Women's Swimming 9/17/2026 1:00:00 PM

Catawba Women’s Swimming Picked Second in Conference Carolinas Preseason Poll

SALISBURY, N.C. — Coming off a historic 2025-26 season, the Catawba College women's swimming team was slated to finish second in the 2026-27 Conference Carolinas preseason coaches' poll, the league announced Thursday.

Catawba received 80 points and two first-place votes, finishing behind Wingate, which was picked first with 105 points and seven first-place votes. UNC Pembroke was third with 73 points and one first-place vote, followed by Carson-Newman with 72 points. Emmanuel and Lenoir-Rhyne tied for fifth with 62 points each.

The Catawba Indians enter the 2026-27 season after posting the highest NCAA finish in program history last season. Catawba placed ninth at the 2026 NCAA Division II Championships in Evansville, Indiana, becoming the first women's swimming team in program history to finish inside the National top 10. The Blue and White also finished first among South Atlantic Conference teams at the national championships.

Catawba concluded the 2025-26 campaign as the runner-up at the 2026 South Atlantic Conference Championships, matching the program's best finish. The Catawba Indians finished just eight points behind the team champion, while head coach Matthew Gearing was named SAC Women's Swimming Coach of the Year.

Catawba produced a number of standout individual performances throughout the championship season. Fiona Byrne captured her third consecutive SAC title in both the 1,000-yard and 1,650-yard freestyle events, while Marit Reckmann earned four SAC titles at the conference championships.

Reckmann went on to earn seven All-America honors at the NCAA Championships, including four first-team honors, while helping the Catawba Indians to a fifth-place finish in the 400-yard freestyle relay. Gabriella Moll also earned first-team All-America honors with a sixth-place finish in the 200-yard breaststroke. Additionally, Byrne and Danielle Meinema earned All-America honors in the 1,650-yard freestyle.

Catawba also continued to show its academic prowess in the classroom. Catawba's women's swimming team posted a program-record 3.94 GPA during the 2025-26 academic year, earning the highest team GPA in NCAA Division II swimming for the eighth consecutive semester.

Catawba will also enter its first season as an associate member of Conference Carolinas in women's swimming. The Catawba Indians are joined by Carson-Newman, Lenoir-Rhyne, Mars Hill and Wingate as new associate members in the sport.

Three Catawba swimmers were selected to the Conference Carolinas Women's Swimming & Diving Athletes to Watch list. Junior Louise Jones of Bridgnorth, Shropshire, England, sophomore Ruby Broadfoot of Johannesburg, South Africa, and freshman Zofia Kondrasiuk of Warsaw, Poland, were recognized entering the season.

Jones, Broadfoot and Kondrasiuk will look to help lead a Catawba squad looking to carry the momentum from last season's record-setting campaign into its first Conference Carolinas championship season.

The 2026-27 Conference Carolinas Swimming & Diving Championships are scheduled for Feb. 2-6 at the Kingsport Aquatic Center in Kingsport, Tennessee.

2026-27 Conference Carolinas Women's Swimming & Diving Preseason Poll