2026 Empire 8 Women’s Swimming and Diving Championships to Commence February 18-21 at Webster Aquatic Center

Women's Swimming and Diving | 2/17/2026 1:00:00 PM

Alfred University, SUNY Brockport, SUNY Geneseo, Hartwick College, and Nazareth University will compete at the 2026 Empire 8 Women’s Swimming and Diving Championships from Wednesday, February 18 to Saturday, February 21 from the Webster Aquatic Center in Webster, NY. Preliminary swimming and diving action begins on all four days at 10 a.m. with the finals taking place at 5:30 p.m. each evening. SUNY Geneseo is looking to repeat as Empire 8 Champions.
 
At the conclusion of the meet, an Empire 8 women’s and men’s team champion will be crowned as well as a Male and Female Swimmer and Diver of the Meet. The top three finishers in each event will also be recognized.
 
Live video and results will be available throughout the four-day event. For more on this year's championship - including daily video links, heat sheets, results, and updated information - please head to the Championship Central page. 
   
Defending Champion SUNY Geneseo enters the week ranked 20th in the latest CSCAA Division III national poll. The Knights have won 17 straight conference championships (16 SUNYAC, 1 Empire 8) dating back to the 2007-08 season. The Knights, who went 11-0 in dual meets during the 2025-26 season, have tremendous depth throughout the lineup, with six different student-athletes and all five relay teams atop the E8 leaderboards in 2025-26. Sprinter Alex Sotek, a multiple-time All-American and six-time All-American last season, is enjoying a tremendous 2025-26 campaign, as she is the current E8 leader in six individual events and has NCAA “B” cut qualifying times in the 50- and 100-yard freestyle in addition to the 100-yard butterfly. She is a five-time Empire 8 Athlete of the Week in 2024-25. Erin Johannsen, Sibby Lowe, Erin Zagrobelny, and Courtney Sorbello are also strong contenders in the sprint events. Hannah Brockman and Abby Funk are two of the top contenders in both the 200-, 500- and 1,650-yard freestyle events. Funk, the defending E8 Champion in all three events, is the top-seed in the 200-free, while Brockman enters as the top-seed in the 500- and 1,650-free. The Knights have a host of contenders in the backstroke, including Maya Marcyan, Johannsen and Sorbello. Emily Thomas, Addison Luce and Jessica Cronin lead a strong contingent in the breaststroke. Thomas is the defending E8 Champion in the 100-breaststroke. Sotek, Lowe, and Kaitlyn Geary are top contenders in the 100-fly, while Chloe Marcyan, Maeve Wright and Maura Sheehan are seeded 1-2-3 in the 200-fly. Chloe Marcyan, Molly McGourty, Sheehan and Sinead Devaney are top contenders in the individual medley. Lydia Benjamin, a three-time E8 Athlete of the Week, is the current E8 leader on the 3-meter diving board, while Morgan Davey, the reigning E8 Diver of the Week, leads on the 1-meter board. Olivia Cardot, Aurora Jacobson and Lauren Savage will also look to earn key points.
 
Hartwick is looking for its first Empire 8 title after earning runner-up honors in each of the last six championship meets. The Hawks, who went 11-3 in dual meets during the 2025-26 season, have a deep group of swimmers who can lead them to a team title, including former E8 Rookie of the Year, Cate Russo, who was the 2024 E8 Champion in the 1,650-freestyle. She enters the meet ranked fourth in the 500-yard freestyle, fifth in the 1,650-free and seventh in the 200-free. Junior standout Danielle DeCarlo was the 2024 Empire 8 Champion in the 200-yard butterfly and 400-yard individual medley and is seeded fifth in the 200-fly and will contend for a medal in the IM as well. Min-Syun Chen will compete for league titles in the breaststroke and individual medley events. She is seeded second in the 200-breaststroke. Anna Bischoff, Katie Vieira, Avery Sommo, Hope Valent, Paige Fagan, and Aubrey Vaile will look to contribute valuable points in several events. Divers Hannah DiMartino, Brooke Gutheil and Annabelle Lindsay will look to score key points for the Hawks in the diving events as well.
 
SUNY Brockport finished third in its debut season as an Empire 8 member last season and enters the 2026 Championship having won six dual matches this season. Hannah Ramos, Sarah Colwell and Lydia Lapierre are strong contenders for the Golden Eagles in the distance freestyle events, while Varshana Ramgulam is seeded second in the 200-yard individual medley and fourth in the 200-fly. Anna Lowe is seeded fourth in the 50-yard freestyle and fifth in the 100-free, while Madeline Erhardt and Skylar King will look to earn podium finishes. Erhardt is seeded fourth in the 100-yard butterfly, while Miya Vitale is seeded seventh. Addy Martino and Lindsey Spitz are seeded fourth and fifth respectively in the 100-yard breaststroke. Martino is also seeded fourth in the 200-breaststroke. Ashley Oswald and Brylee Weisenburg will look to medal in the diving events. Weisenburg is a two-time E8 Diver of the Week.
 
Nazareth, who had its streak of six straight Empire 8 Championships snapped in 2025, has a host of student-athletes atop the Empire 8 leaderboard in several events. Emily Lefrois-Heath is the defending Empire 8 Champion in the 400-yard individual medley, while Ellen Burroughs was the E8 Champion in the 100-yard freestyle in 2024. LeFrois-Heath enters the meet seeded fifth in both the 100-yard butterfly and 400-IM. Burroughs is Nazareth’s top sprint freestyle candidate, while Ally Putnam and Ella Frazier will look to medal in the distance events. Peyton Buell is a contender in the backstroke, while Hannah Kolakowski and Olivia Spinelli will also vie for honors on the diving board. Kolakowski is a three-time E8 Diver of the Week this season, while Burroughs and LeFrois-Heath have garnered Swimmer of the Week accolades.
 
Alfred enters the 2026 Empire 8 Championship looking to climb the league standings. Sophomore Elizabeth Share, the 2025 Empire 8 Rookie of the Year, is an E8 Athlete of the Week this season and is among the top contenders in the backstroke and butterfly events. Alexandra Simmons will look to medal in the 200-yard butterfly, while Isobel Anderegg and Olivia Richeda are contenders in the breaststroke events. Kyra Harry, Elsie Shumway, Lauren Mott and Courtney Cherricks and Anna Muscatiello are set to compete in freestyle events. Ruby Kavanaugh will compete for the Saxons on the diving board.
 
Current 2025-26 Empire 8 Top Times/Scores
50-yard freestyle – Alex Sotek, SUNY Geneseo – :23.08 (NCAA “B” cut qualifying time)
100-yard freestyle – Alex Sotek, SUNY Geneseo – :51.13 (NCAA “B” cut qualifying time)
200-yard freestyle – Nicole Orcutt, SUNY Brockport – 1:53.26
500-yard freestyle – Hannah Brockman, SUNY Geneseo – 5:07.65
1,000-yard freestyle – Hannah Brockman, SUNY Geneseo – 10:30.38
1,650-yard freestyle – Hannah Brockman, SUNY Geneseo – 17:23.11
50-yard backstroke – Alex Sotek, SUNY Geneseo – :26.75
100-yard backstroke – Alex Sotek, SUNY Geneseo – :57.05
200-yard backstroke – Molly McGourty, SUNY Geneseo – 2:07.37
50-yard breaststroke – Emily Thomas, SUNY Geneseo – :29.73
100-yard breaststroke – Emily Thomas, SUNY Geneseo – 1:04.05 (NCAA “B” cut qualifying time)
200-yard breaststroke – Emily Thomas, SUNY Geneseo – 2:24.26
50-yard butterfly – Alex Sotek, SUNY Geneseo – :25.74
100-yard butterfly – Alex Sotek, SUNY Geneseo – :55.36 (NCAA “B” cut qualifying time)
200-yard butterfly – Chloe Marcyan, SUNY Geneseo – 2:08.92
200-yard individual medley – Paige Fagan, Hartwick – 2:07.47
400-yard individual medley – Chloe Marcyan, SUNY Geneseo – 4:35.24
200-yard freestyle relay – SUNY Geneseo – 1:34.55 (NCAA “B” cut qualifying time)
400-yard freestyle relay – SUNY Geneseo – 3:29.57
800-yard freestyle relay – SUNY Geneseo – 7:50.86
200-yard medley relay – SUNY Geneseo – 1:43.37 (NCAA “B” cut qualifying time)
400-yard medley relay – SUNY Geneseo – 3:49.83
1-meter diving (11-dive) – Morgan Davey, SUNY Geneseo – 448.80
3-meter diving (11-dive) – Lydia Benjamin, SUNY Geneseo – 477.65
 
For the most up to date information on this year's championship, follow the Empire 8 Conference on X and Instagram (@Empire8).