Bears swimming and diving opens 2025-26 season at Cortland on Saturday

POTSDAM, N.Y.—The SUNY Potsdam swimming and diving groups opens their 2025-26 season on the Cortland Relays this Saturday at 1 p.m. The Bears enter their second season with head coach Emily Murray and assistant Jeremy LaClaire ’21 on the helm.
 
With a 12 months underneath her belt, Murray is able to hit the bottom operating in 12 months two.
 
“Last year was about learning – with the team, with the pace, and with the challenges of a new program,” Murray mentioned. “This year, I’m coming in with much more clarity. I know these athletes now. I have a clearer picture of both our strengths and the areas we can keep improving. This season I can be very intentional in how we train, how we communicate, and what we ask of the team. It lets me build on what we started rather than reinventing every piece.”
 
Last season, Murray’s targets included tradition constructing, attending to know her athletes and serving to them develop. She feels good about what has already been completed.
 
“I saw the team grow a lot over the season, not just in the pool, but in how they supported each other and held themselves accountable,” mentioned Murray. “We built a strong culture of trust, and now it feels like we can take the next step together.”
 
Murray’s targets for this 12 months are a mixture of previous and new.
 
“This season, I want to keep strengthening the culture we’ve built while pushing the team to grow in and out of the pool,” Murray mentioned. “We’re aiming to be more competitive, both within our conference and against ourselves every day in training. Last season we had 84 percent of our swims at conference be season or lifetime bests, with 13 swims placing in the top 16. That was a big step forward, and I’m excited to carry that momentum into this year.”
 
Murray has a gaggle of skilled captains to lean on once more this season, to assist information the workforce ahead.
 
“We’ve selected (senior) Zach DeLorme (Rochester, N.Y./Irondequoit), (senior) Kathryn Nelson (Riverside, R.I./St. Mary Academy – Bay View), (sophomore) Amelia Bohr (Unionville, N.Y./Minisink Valley) and (sophomore) Katherine Steeves (Kingston, N.Y./Kingston) as our captains,” mentioned Murray. “Each of them has already earned respect in the pool and among their teammates. They work hard in the pool and lead by example. I’m excited to see how they guide us this season.”
 
Murray and her athletes are greater than prepared for the marketing campaign to start.
 
“I’m really excited about the group we’ve got this year,” Murray mentioned. “Our returners bring a lot of experience, and the newcomers have added great energy. We’ve had a strong preseason, and with the work we’ve already put in, I think we’re set up for a really fun and memorable season.”
 
The Bears return six ladies and 6 males for the 2025-26 season. They add six ladies and two males to the roster.
 
Steeves was a SUNYAC A Finalist within the 200 Individual Medley and the 100 Butterfly in February. Nelson, the ladies’s lone senior, will deal with distance once more this season. Juniors Nataelee Mullen (Canandaigua, N.Y./Canandaigua) (Freestyle/Butterfly) and Madison Mitchell (Canton, N.Y./Hugh C. Williams) (Sprint Freestyle) are additionally again. Bohr and Brooke Seaver (Syracuse, N.Y./Liverpool) (Backstroke) be part of Steeves because the returning sophomores.
 
Juniors Leah-Kristine Hunt (Watertown, N.Y./Watertown) (Breaststroke), Leo Plaza (Hudson, N.Y./Taconic Hills) (Freestyle/Butterfly) and Allie Shoen (Owego, N.Y./Owego) (Freestyle) are the brand new higher classmen. Freshman Delaynie Jessie (Liverpool, N.Y./Liverpool) (Freestyle/Breaststroke), Julie Lamantia (Binghamton, N.Y./Susquehanna Valley) (Freestyle/Backstroke) and Emma Montgomery (Winthrop, N.Y./St. Lawrence Central) (Freestyle) spherical out the brand new additions.
 
DeLorme (Butterfly/Individual Medley), Elliott Borden (Buffalo, N.Y./Amherst), Finn Boyle (Lynbrook, N.Y./Lynbrook) (Distance) and Tyler Tice (Oswego, N.Y./Oswego) (Backstroke/Freestyle) make up the boys’s senior class. Tyler Schmitt (Deer Park, N.Y./Deer Park) (Backstroke/Sprint Freestyle) and Matthew Bridge (Theresa, N.Y./Theresa) are the lone juniors. Jackson Korn (Clarence, N.Y./Clarence) (Freestyle) and Demetrio Schiavone (Altamont, N.Y./Guilderland) (Freestyle/Butterfly) are the newcomers and make up the freshman class.  
 
The Bears will compete in 9 common season meets this season earlier than the SUNYAC Championships in Buffalo, February 18-21. After their journey to Cortland this weekend, they may head to Bard College on November 1. Potsdam heads to Hartwick College on November 8, to tackle the host Hawks and SUNY Oneonta. The Bears will host the annual North Country Invitational on November 21-22. They wrap up the semester on the Cortland Invitational on December 5-6. They host Saint Michael’s College on January 10, and St. Lawrence University invades Maxcy Hall Natatorium on January 16. The Bears then shut out the common season on the highway, touring throughout city to Clarkson University on January 17 and Oswego State on January 31.
 
All house meets might be streamed stay on Potsdambears.com.