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Jake Nowoswiat from Newtown Square, Pennsylvania has announced his commitment to continue his academic and athletic careers at Bucknell beginning in fall 2025.

“I am excited to announce my verbal commitment to continue my academic and athletic career at Bucknell University! I’d like to thank God,family,friends and coaches for the support. #rayBucknell”

Nowoswiat swims for Suburban Seahawks Club and just finished his senior year at Malvern Preparatory School in the suburbs of Philadelphia. He was a dual sport athlete in high school as he also played water polo.

In April 2024, Nowoswiat swam to numerous lifetime best times at Y-Nationals. He finished 13th in the 400 IM in a 4:02.11 and 21st in the 200 breast in a 2:04.74.

Most recently, Nowoswiat swam at the 2025 Middle Atlantic Championships in March. There he finished 3rd in the 400 IM (4:05.97), 8th in the 200 breast (2:07.54), and 19th in the 100 breast (58.74). He also swam to a lifetime best 52.61 in the 100 back for 22nd.

Nowoswiat’s Best SCY Times Are:

• 100 breast: 58.72
• 200 breast: 2:04.74
• 200 IM: 1:52.75
• 400 IM: 4:01.36

The Bucknell men finished 4th out of 10 teams at the 2025 Patriot League Championships with 952.5 points. Loyola Maryland was 3rd with 1213 points.

Based on his best times, Nowoswiat is on the border of the ‘B’ and ‘C’ final in the 200 breast while his 400 IM would have made the ‘C’ final. The team was thin in the 200 breaststroke with only one ‘A’ finalist and one ‘B’ finalist.

Nowoswiat will arrive this fall as a member of the class of 2029 along with Finn Lukens, Evan Hepburn, Drew Davis, and Jason Kellerman.

If you have a commitment to report, please send an email with a photo (landscape, or horizontal, looks best) and a quote to [email protected].

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Hard Rock Digital inked a fresh agreement with Bragg Gaming Group to commission the provider to create a portfolio of Hard Rock Bet Casino brand exclusive online casino games. 

This is a further expansion of Bragg’s already established deal with Hard Rock Digital, which incorporates proprietary content from Bragg’s in-house development studios, including Wild Streak Gaming, Atomic Slot Lab, and Indigo Magic, as well as content from Bragg’s broader group of partner studios. 

Key takeaways

• The partnership will see Bragg Gaming develop exclusive casino games for Hard Rock Digital.
• The deal is an extension of the already established partnership between the two.
• Bragg Gaming is setting its focus on U.S. growth.

The agreement is intended to grow Bragg Gaming’s footprint in the U.S. iGaming space. The in-house-developed games will be launched in New Jersey initially, and the agreement also sets the stage for future launches in additional states.

Bragg Gaming, in a statement, revealed the move will bring a substantial boost to U.S. growth, making it the group’s fastest-growing market in 2025. Bragg also announced a partnership with U.S. casino operator Caesars Entertainment in the new year, becoming its official technology provider.

The expansion comes as Bragg gathers strategic momentum. The company recently hired Scott Milford as Executive VP, Group Content, which confirms Bragg is positioning itself to become a worldwide leader in generating online casino content.

He brings over 25 years of gaming experience from his previous leadership roles at Aristocrat Leisure Limited, Konami Group, and Aruze Gaming. His experience in innovation and running a studio will aid Bragg’s future expansion, particularly in regulated North American jurisdictions. 

Hard Rock Digital continues gaming expansion 

The rollout follows a previous content partnership Hard Rock Digital signed with Games Global last May. Under the partnership, Games Global launched Hard Rock Splash ‘n Spin Link&Win, a Hard Rock-branded slot game available to Hard Rock Bet customers in New Jersey. Aurum Signature Studios, part of Games Global’s network of developers, created it.

Hard Rock Splash ‘n Spin Link&Win features the Link&Win mechanism, triggered when the reels stop with six bonus symbols in a round. Players get three initial respins, and every additional bonus or jackpot symbol in the feature resets the counter to three.

There’s also a Free Spins Wheel triggered by a Bonus Wheel and three scattered symbols, which can be triggered when a player fills up a bonus meter. Together, they provide a possibility for a win as much as 10,000 times the original stake.

Bragg’s deepening relationship with Hard Rock Digital indicates a broader industry trend for operators to differentiate through branded and bespoke content. By gaining exclusive content rights, Hard Rock Bet can create customer loyalty and extend playing time in highly competitive state-regulated environments. 

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With every new set on Friday night, Brookline looked more and more like the state’s consensus No. 1 boys volleyball team. The Warriors’ struggles to receive Needham’s serves ended midway through the second set. Their tendency to fall behind early and give the Rockets too much of a lead stopped being a problem in the third set.

By the fourth set, the Warriors looked like the team they’ve been all season, and the Division 1 trophy was theirs for the taking.

Senior outside hitter Kristaps Vaivars led the way with 27 kills, and Brookline secured its first title since 1992 with a 20-25, 27-25, 25-22, 25-15 over the No. 3 Rockets on Friday at Xaverian Brothers High School.

“This is something I’ve worked for for my whole high school career,” Vaivars said. “For it to finally come true in my senior year, my last couple days here, it’s amazing.”

Trailing 18-15 in the second set, the Warriors (23-1) looked in danger of squandering their best chance to win it all in years. They’d yet to lead by even a single point, and looked unsure against a Needham team that had been to four straight state finals, winning three.

Junior Amir Tomer (10 kills, 2 blocks) got Brookline back in the set, sandwiching two kills around a block to tie it 18-18. Needham still served twice with a chance to win it, but served out of bounds both times. One more kill from Tomer and a combined block from setter Alec Smagula (4 kills, 2.5 blocks, 47 assists) and middle Luka Gallucci (1 kill, 4 blocks, 1 ace) gave Brookline a comeback win.

“This is so incredible,” Gallucci said. “It’s so incredible to be part of our high school’s history. I’m so excited for that year to go up on the wall. Every time we go into that gym for any reason, we’ll know that we’re the ones who did that.”

With momentum back on their side, Brookline took control. Two big kills from Conor Christopher (8 kills) helped give the Warriors a six-point lead midway through the third set, and Vaivars wrapped it up with back-to-back spikes. Equally able to score from the back and front rows, Vaivars tallied eight kills in the third set.

“I knew we had to win that third set,” Vaivars said. “I knew the ball was coming to me. I knew what I had to do.”

Vaivars might’ve led the way, but Brookline won on its versatility. Six different Warriors recorded at least one kill in the match, and the team used that range to build an insurmountable lead in the clinching fourth set.

Down 5-6, Vaivars and Smagula each recorded a kill and Smagula and Liam Raybould (4 kills, 4.5 blocks, 1 ace) combined on a block to finish a seven-point run. Later, Raybould, Tomer and Vaivars all scored in a five-point run that made it 20-9 and sent the packed Brookline fan section into a frenzy.

“We have the most weapons in the state,” said Smagula. “I can set the ball anywhere, front row, back row, and there’s going to be someone who can put it down.”

Vaivars brought home the final point, crushing his hit off Needham’s block and out of bounds. The win brought a stellar end to the inaugural season for head coach Lexi De la Cruz, a professional volleyball player in Puerto Rico and New England who also coaches with SMASH Volleyball, one of New England’s premier travel clubs.

“I knew that we had a target, I knew that everyone expected us to be here,” De la Cruz said. “We put in a lot of work in practice, and it showed off today. This team earned it. It wasn’t given.”

The title was not only Brookline’s first since 1992, but the culmination of almost a decade of getting close without r winning it all. The Warriors have qualified for every postseason since 2018, but Bay State Conference rivals like Newton North and Needham had previously always been there to end their season: Needham in the 2021 South sectional finals, 2022 Round of 16 and 2024 quarterfinals; and Newton North in the 2023 semifinals.

This time Brookline wouldn’t be denied, surviving first-set losses and then winning three sets in a row against both Newton North in the semis before the final win against Needham.

“I’ve been dreaming about this since I was in sixth grade watching my brother play, so it definitely feels amazing,” Smagula said. “There are so many people I could thank. So many people go into this. Not just people inside the program – people in the Brookline community, parents, players, coaches. It means a lot for the town of Brookline.”

Students, parents and even volleyball alumni packed the Xaverian Brothers gymnasium, their cheers becoming louder and louder as Brookline got stronger with each subsequent set. The student fan section, all wearing white Brookline shirts, screamed and cheered with each new point, at times completely drowning out the competing cheers from Needham’s black-attitred student section.

“Two years ago I came to the playoffs. They made it to the top four, and I was really proud of them,” said Robert Loo, a former BHS volleyball player and coach. “For this time to do this is monumental, because it’s been (more than) 30 years.”

Last seasonal scraps for the Modena water polo, there present with i Playoff for promotion in Serie B, as far as the Penta Modena, and even in A2 as regards the women’s team: a difficult task for Gavioli’s girls, who must beat Calenzano tomorrow evening at 20pm at Dogali, to then reach the national finals of the women’s B league as third in the group, next weekend in Avezzano.

All to be discovered, but with a leading role, the men’s playoff of the Penta Modena, who will be at the Fiammetta swimming pool in Certaldo at 19pm for the first leg against Certaldo Sports Centre, second in the Marche group of C, with the best attack and an average of almost 16 goals scored per game. On the other hand, Penta boasts the best defense in the category, with less than 6 goals conceded per game: it will be a very tactical match, in which the Modena team will have to make the most of their greater experience, without ever losing concentration, because Certaldo, at its second consecutive participation in the playoffs, last year forced the very strong Rn Bologna to earn promotion to B on penalties.

Luke Selmi, coach of the Modena team, announces the full lineup, while in Certaldo particular attention is given to the left-handed Martini, to the marker Nesi, while the presence of Carnesecchi, a very interesting prospect for Florentia in A1, is not certain. The return match is scheduled for Saturday 21st at 20 pm in Modena, and in the event of a draw, the goal difference will count.

Mark Cavazzoni