rounded out the top finishers for the Owls in the event, touching the wall in sixth place at 10:45.57, adding 13 points.
After Thursday's events, Southern Connecticut State University leads the women's team rankings with an impressive 127 points, ahead of Bentley Swimming & Diving (104 points) and Felician University (64 points).
The four-day meet continues Friday with the 3 Meter diving finals 200-yard freestyle relay, 500-yard free 200-yard IM, 50-yard free and the 400-yard medley relay.