Diving into Excellence: The SAA Women’s Swimming & Diving Chronicles – January 20, 2025

CANTON, Ga. – Over the weekend, all six women’s swimming & diving teams within the Southern Athletic Association were in competition as the regular season draws to a close. Centre engaged in a double-dual against two in-state rivals, achieving a victory against Transylvania 205-34 but falling to Cumberlands 135-104.5. Hendrix hosted the University of the Ozarks yet fell short with a score of 131-81. Berry journeyed to Atlanta and faced losses against both Emory and SCAD. Rhodes traveled to Sewanee, where the Lynx triumphed 186-99, while Millsaps wrapped up its regular season by defeating Centenary 102-78.

The 2025 SAA Swimming & Diving Championship is scheduled for February 12-15 at Centre’s Champion Hall in Danville, Kentucky.

Around the SAA:

Athletes of the Week:
SWIMMER: Callie West | Centre | Senior | Lexington, Ky. – achieved a relay victory accompanied by two individual wins against Transylvania and Cumberlands. The native of Lexington, Ky. finished first in the 50 freestyle with a time of 24.01 and secured another first-place spot in the 100 butterfly (57.10). She was also part of the team that won the 200 medley relay with a time of 1:49.18.

DIVER: Katie Walker | Sewanee | Senior | York, S.C. – showcased an outstanding performance on the boards this week, securing first place in the 3-meter dive and second place in the 1-meter dive during Sewanee’s competition against Rhodes.

Notable Performance:

• Erin Dannemiller (Centre) – achieved a score of 270.50 in her winning one-meter dive (six dives) against Transylvania and Cumberlands, which exceeded the NCAA Regional qualifying score by over 15 points. 
• Ashley Young (Berry) – secured a notable individual finish in 7th place in the 100 Yard Fly with a time of 1:02.42 and aided her team to a second place in the 400 free relay with the fastest time among the group at 26.77 at the Emory-SCAD Meet.
• Kat Burns (Millsaps) – claimed first place in both the 50-yard freestyle (26.26) and 100-yard freestyle (58.34). Burns also achieved second in the 100-yard breaststroke (1:10.30). Additionally, she contributed to her 200-yard freestyle relay team’s victory (1:53.02).
• Audrey Francell (Sewanee) – had an impressive competition, attaining a first-place finish in the 100-yard butterfly with a time of 1:02.13. Moreover, she added a second-place finish in the 100-yard freestyle (57.04) and a third-place finish in the 50-yard freestyle (26.05). 

2024 Women’s Swimming & Diving Report Archive (AOW Swimmer/Diver)
Sept. 23 – Gracie Shapard (Rhodes)/Lucy Verwys (Rhodes)
Oct. 7 – Adeline Carroll (Rhodes)/Lucy Verwys (Rhodes)
Oct. 14 – Callie West (Centre)/Erin Dannemiller (Centre)
Oct. 21 – Ashley Young (Berry)/Sara Jean Postle (Centre)
Oct. 28 – Ella Deitch (Sewanee)/Katie Walker (Sewanee)
Nov. 4 – Natalie Cox (Centre)/Erin Dannemiller (Centre)
Nov. 11 – Adeline Carroll (Rhodes)/Katie Walker (Sewanee)
Nov. 18 – Ella Deitch (Sewanee)/Katie Walker (Sewanee)
Nov. 25 – Adeline Carroll (Rhodes)/Katie Walker (Sewanee)
Jan. 13 – Katelynn Stanczyk (Centre)/Erin Dannemiller (Centre)