Previewing Penn girls’s swimming and diving 2025-26 season

New season. New pool. New probability for glory. 

On Saturday, Penn girls’s swimming and diving is able to take its marks and dive into a brand new season. After being relocated to West Philadelphia YMCA and Drexel swimming pools final season, the Quakers return to the newly renovated Sheerr Pool on Saturday to open its season in opposition to Delaware. 

Another new facet of the season is qualification for the NCAA Division I Championships. The earlier process concerned “A” and “B” requirements, and all entries needed to be allotted primarily based on rankings and remaining spots. But firstly of October, the NCAA authorized a win-and-in and time customary qualification process for the nationwide championships. Any swimmer who wins their convention title and hits the nationwide qualifying time customary within the convention closing race will obtain an automated berth to NCAAs. 

Last season, sophomore butterfly/freestyle specialist and reigning 2025 Ivy League champion within the 100-yard freestyle, Kayla Fu, notably didn’t qualify for NCAAs — however Fu would have competed at NCAAs below the brand new process.

Along with these new elements of the season and just like different Penn Athletics packages, the Red and Blue boast a brand new, extremely skilled swimmer on the teaching workers — three-time NCAA champion and 2025 Texas alum Emma Sticklen. 

“[At Penn,] I feel like I’d really be able to help more kids reach the NCAA qualifying level,” Sticklen instructed The Daily Pennsylvanian in September. “If there is a story or a moment where I see [where] one of my experiences fit, I will gladly share that experience with people.”

This yr, Sticklen is not going to be the one one who can share expertise from the NCAA stage. The Quakers return their two NCAA qualifiers from final season: seniors freestyle/particular person medley specialist Anna Moehn and freestyle specialist Sydney Bergstrom. Last yr, the duo continued their long-time legacy of dominance in distance freestyle occasions within the Ivy League and past. 

At the 2025 Ivy League championships, Moehn completed on the rostrum for the third-straight season in each the 500-yard and 1650-yard freestyle occasions. Last yr, the Alton, Ill. native additionally certified for NCAAs for the second yr in a row. Bergstrom broke out final season, successful her first medal at Ivies and making her first NCAA berth. The two shall be big-time contributors to the purpose totals at 2026 Ivies. 

Another enormous contributor will undoubtedly be Fu. The Sugar Land, Texas native appears to be like to proceed the momentum from a standout freshman yr season that included a title within the 100-yard freestyle. Fu notably competed at Ivies with sickness, so will probably be thrilling to see her ceiling within the spring at this yr’s championships.

In the specialty occasions, the Red and Blue have some rebuilding to do with the commencement of butterfly specialists Joy Jiang and Vanessa Chong, and Izzy Pytel, this system document holder in each breaststroke occasions.

However, coach Mike Schnur will look to underclassmen and star rookies to step up. 

One of these freshmen consists of butterfly/backstroke specialist Brianna Cong. The Johnston, Iowa native attended Phillips Exeter Academy and ranked second within the state of New Hampshire. Cong’s finest instances within the 100-yard butterfly and 100-yard backstroke are 53.59 and 54.11, which might’ve positioned tenth in each occasions eventually yr’s convention championships. 

Other notable newcomers embody freshmen backstroke specialist Connie Wang and butterfly specialist Caroline Cancelmo. 

On the diving facet, senior Sadie Howard returns. At the Ivies final yr, Howard completed thirteenth within the three-meter dive. Joining the group on the board are freshman divers Caroline Holcomb, sister of junior breaststroke/particular person medley specialist Meredith Holcomb, and Armina Li. 

Overall, with newcomers and returning veterans, Penn girls’s swimming and diving appears to be like to stage up and enhance on its fifth-place group end on the convention championships final yr, amidst all of the change throughout the group and the larger swimming stage.

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