Rainville and Sweeney Receive GNAC Major Swimming Awards
The Regis (Mass.) men's swimming & diving team received a trio of major awards from the Great Northeast Athletic Conference, as the conference announced its end of year award winners for swimming & diving on Tuesday afternoon.
WINTHROP, Mass. - The Regis (Mass.) men's swimming & diving team received a trio of major awards from the Great Northeast Athletic Conference, as the conference announced its end of year award winners for swimming & diving on Tuesday afternoon. Senior Nick Rainville (North Reading, Mass.) was named the conference's Athlete of the Year, James Sweeney the men's Coach of the Year, and the team was named the recipient of the Men's Institutional Sportsmanship Award.
Rainville was a five-time GNAC Athlete of the Week selection and won three of his four individual events (100 free, 200 fly, 100 fly, 50 fly) at the GNAC Championships. At the NEISDA Championships, he won the 100 fly by nearly two seconds and set a program record with a top finish in the 100 free.
Sweeney, who has been at the helm of the Pride's swimming & diving programs since 2012, led the Regis men to a second-place finish at the GNAC Championships and helped guide Rainville and the team to a strong showing at NEISDAs. Sweeney was a four-time NCAA All-American and three-time Big Ten Champion in his time at Indiana University.
Both awards mark a first for both the men's and women's programs, as Rainville's GNAC Athlete of the Year award is the first in Regis history, while Sweeney receives his first Coach of the Year honors. The only other major GNAC award won by the Pride came in 2015, when now-senior Jessica Higgins (Peabody, Mass.) was named GNAC Rookie of the Year.
Seniors Michael Bruno (Winthrop, Mass.) and Ashlyn DeRoche (North Reading, Mass.) also received recognition from the conference on Tuesday, as they were named to the men's and women's GNAC All-Sportsmanship teams.
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