Women's Swimming and Diving | 2/21/2026 8:42:02 PM
WEBSTER, NY – SUNY Geneseo emerged victorious for the second straight season, as action wrapped up at the four-day 2026 Empire 8 Women’s Swimming and Diving Championship, held at the Webster Aquatic Center on Saturday, Feb. 21.
The nationally-ranked Knights finished with 1,184.5 team points to pace the field with ahead of SUNY Brockport, who finished with 746.5 points and Hartwick, who was third with 596. Nazareth University finished fourth overall with 443 points, while Alfred University placed fifth with 398 points.
Alex Sotek of Geneseo was named the 2026 Empire 8 Swimmer of the Meet, while teammate Morgan Davey was named Diver of the Meet. SUNY Geneseo senior Erin Johannsen also was named 2026 Empire 8 Torchbearer Award winner for Academic Excellence.
Hannah Brockman of Geneseo began the final evening by winning the 1,650-yard freestyle by nearly 24 seconds over teammate Abby Funk in an NCAA “B” cut qualifying time of 17:20.84.
Alex Sotek of Geneseo won her second sprint freestyle event of the week, taking the 100-yard freestyle 51.93 seconds as she nipped teammate Erin Johannsen by 54 one-hundredths of a second.
Elizabeth Share of Alfred won an extremely tight 200-yard backstroke final by just 58 one-hundredths of a second over Maya Marcyan of SUNY Geneseo in a time of 2:06.38. Share won a backstroke event for the second straight night, having won the 100-backstroke on Friday.
SUNY Geneseo standout Emily Thomas won her second individual title of the week, rolling to a decisive victory in the 200-yard breaststroke by just over six seconds in a time of 2:21.38. Elaine Chen of Hartwick placed second overall.
SUNY Geneseo senior diver Lydia Benjamin won the 3-meter final recording a score of 473.70. She finished just ahead of teammate Morgan Davey, who had a score of 465.40. Davey won the 1-meter on Thursday, finishing just ahead of Benjamin.
Geneseo ended the meet with a with by just under six seconds in the 400-yard freestyle relay, as the quartet of Alex Sotek, Erin Johannsen, Sibby Lowe, and Courtney Sorbello won in a time of 3:30.16.
Saturday’s Finals Results
1,650-yard freestyle – Hannah Brockman, SUNY Geneseo – 17:20.84 – NCAA “B” Cut
100-yard freestyle – Alex Sotek, SUNY Geneseo – :51.93
200-yard backstroke – Elizabeth Share, Alfred – 2:06.38
200-yard breaststroke – Emily Thomas, SUNY Geneseo – 2:21.38
3-meter diving – Lydia Benjamin, SUNY Geneseo – 473.70
400-yard freestyle relay – Alex Sotek, Erin Johannsen Sibby Lowe, Courtney Sorbello, SUNY Geneseo – 3:30.16
Final 2026 Empire 8 Women’s Swimming and Diving Championship Team Scores
SUNY Geneseo – 1184.5
SUNY Brockport – 746.5
Hartwick – 596
Nazareth – 443
Alfred – 398
2026 Empire 8 Championship Women’s Swimmer of the Meet: Alex Sotek, Jr., SUNY Geneseo
2026 Empire 8 Championship Women’s Diver of the Meet: Morgan Davey, Fr., SUNY Geneseo
2026 Empire 8 Championship Torchbearer Award Winner: Erin Johannsen, Sr., SUNY Geneseo, 3.96 GPA - Childhood Special Education major