Emory Men & Women Secure 24th Consecutive UAA Championship Titles

2023 University Athletic Association Swimming & Diving Championships

• February 8-11, 2023
• Woodruff P.E. Center, Atlanta, Ga.
• SCY (25 yards)
• Full Results (PDF)

Courtesy: Emory Athletics

Women’s Recap

The Emory University women’s swimming & diving team closed out the University Athletic Association Championships with another outstanding night of performances, putting a capper on the program’s 24^th consecutive conference championship and 30^th in team history.

The Eagles claimed four more event championships Saturday night, bringing their four-day title total to 11. Emory rounded out the meet with 1872 points with Chicago finishing second at 1638 and NYU in third at 1530. In addition to the 11 conference titles, the Eagles had 22 All-UAA showings and set four UAA meet records.

After setting conference records as part of the 200 and 400 Medley Relays, senior Caroline Maki wrote herself into the UAA record books with a stellar showing in the 100 Freestyle. In prelims, Maki had a blistering pace of 49.93 to break the record before one-upping herself in finals at 49.72 to win her straight conference crown in the event. After her win in the 100, Maki joined forces with senior Sammie Kass, freshman Claire DePiero and graduate student Taylor Leone to close out the meet with a win in the 400 Free relay, posting a winning time of 3:23.14.

With her two wins on Saturday, Maki brought her meet ledger to five event titles and was later named the Women’s Swimmer of the Year. She tied Leone for the title in the 100 Fly on Friday and was part of four championship-winning relays, including the 200 and 400 Medleys that established new UAA records. Maki is the second straight Eagle to win the award and the 12^th in the last 13 conference meets.

In addition to Maki and the 400 Free Relay, the Eagles saw championships crowned in the 1,650 Freestyle as Sloane Donovan won her first-ever UAA title with a time of 16:55.00 and in the 200 Breast as junior Fiona Arwood repeated as UAA champion, recording a finals time of 2:15.83.

All-UAA performances were also turned in on Saturday by freshman Meredith Liu in the mile (3^rd, 17:07.64), junior Megan Jungers in the 200 Back (3^rd, 2:00.34) and graduate student Marianne Allard in the 200 Breast (3^rd, 2:20.09).

The final award of the night was awarded to the Emory coaching staff of Jon Howell, Cindy Fontana, John Petroff, Bob Hackett and Tomasz Rosas as they were named the Women’s Coaching Staff of the Year, representing the 13th time Howell and his staff has earned the women’s award.

Men’s Recap

For the second time since 2020, the University Athletic Association championship came down to the final event as the Emory University men’s swimming and diving team narrowly defeated the University of Chicago on the final day to capture the program’s 24^th consecutive conference championship.

The Eagles erased a four-point deficit on the final day of competition to extend their streak of dominance, winning the team title by 25.5 points – the third-closest UAA meet in men’s history. The Maroons finished with 1722.5 points while WashU ended the four-day meet in third at 1226.

Emory overcame a 12-point deficit across the final three events, thanks to big performances by the breaststroke quartet and the performances by both relay squads in the 400 Freestyle.

Trailing 1472-1460, the Eagles moved ahead with a strong showing in the 200 Breast, led by graduate student Jason Hamilton who captured his second straight conference championship with a blistering time of 1:55.67. Fellow graduate student Justin Lum touched second at 2:00.14 with freshman Henri Bonnault taking fourth at 2:00.63. Sophomore Zachary Zhao also provided a boost with his win in the B Final at 2:01.74.

The Maroons made a move in the next event though, cutting the Emory lead from 40.5 to 26.5 after a strong showing in the 200 Fly. Sophomores Jeff Echols and Crow Thorsen paced the Eagles in the event, taking sixth and seventh place, respectively.

The stage was set for the final event on the week in the 400 Free Relay. Chicago once again moved closer with a win in the B Final as the Eagles’ team of Thorsen, seniors Jeffrey de Groot, Will O’Daffer, and junior Logan D’Amore came in third, shaving eight points off the Emory lead as the two programs headed into the A Final with the Eagles in front by 18.5.

In the A Final, both the Eagles and Maroons went toe-to-toe but it was the Emory group that prevailed by just .22 seconds, as an excellent race by senior Pat Pema, freshman Caden Bjornstad, senior Colin LaFave and junior Nicholas Goudie sealed the title. They threw down a winning time of 2:58.33, just .02 off the UAA record.

Saturday night started for the Blue & Gold as the Eagles took five of the top 12 finishes in the 200 Back, led by freshman Will Kohn who secured a silver medal finish at 1:46.78. After that, Goudie set a new UAA record at 44.05 with his first-ever conference win in the 100 Freestyle while Pema added All-UAA honors with a bronze medal at 45.02.

At the conclusion of the meet, senior Lucas Bumgarner was recognized as the UAA Men’s Diver of the Year for the fourth time, becoming the first diver in UAA history to win the award four consecutive times.

All told, the Eagles compiled nine event championships and 21 All-UAA honors across the four-day meet in Atlanta.

FINAL TEAM STANDINGS