FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – After earning their highest finish in program history at the NCAA Div. II Championships on Mar. 17, the Nova Southeastern women's swimming team captured all three of the Sunshine State Conference's highest accolades, as announced by the conference office on Thursday morning.
For the second-consecutive year, the Sharks claimed the title of women's Swimmer of the year and women's Coach of the Year, represented by senior
Courtney DeVeny and head coach Benjamin Hewitt.
Emma Sundstedt rounded out the three awards for NSU, capturing the title of SSC Women's Freshman Swimmer of the Year.
DeVeny becomes the third Shark in NSU history to be named SSC Women's Swimmer of the Year, and the second-consecutive award winner for the Sharks as
Emma Wahlstrom earned the title last season. DeVeny became a two-time national champion earlier this month, capturing the gold in the 400 IM with a time of 4:15.39. She also placed fourth in the 200 backstroke and sixth in the 200 IM at the championship meet. In relay competition, DeVeny helped NSU to third place in both the 200 and 400 medley relays and a sixth-place finish in the 800 freestyle relay.
In 2017-18, the Estero, Fla. native set individual NSU records in the 200 butterfly (1:59.80), the 200 IM (2:00.22) and the 400 IM (4:15.39), with all but the 200 IM serving as conference records, as well. In the relays, DeVeny and her fellow Sharks set conference and NSU records in the 800 freestyle relay (7:22.14), the 200 medley relay (1:40.31) and the 400 medley relay (3:41.86). Along with being named Swimmer of the Year, DeVeny was also selected as the Women's Swimmer of the Meet at the 2018 SSC Championship.
Following a stellar breakout season, Sundstedt becomes the second Shark in program history to bring home the title of SSC Women's Freshman of the Year. After one season, the freshman from Hasselby, Sweden inked her name in both the NSU and SSC history books for the 500 freestyle (4:46.00), 1000 freestyle (9:46.63), 1650 freestyle (16;27.00), 400 freestyle relay (3:21.16) and 800 freestyle relay (7:22.14). On Dec. 15, Sundstedt broke the NCAA Div. II record in the 1000 freestyle with her time of 9:46.63, which still holds as the top time.
In the individual events at the 2018 national championship, Sundstedt grabbed third in the 200 freestyle and sixth in the 500 free, 1000 free and 1650 free. In the relay events, she helped NSU to a fourth-place finish in the 400 freestyle relay and a sixth-place finish in the 800 freestyle relay.
Hewitt earns his second consecutive SSC Women's Swimming Coach of the Year honor, and Nova Southeastern's third in four years. In his second year at the helm, Hewitt led the Sharks to their fourth SSC women's championship and a third-place finish among 45 scoring teams at the national championship. The 288 point, third-place performance, at this year's national meet is best in NSU program history.
