ANNAPOLIS, Md. -- The Navy swimming and diving teams head to Lewisburg, Pa., this week for the annual Patriot League Swimming and Diving Championship. Bucknell's Kinney Natatorium will play host to the meet that runs Wednesday through Saturday.
Schedule
Wednesday, Feb. 19 - 2 p.m. diving prelims / 5 p.m. swimming and diving finals.
Thursday, Feb. 20 - 9 a.m. / swimming prelims / 1 p.m. diving prelims / 6 p.m. swimming and diving finals.
Friday, Feb. 21 - 9 a.m. / swimming prelims / 1 p.m. diving prelims / 6 p.m. swimming and diving finals.
Saturday, Feb. 22 - 9 a.m. / swimming prelims / 1 p.m. diving prelims / 6 p.m. swimming and diving finals.
Multimedia
ESPN+ will provide a video stream of all 11 sessions. Those links can be found on NavySports.com, as can links to live swimming results (after the completion of each event) and live diving results.
Women's Preview
Navy enters the meet having won the league title in each of the last 12 years it has been held and has totaled 22 championships overall. No other Patriot League team has won as many crowns in a single sport as the Navy women's swimming and diving team.
Returning for Navy from last year's championship team are 12 swimmers and divers, 10 of whom qualified for a championship final in an individual event including six who earned a medal. Last year's medalists are
Sarah Eldridge, third place in the 1650 free;
Ela Habjan, the rookie of the year after she won the 100 back and placed third in the 200 back;
Caroline Irwin, who won the 100 fly and finished in second place in the 200 fly;
Mackenzie Kim, who placed second in the one-meter diving event;
Megan Murphy, the third-place swimmer in the 100 back; and
Lauren Walsh, who placed second in the 200 breast.
Eldridge, Habjan, Irwin and Walsh were named first-team all-league last season and Kim garnered second-team all-league accolades.
Walsh enters the meet as the No. 1 seed in both breaststroke events, Kim has scored the most points in the league this season in three-meter diving and Navy has put together the fastest 400 medley relay team.
Men's Preview
Navy began competing at the Patriot League Championship in 2004 and has won every league title it has vied for. The 20 championships in a row is a record for the most consecutive titles won in any Patriot League sport.
The Mids return 17 swimmers and divers who were part of the team that won the 2024 event in Annapolis. This includes 14 who reached the championship final in an individual event, with four of those earning a medal. That foursome includes
Everet Andrew, the second place swimmer in the 100 free, 200 free and 500 free;
Finn Gelbach, who won both diving boards to be named the diver of the yer;
Ben Irwin, the 2024 rookie of the year after he won the 100 back, 200 back and 200 fly; and
Blakeman Shaw, who placed second in the one-meter diving event and third on the three-meter board.
Andrew, Gelbach and Irwin received first-team all-league honors last year, while Shaw,
Gavin Green,
Michael Phillips, Ben Stankovich and
Zach Stump earned second-team honors.
Based upon efforts thus far this season,
Dean Jones is the top seed in the 1650 free, is Shaw has posted the top score in one-meter diving and Navy has recorded the fastest 800 free relay time.
Format
The format used for the first time at the 2024 championship will continue in 2025 with a C final being added to every individual swimming event. The top-eight finishers in an event from the morning trial heats will compete in the A (championship) final. Those finishing in ninth through 16th place will compete in the B (consolation) final. Swimmers who place 17th through 24th will compete in the C final. All three finals will be contested at night, with each of the 24 finalists earning points.
In diving, the top-eight finishers in the afternoon trials will compete at night in the championship final. The ninth through 16th place divers will compete in the consolation final held after the end of the trials. Divers who place 17th through 24th will not compete in a C final, but will be awarded points corresponding to their placement in the trial heats as if there was a C final.
The individual point totals are (descending order from first through eight place in the respective final):
Championship Final - 32, 28, 27, 26, 25, 24, 23, 22
Consolation Final - 20, 17, 16, 15, 14, 13, 12, 11
C Final - 9, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1
Points for the relay events are 64, 56, 54, 52, 50, 48, 46, 44, 40, 34.
