WATERVILLE, Maine – 2023 North Atlantic Conference Women’s Swimming & Diving Champion Husson University claimed three of the conference’s major end-of-season awards while runner-up Maine Maritime Academy received two, in the NAC’s list of annual honors in the sport.
 
Husson’s Kayla Payson (Belfast, Maine) repeated as the NAC’s Swimmer of the Year, while Riley Mahoney (Oakham, Massachusetts) is the conference’s Diver of the Year. Maine Maritime Academy’s Rayelle Brewer (Cheyenne, Wyoming) was selected as Rookie of the Year. Maine Maritime Head Coach Tony DeMuro was named Head Coach of the Year in NAC women’s swimming and diving.
 
Husson’s Abbie Howe (Lewiston, Maine) was named the NAC’s Senior Scholar Athlete in women’s swimming and diving.
 
Payson took first place in three individual events – the 200 Butterfly (2:19.41), the 500 Freestyle (5:37.78), and the 1000 Freestyle (11:35.85) – and was a part of Husson’s winning teams in three relay events at the 2023 NAC Women’s Swimming & Diving Championships. She was tabbed for NAC Swimmer of the Week honors five times during the 2022-23 season. Payson won those same three events at the 2022 NAC Women’s Swimming & Diving Championships on her way to earning Swimmer of the Year honors at the conference’s inaugural swimming & diving championship.
 
Mahoney won the 1M diving competition at the 2023 NAC championships, recording 350.80 points in the finals and edging out teammate Shelby Peterson, the 2022 NAC Diver of the Year, by 5.85 points in the finals.
 
Maine Maritime’s Brewer took first-place honors in three individual events – the 50 Butterfly (28.05), 200 Freestyle (2:00.44), and the 50 Freestyle (25.99) – and swam the lead leg for the Mariners’ winning team in the 200 Free Relay. She earned NAC Rookie of the Week honors three times during the 2022-23 campaign, and was named Swimmer of the Week on December 5, 2022.
 
Maine Maritime’s Tony DeMuro was named the NAC’s Women’s Swimming & Diving Coach of the Year after mentoring the Mariners to a second-place finish at the 2023 NAC Women’s Swimming & Diving Championships. The Mariners charted 563 points at this season’s championship, trailing the first-place squad from Husson by 19.5 points.
 
A criminal justice and psychology major, Howe is a six-time honoree on Husson’s President’s List and has earned multiple NAC All-Academic Team selections. She is a member of the Psi Chi (psychology) and Alpha Phi Sigma (criminal justice) honor societies, and is a member of Husson’s Criminal Justice Club which works to raise awareness of domestic assault. Howe is also a founding member of Husson’s Thrift Club, which actively runs clothes drives for the Husson community.
 
In addition to the top conference awards, the 22 individual event winners at the 2023 NAC Women’s Swimming & Diving Championship were named to the All-Conference Team and five women were named to the NAC Women's Swimming & Diving Sportsmanship Team.
 
The Sportsmanship Team is reserved for those who distinguish themselves through demonstrated acts of sportsmanship and ethical behavior. The honorees have positively affected the sport culture and meet environment by clearly demonstrating sportsmanship and integrity beyond playing rules and etiquette.
 
2023 All-North Atlantic Conference
First Place at the NAC Championship
 
50 Butterfly – Rayelle Brewer, Maine Maritime Academy
100 Butterfly – Rachel Hand, Husson University /
          Gina Ouellette, Gordon College
200 Butterfly – Kayla Payson, Husson University
50 Backstroke – Lisa Zhukov, Maine Maritime Academy
100 Backstroke – Rachel Hand, Husson University
200 Backstroke – Rachel Hand, Husson University
50 Breaststroke – Ava Emery, Husson University
100 Breaststroke – Megan Durrua, Maine Maritime Academy
200 Breaststroke – Erin Madden, Husson University
50 Freestyle – Rayelle Brewer, Maine Maritime Academy
100 Freestyle – Kelsey Burrows, Cazenovia College
200 Freestyle – Rayelle Brewer, Maine Maritime Academy
500 Freestyle – Kayla Payson, Husson University
1000 Freestyle – Kayla Payson, Husson University
100 Individual Medley – Megan Durrua, Maine Maritime Academy
200 Individual Medley – Erin Madden, Husson University
1M Diving – Riley Mahoney, Husson University
200 Freestyle Relay – Maine Maritime Academy (Rayelle Brewer, Megan Durrua, Natasha Kopeck, Liza Zhukov)
400 Freestyle Relay – Husson University (Kayla Payson, Erin Madden, Ava Emery, Rachel Hand)
200 Medley Relay – Husson University (Abbie Howe, Ava Emery, Kayla Payson, Rachel Hand)
400 Medley Relay – Husson University (Abbie Howe, Ava Emery, Kayla Payson, Rachel Hand)

NAC Women’s Swimming & Diving Sportsmanship Team
Cazenovia College – Nikki Menz
SUNY Delhi – Jessica Roon
Gordon College – Grace Haxhinasto
Husson University – Hannah Soutter
Maine Maritime Academy – Milo Cook-Sharp