Swimming & Diving Teams Claim First Championship and Returning Champs Titles

Sweeping victory this weekend brings men’s swimming & diving their first-ever championship, while the women’s team defends theirs for the win

Public Affairs Staff
A student dives into a pool while his teammates celebrate their victory.
The men's and women's swimming & diving teams celebrate claiming two NEISDA championships with a round of cheers, as teammate Griffin Pelkey belly-flops into the pool.

KINGSTON, R.I. – Roger Williams University swept the New England Intercollegiate Swimming and Diving (NEISDA) championship this weekend. For the second year in a row for the women’s team and for the first time ever for the men’s team, both of the swimming and diving teams took home the NEISDA crown on Sunday night, defeating 20 other teams in a four-day tournament hosted by the University of Rhode Island.

After four days of hard competition, Roger Williams women’s swimming and diving racked up an impressive first-place score of 1452, while the men’s team captured first place with a total score of 823.

What started as a 20-person recruiting class (12 men, eight women) for RWU last July turned into a championship-winning team for the swimming and diving program, according to swimming and diving Head Coach Matt Emmert.

“Winning a championship is always special, but this one will always have a special place in my heart, as these seniors were the first recruiting class we brought in to RWU,” Emmert said. “They believed in the vision we had for the program, worked relentlessly these past four years – both in and out of the water – and reaped the rewards by ending their careers as NEISDA Champs.”

But it wasn’t only seniors shining throughout the season and at the championship. Emmert noted that collectively, both teams have some impressive stats to boast from the four-day tournament:

  • 38 top-three medals
  • 15 New England champions
  • 13 new varsity records
  • 1 NEISDA meet record
  • And the Men’s Coaching Staff of the Year Award

“This is more than just a team – this is a family,” Emmert said. “And I couldn’t be prouder of each member of our program ending their season as New England Champions!”

Here’s a look at the 38 medalists:

Team

Event

Place

Time

Names

W

800 Free Relay

2

  7:57.57Y

Andrea Almandoz, Gabrielle Pielka, Brittany Cuevas

M

800 Free Relay

1

  6:58.89Y

Hunter Olson, John Babuka, Michael Sannicandro, Gabriel Pasqualucci

W

200 Free Relay

2

  1:39.64Y

Mackenzie Webber, Margaret Pegno, Brittany Cuevas, Hannah Nolte

M

200 Free Relay

1

  1:25.38Y

David Kitchen, Michael Sannicandro, Paul Marchese, Gabriel Pasqualucci

M

500 Free

2

  4:38.54Y

John Babuka

W

100 Fly

1

  58.00Y

Andrea Almandoz

W

50 Breast

3

  30.44Y

Kenzie Sweeney

W

200 Back

2

  2:07.55Y

Shannon Earley

W

200 Back

3

  2:07.98Y

Gabrielle Pielka

M

200 Back

2

  1:54.74Y

Hunter Olson

W

50 Free

1

  24.39Y

Mackenzie Webber

W

200 IM

2

  2:10.70Y

Andrea Almandoz

W

200 IM

3

  2:13.89Y

Hannah Nolte

M

200 IM

2

  1:54.07Y

David Kitchen

M

1 Meter 11 Dives

2

  343.74

Josh Seabrook

W

400 Medley Relay

2

  3:59.68Y

Hannah Nolte, Kenzie Sweeney, Andrea Almandoz, Mackenzie Webber

M

400 Medley Relay

1

  3:30.03Y

Hunter Olson, John Babuka, David Kitchen,
Michael Sannicandro

W

200 Medley Relay

1

  1:47.00Y

Hannah Nolte, Kenzie Sweeney, Andrea Almandoz, Mackenzie Webber

M

200 Medley Relay

1

  1:33.91Y

Hunter Olson, David Kitchen, Gabriel Pasqualucci, Michael Sannicandro

W

400 IM

1

  4:36.89Y

Shannon Earley

W

50 Fly

1

  25.89Y

Mackenzie Webber

M

50 Fly

2

  23.56Y

Gabriel Pasqualucci

W

100 Back

1

  59.75Y

Hannah Nolte

W

100 Breast

2

  1:06.55Y

Kenzie Sweeney

M

100 Breast

1

  57.62Y

David Kitchen

M

1000 Free

1

  9:49.12Y

John Babuka

M

3 Meter 11 Dives

2

  368.4

Josh Seabrook

M

100 Free

2

  46.76Y

Gabriel Pasqualucci

W

50 Back

1

  27.60Y

Hannah Nolte

M

50 Back

1

  24.19Y

Hunter Olson

W

200 Breast

3

  2:31.91Y

Kenzie Sweeney

M

200 Breast

2

  2:08.09Y

David Kitchen

W

200 Fly

3

  2:13.42Y

Shannon Earley

W

100 IM

1

  59.38Y

Andrea Almandoz

W

400 Free Relay

2

  3:34.16Y

Hannah Nolte, Shantelle Richards, Andrea Almandoz, Mackenzie Webber

M

400 Free Relay

3

  3:09.93Y

David Kitchen, Paul Marchese, Hunter Olson,
Gabriel Pasqualucci