Women's Swimming and Diving | 4/1/2025 9:59:08 AM
SUNY Geneseo senior All-American Alise Hale was named Empire 8 Swimmer of the Year honor, while Nazareth University All-American Elizabeth Tripp was named Diver of the Year, as the Empire 8 Conference announced its 2024-25 Women’s Swimming & Diving All-Conference awards on Tuesday, April 1. The awards are voted on by the league's head coaches.
Hale earned NCAA First Team All-American honors in the 200-yard butterfly, Second Team All-American accolades in the 100-yard butterfly and was a member of Geneseo’s 200-yard medley relay team that earned Second Team All-American honors. Hale was also named the Empire 8 Swimmer of the Championship Meet after winning individual titles in the 100- and 200-yard butterfly and was runner-up in the 200-yard individual medley. Hale was also part of the winning 200- and 400-yard medley relay teams and 400-yard freestyle relay team. She recorded am Empire 8 Championship record winning time of 55.18 in the 100-fly and set the all-time E8 record of 2:01.97 in winning the 200-fly. Hale was part of two Empire 8 Championship record-setting relay teams, the 200-medley relay (1:43.16) and 400-medley relay (3:47.49).
Tripp earned her second E8 Diver of the Year honor in 2024-25. She garnered Empire 8 Diver of the Championship Meet accolades for the third straight year after sweeping both the 1- and 3-meter diving events. She won the 1-meter event with a score of 476.45 and took the 3-meter event with a finals score of 474.85. Tripp also competed at the 2025 NCAA Championships in both diving events. Tripp, a five-time Empire 8 Champion in her collegiate career, was a three-time Athlete of the Week in 2024-25. This marks the seventh straight season that a Nazareth student-athlete earned E8 Diver of the Year honors.
Alfred University first-year standout Elizabeth Share was named the 2024-25 Empire 8 Rookie of the Year. Share enjoyed a tremendous debut for the Saxons, finishing as the runner-up in both the 100- and 200-yard backstroke at the 2025 Empire 8 Swimming and Diving Championships. Share recorded a time of 57.62 seconds in the 100-yard backstroke and finished the 200-yard backstroke in 2:05.22. She also was fourth in the 100-yard butterfly and competed on four relay teams for Alfred that earned top-five finishes at the league championships. Share was a two-time Empire 8 Swimming and Diving Athlete of the Week and is the first Alfred student-athlete to earn E8 Rookie of the Year honors.
The SUNY Geneseo coaching staff, led by head coach Paul Dotterweich, diving coach Shawn Austin, and assistant coach Noah Farmer earned Empire 8 Coaching Staff of the Year honors. The Knights won the 2024-25 Empire 8 Championship in their first year as a league member. Twelve different Knights earned All-Empire 8 accolades. In addition, the Knights finished 23rd at the NCAA Championships, while Hale, Alex Sotek, Nina Chicatelli and Emily Thomas earned All-American honors.
One member of each team was named that institution's representative on the 2024-25 Women's Swimming & Diving Sportsman of the Year Team. The Empire 8 Conference emphasizes that "Competing with Honor and Integrity" is an essential component of a student-athlete's experience in conjunction with an institution's educational mission. These honorees have distinguished themselves and consistently exhibit the critical traits as outstanding sportswomen.
To be named an E8 All-Conference selection, a student athlete must have finished in the top two of an event at the Conference's Championship Meet, which was held February 19-22 from the Webster Aquatic Center. Winners of the event are named to the First Team, while the Second Team is comprised of the runner-up from each event.
2024-25 Empire 8 Women’s Swimming & Diving
Award Winners
Swimmer of the Year: Alise Hale, Sr., SUNY Geneseo
Diver of the Year: Elizabeth Tripp, Gr., Nazareth
Rookie of the Year: Elizabeth Share, Fr., Alfred
Coaching Staff of the Year: SUNY Geneseo, led by head coach Paul Dotterweich
Empire 8 Sportswoman of the Year
Elizabeth Share, Fr., Alfred (Macedon, NY/Palmyra-Macedon)
Elizabeth Sagan, Sr., SUNY Brockport (Hamlin, NY/Brockport)
Lydia Benjamin, Jr., SUNY Geneseo (Elmira, NY/Elmira)
Amanda Wilbur, Sr., Hartwick (Watkins Glen, NY/Watkins Glen)
Lauren Sanford, Sr., Nazareth (Hyde Park, NY/Franklin D. Roosevelt)
2024-25 Empire 8 Women’s Swimming and Diving Championship All-Conference Selections
50-Yard Freestyle
First Team: Alex Sotek, So., SUNY Geneseo – :23.28
Second Team: Elizabeth Sagan, Sr., SUNY Brockport – :23.94
100-Yard Freestyle
First Team: Alex Sotek, So., SUNY Geneseo – :51.97
Second Team: Elizabeth Sagan, Sr., SUNY Brockport – :52.54
200-Yard Freestyle
First Team: Abby Funk, Jr., SUNY Geneseo – 1:54.66
Second Team: Hannah Brockman, Jr., SUNY Geneseo – 1:55.83
500-Yard Freestyle
First Team: Abby Funk, Jr., SUNY Geneseo – 5:02.75
Second Team: Hannah Brockman, Jr., SUNY Geneseo – 5:04.24
1,650-Yard Freestyle
First Team: Abby Funk, Jr., SUNY Geneseo – 17:19.75
Second Team: Hannah Brockman, Jr., SUNY Geneseo – 17:27.03
100-Yard Backstroke
First Team: Nina Chicatelli, Gr., SUNY Geneseo – :57.25
Second Team: Elizabeth Share, Fr., Alfred – :57.62
200-Yard Backstroke
First Team: Nina Chicatelli, Gr., SUNY Geneseo – 2:04.88
Second Team: Elizabeth Share, Fr., Alfred – 2:05.22
100-Yard Breaststroke
First Team: Emily Thomas, So., SUNY Geneseo – 1:04.38
Second Team: Courtney Pierce, Jr., Hartwick – 1:05.68
200-Yard Breaststroke
First Team: Courtney Pierce, Jr., Hartwick – 2:20.50
Second Team: Emily Thomas, So., SUNY Geneseo – 2:21.58
100-Yard Butterfly
First Team: Alise Hale, Sr., SUNY Geneseo – :55.18
Second Team: Alex Sotek, So., SUNY Geneseo – :55.78
200-Yard Butterfly
First Team: Alise Hale, Sr., SUNY Geneseo – 2:01.79 (Empire 8 Championship Record)
Second Team: Maeve Wright, Fr., SUNY Geneseo – 2:09.22
200-Yard Individual Medley
First Team: Emily LeFrois-Heath, Jr., Nazareth – 2:07.17
Second Team: Alise Hale, Sr., SUNY Geneseo – 2:09.66
400-Yard Individual Medley
First Team: Emily LeFrois-Heath, Jr., Nazareth – 4:33.26
Second Team: Makayla French, Sr., SUNY Geneseo – 4:37.95
1-Meter Diving
First Team: Elizabeth Tripp, Gr., Nazareth – 476.75
Second Team: Lydia Benjamin, Jr., SUNY Geneseo – 424.30
3-Meter Diving
First Team: Elizabeth Tripp, Gr., Nazareth – 474.85
Second Team: Lydia Benjamin, Jr., SUNY Geneseo – 451.95
200-Yard Freestyle Relay
First Team: Alex Sotek, So., Erin Johannsen, Jr., Nina Chicatelli, Gr., Courtney Sorbello, So., SUNY Geneseo – 1:34.83
Second Team: Elizabeth Sagan, Sr., Madeline Erhardt, So., Corinne Wilson, Sr., Sarah Kilburn, Sr., SUNY Brockport – 1:38.07
400-Yard Freestyle Relay
First Team: Alex Sotek, So., Erin Johannsen, Jr., Nina Chicatelli, Gr., Courtney Sorbello, So., SUNY Geneseo – 3:29.96
Second Team: Grace Kanaley, Gr., Emily LeFrois-Heath, Jr., Ellen Burroughs, So., Caroline Coleman, Sr., Nazareth – 3:32.70
800-Yard Freestyle Relay
First Team: Abby Funk, Jr., Hannah Brockman, Jr., Emily McCord, Jr., Thalia Marquez, Fr., SUNY Geneseo – 7:54.79
Second Team: Ellen Burroughs, So., Alexis Eisler, Fr., Emily LeFrois-Heath, Jr., Caroline Coleman, Sr., Nazareth – 7:55.44
200-Yard Medley Relay
First Team: Courtney Sorbello, So., Emily Thomas, So., Alise Hale, Sr., Alex Sotek, So., SUNY Geneseo – 1:43.16
Second Team: Grace Kanaley, Gr., Peyton Buell, Jr., Emily LeFrois-Heath, Jr., Ellen Burroughs, So., Nazareth – 1:48.28
400-Yard Medley Relay
First Team: Nina Chicatelli, Gr., Emily Thomas, So., Alise Hale, Sr., Alex Sotek, So., SUNY Geneseo – 3:47.49 (Empire 8 Championship Record)
Second Team: Grace Kanaley, Gr., Peyton Buell, Jr., Emily LeFrois-Heath, Jr., Caroline Coleman, Sr., Nazareth – 3:59.00
ABOUT THE EMPIRE 8 CONFERENCE
The members of the Empire 8 Conference are committed first and foremost to the pursuit of academic excellence and the league is regarded as an outstanding NCAA Division III conference. The membership has distinguished itself among its peer group for its quality institutions, spirited and sportsmanlike competition, outstanding services and highly ethical policies and practices. Its commitment to serve the educational needs of its student-athletes is the hallmark of the E8. For more on the Empire 8 visit
www.empire8.com.
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