Women's Swimming and Diving | 10/9/2026 10:00:00 AM
TRAFFORD, Pa. (pacathletics.org) - Grove City College, winners of 23 conference championships, was voted as the 2026-27 favorite in the Presidents’ Athletic Conference (PAC) Women's Swimming and Diving Preseason Coaches’ Poll. The results of the poll were posted Friday, along with its annual swimmers and divers to watch list.
Grove City and 18th-year head coach Dave Fritz claimed nine first-place votes and 73 points to top the balloting. With 61 points, Saint Vincent College was second to just edge out Westminster College, who totaled 60 points with the final first-place vote to earn third. In fourth place was Washington & Jefferson College with 46 points, followed by Allegheny College in fifth place (40), Chatham University in sixth (33), Franciscan University was seventh (23), Hiram College ranked eighth (22) and Bethany College (11). Saint Francis University, who was not counted in the 2026-27 poll, is represented by a pair of swimmers on the Watch List.
The 2026-27 winter will be Saint Francis' first in the PAC, as the Red Wolves begin conference competition while reclassifying from Division I to Division III. Saint Francis, whose results will not count in the conference during SFU's reclassifying process, starts the new season Oct. 9-10 when the Red Wolves swim at the PennWest California Invitationals.
Grove City won its seventh consecutive PAC crown last winter, the program’s 23rd PAC team title and 17th championship in the last 18 years after the Wolverines compiled 1,153 points at the championship meet. Finishing second in the standings was Saint Vincent with 606 points, while Westminster was third with 457 points and Allegheny took fourth with 410 points.
Earning PAC Women's Coach of the Year was Westminster's Todd Slobodnyak, while Fred Evanoff of Grove City was voted the PAC Diving Coach of the Year.
The 2026-27 swimmers and divers to watch list is marked by 17 returning All-PAC honorees, including eight who gathered All-PAC First Team distinction. The watch list also features six champions who combined to win 11 individual events last season.
Returning after a tremendous first year is Grove City sophomore Abigail Vance (Butler, Pa./Butler). She earned the PAC Swimmer and Newcomer of the Year after winning three individual events at PAC Championships. Vance swept the titles in the 200 (2:09.19) and 400 (4:37.23) Individual Medley and touched first in the 200 Breaststroke on the final day (2:22.89). Vance was the first Wolverine to win Swimmer of the Year since Rachael Wallace in 2023-24, the first Grove City swimmer to earn Newcomer of the Year since Liz Haase in 2021 and also the first freshman to earn PAC Swimmer of the Year honors since Grove City's Anne Shirley Dassow following the 2016-17 season.
Last year's PAC Diver of the Year, Grove City sophomore Chaeli Keenan (New Alexandria, Pa./Derry Area), returns to the boards after she swept both diving events at the 2026 conference meet. Keenan scored 409.65 to win on the one-meter board, which was also an NCAA Regional qualifying score and completed her sweep in three-meter diving with another NCAA Regional qualifying score of 437.64. Keenan was the first Diver of the Year from Grove City since Kamryn Kerr in 2023-24 and the first freshman to be recognized since W&J's Taylor Weyrich in 2020-21.
A third multi-event champion back in the pool this year is Grove City sophomore Abby Tweed (Beaver Falls, Pa./Blackhawk), who was the winner in the 50 (24.35), 200 (1:56.17) and 100 (53.26) Freestyles a year ago.
The swimmers and divers to watch list also includes nine student-athletes who earned a spot on the PAC’s 2025-2026 Academic Honor Roll, which recognizes student-athletes who have earned a grade-point average (GPA) of 3.6 or higher on a 4.0 scale during their semester of competition.
Grove City will be the site of the PAC Championships once again at the James E. Longnecker Competition Pool, which has been the home of the PAC Championships since 1990. The four-day event will be Wednesday-Saturday, February 17-20.
The Division III Championships are set for Wednesday-Saturday, March 17-20 in Greensboro, N.C. The event will be hosted by the Old Dominion Athletic Conference and Greensboro Aquatic Center.
2026-27 PAC Women's Swimming and Diving Preseason Coaches' Poll
(Predicted order of Championships finish) |
| School (first-place votes) |
Points |
2025-26 Championships finish |
| 1. Grove City College (9) |
73 |
1st (of 9) at PAC Championships, 1,153 pts. |
| 2. Saint Vincent College |
61 |
2nd (of 9) at PAC Championships, 606 pts. |
| 3. Westminster College (1) |
60 |
3rd (of 9) at PAC Championships, 457 pts. |
| 4. Washington & Jefferson College |
46 |
5th (of 9), at PAC Championships, 311 pts. |
| 5. Allegheny College |
40 |
4th (of 9) at PAC Championships, 410 pts. |
| 6. Chatham University |
33 |
6th (of 9) at PAC Championships, 291 pts. |
| 7. Franciscan University |
23 |
7th (of 9) at PAC Championships, 199 pts. |
| 8. Hiram College |
22 |
9th (of 9) at PAC Championships, 8 pts. |
| 9. Bethany College |
11 |
8th (of 9) at PAC Championships, 18 pts. |
| Saint Francis University* |
|
4th (of 7) at NEC Championships, 349 pts. |
* - Ineligible for PAC Championship as school reclassifies from Division I
2026-27 PAC Women's Swimmers and Divers to Watch
| 1=2025-26 1st Team All-PAC / 2=2nd Team All-PAC / HM = Honorable Mention |
| Allegheny |
| Name |
Yr. |
Events |
Hometown/High School |
| Emily Arendas (HM) |
Jr. |
Free/Breast |
North Huntingdon, Pa./Norwin |
| Grace Melocchi (2) |
So. |
Breast/IM |
Pittsburgh, Pa./Shaler |
| Magnolia Myers (HM) |
Jr. |
Fly/Back |
Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio/Our Lady of the Elms |
| Ellen Shaffer |
Fr. |
Back/Sprint |
Williamstown, N.J./Gloucester County Institute of Technology |
| Kerrigan Swartz (HM) |
Jr. |
Free/Breast |
Brookville, Pa./Brookville Area |
| Bethany |
| Name |
Yr. |
Events |
Hometown/High School |
| Angelina Clayborn |
Sr. |
Free |
Pittsburgh, Pa./Penn Hills |
| Jailyn Cline |
So. |
Free/Back |
Brilliant, Ohio/Buckeye Local |
| Chatham |
| Name |
Yr. |
Events |
Hometown/High School |
| Avital Flaishman |
Grad. |
Distance |
Rishon Le zion, Israel |
| Alayna Kercher (2) |
Jr. |
Distance |
Pittsburgh, Pa./Baldwin |
| Olivia Mucha (2) |
So. |
Distance |
Titusville, Pa./Titusville |
| Hannah Uhrinek (1) |
Jr. |
Fly/Free |
Greensburg, Pa./Hempfield |
| Franciscan |
| Name |
Yr. |
Events |
Hometown/High School |
| Barrett Fennessy |
Fr. |
|
Winter Haven, Fla./Homeschooled |
| Haley Fifield |
So. |
|
Manassas, Va./Seton |
| Jenna Forcey |
Fr. |
Free |
Louisville, Ky./Seton Home Study |
| Sophia Gellner |
Sr. |
Free |
Liberty Township, Ohio/Bishop Fenwick |
| Gabrielle Lewis |
So. |
Mid-Distance Free |
Coon Rapids, Minn./Coon Rapids |
| Grove City |
| Name |
Yr. |
Events |
Hometown/High School |
| Chaeli Keenan (1) |
So. |
Diving |
New Alexandria, Pa./Derry |
| Freja Kile (1) |
Jr. |
Distance/Back |
Pittsburgh, Pa./Upper St. Clair |
| Mollie Massella (1) |
So. |
Fly |
Slippery Rock, Pa./Slippery Rock |
| Abby Tweed (1) |
So. |
Sprint Free |
Beaver Falls, Pa./Blackhawk |
| Abigail Vance (1) |
So. |
Breast/IM |
Butler, Pa./Butler |
| Hiram |
| Name |
Yr. |
Events |
Hometown/High School |
| Avery Clay |
Sr. |
Free |
Warren, Ohio/Champion |
| Saint Francis |
| Name |
Yr. |
Events |
Hometown/High School |
| Reegan Brown |
Sr. |
Free/Fly |
Acme, Pa./Mount Pleasant Area |
| Kathryn Tanis |
Sr. |
Free/Breast |
Reading, Pa./Muhlenberg |
| Saint Vincent |
| Name |
Yr. |
Events |
Hometown/High School |
| Adrianna Grimm (2) |
Sr. |
Back/Free |
Gibsonia, Pa./Hampton |
| Allison Hegwood |
Fr. |
Free |
|
| W&J |
| Name |
Yr. |
Events |
Hometown/High School |
| Mackenzie Caron (2) |
So. |
Mid-Distance Free |
Reading, Pa./Governor Mifflin |
| Maddie Malone |
Sr. |
Breast/IM |
Charlottesville, Va./Monticello |
| Giada Panelli |
Fr. |
Fly/Free |
Canonsburg, Pa./Canon-McMillan |
| Cameron Street |
Fr. |
Fly/Distance |
Washington, Pa./Trinity |
| Amiyah White (1) |
Jr. |
Diving |
Spring Grove, Pa./Spring Grove Area |
| Westminster |
| Name |
Yr. |
Events |
Hometown/High School |
| Gaby Dilley |
Fr. |
Breast |
Appleton, Wis./Kimberly |
| Dom Massie |
Fr. |
Free/Fly |
Pittsburgh, Pa./Plum |
| Maddy McClain (1) |
Sr. |
Free/IM |
Elizabeth, Pa./Elizabeth Forward |
| Nina Nappo (2) |
So. |
Fly/IM |
Columbiana, Ohio/Columbiana |