CGA’s Westkott named NEWMAC men’s swimming Coach of the Year
New London — Coast Guard Academy's John Westkott was named New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference Coach of the Year in men's swimming for the third straight time on Wednesday.
Westkott led the Bears to a second-place finish in the NEWMAC Championship meet for the second straight year behind 10-time defending champion MIT. It was the eighth time he was won the award during his career.
Westkott has led the Bears to six conference championships (1999, 2001, 2004 and 2006-2008) and nine runner-up finishes. He also has a career record of 144-42 in dual meets in his 19 seasons. Coast Guard was 7-2 in dual meets this winter.
In addition, Coast Guard freshman Eric Fuhs was named NEWMAC Rookie of the Year after winning the 100 and 200 breaststroke championships while Trip Jackson earned All-Sportsmanship honors. The Bears' Celia Marzinsky earned All-Sportsmanship honors in women's swimming.
Sun release preseason schedule
• The Connecticut Sun will host a two-day preseason event involving the Dallas Wings, New York Liberty and Los Angeles Sparks on May 7 and 8 at Mohegan Sun Arena, the WNBA announced on Wednesday.
Dallas and New York will play in the doubleheader opener on May 7 at 5 p.m., followed by the Sun vs. the Sparks at 7. On May 8, Los Angeles will play the Liberty at 5 followed by the Sun vs. Wings at 7. Connecticut will ends its preseason on Friday, May 11 by hosting the Atlanta Dream at Webster Bank Arena in Bridgeport at 7 p.m.
"The four-team, two-day preseason tournament has become a popular tradition and we're thrilled to once again host a great line-up of teams at Mohegan Sun Arena," Sun vice president Amber Cox said in a release. "And the opportunity to play a third preseason game in Connecticut is a fantastic situation for us. While it is a game away from Mohegan Sun Arena, taking the 'show on the road' to a first-class facility like Webster Bank Arena still allows our great fan base another chance to see this exciting Sun team take the court."
Tickets to all preseason games go on sale on Thursday at 10 a.m., and can be purchased by visiting sun.wnba.com/2018-preseason. Season ticket members already have tickets to the preseason games at Mohegan Sun Arena in their accounts and will have the opportunity to opt-in to receive the same number of complimentary tickets to the game in Bridgeport. To receive those tickets, they must opt in by calling their account executive.
Women’s basketball
• UConn Avery Point has been seeded first for the upcoming Division III Region 21 tournament and will play No. 4 Springfield Tech in the semifinals on Saturday at noon at Bunker Hill Community College in Boston. Defending champion Roxbury CC, the second seed, plays No. 3 Massasoit CC in Saturday's other semifinal at 2 p.m., with the two winners playing for the title on Sunday at noon.
The Pointers (21-6) are ranked fourth in the recent NJCAA Division III national poll (Roxbury is No. 5) and are led by two former local Eastern Connecticut Conference stars. Senior Tatyana LaFrance Boyce of Stonington is averaging 21.9 points and 9.5 rebounds a game while freshman Mia Brennan of Waterford averages 11.4 points and 4.0 steals per game.
• Connecticut College senior Mairead Hynes was named to the All-New England Small College Athletic Conference second team for the third time in four years. Hynes, a forward, was also the 2016 NESCAC Rookie of the Year.