The pool is now open for the season and this year the Ursinus Men’s and Women’s Swim Teams are hoping to make a splash.
After finishing sixth in the Centennial Conference in 2025, the men’s swim team is looking to make improvements in their ranking. However, this may prove to be a challenge, because they lost a lot of talent from the 2025 graduating class. In addition, the Centennial Conference has only gotten more difficult. Johns Hopkins University, one of the best swim teams in all of division 3, joins the conference this year, making this season an upstream battle for the Bears.
The men’s team opened their season suffering a blowout defeat against conference rivals Franklin & Marshall (174-86), Swarthmore (205-54), and Dickinson College (162-97) in October’s Centennial quad meet. Despite a disappointing opening meet, first year Alexander Nicolai sparked some life into the team, placing second in the 1000-yard free style (10:24:05) and then taking victory in the 500-yard freestyle (4:55:88), making him the team’s highest point scorer of the meet.
Luckily, the Bears had a much nicer day in the pool in their meet against Widener, taking an 117-86 victory. The men’s team managed to tally five individual event wins which were taken by David McCauley 26’ (200-yard free, 100 -yard free), Jack Giuliana 27’ (50-yard free, 100-yard butterfly), Josh Travers 28’ (100-yard backstroke), and Francesco D’Avella 26’ (100-yard backstroke). The team also picked up a win in the 200-yard medley relay, helping them secure the victory.
Although the Bears had an easier time taking down Widener, their performance in the quad meet has caused some concern about how they will manage in the overall conference standings this year.
The women’s team is in a similar situation to the men, having started their season off with a 2-3 record. The women came out with a slow start in their quad meet against conference rivals Franklin & Marshall, Swarthmore, and Dickinson College, leaving them 0-3 to start the season. One bright spot of the loss was the individual performance from freshman Caelan Ladd, who recorded three top three finishes in her collegiate debut, including a first-place finish in the 1000-yard freestyle (10:53.70) which was the only race won by the Bears.
After their tough defeat, they’ve been able to get back on their feet with a win against conference rival Bryn Mawr (122-93), followed by another victory against Widener University (119-83). Freshman Caelan Ladd impressed once again, taking two race victories in the 1000-yard freestyle (10:53:36) and 100-yard backstroke (1:02:19) in their meet against Bryn Mawr. Other top performances from the meet include Melanie Hahn 27’, Sara Bozzomo 26’, and Morgan Valeriano 27’ who all took home first place in their individual events.
Against Widener, the team delivered more strong performances, with multiple swimmers taking first place finishes. The Bears also brought home a victory in the exciting 200-yard medley relay, which featured first years Caelan Ladd, Isabella Warren, and Lindsay Willis, as well as junior Morgan Valeriano.
At the moment the women are certainly on an upwards trajectory, but the question remains: will they be able to break into the top four Centennial Conference teams? At the moment it seems unlikely considering they lost to three conference rivals quite handedly. The challenge will also be significantly harder with swimming powerhouse John Hopkins joining their conference this year. Currently Hopkins and Swarthmore are both nationally ranked in Division III, meaning the top two spots in the conference are most likely locked in already. Still, the Bears have time to improve and will need to do so if they want to crack into the top four.
Ultimately, both the men and women’s team will have to find another gear in order to improve on last year’s standings. For now, both teams can take away some confidence from their recent victories and also be excited about their first-years who are showing a lot of promise for the future.