CANTON, Ga. – Centre sweep the final week for women's swimming and diving athletes of the week ahead of a break before getting back to work in January.
Around the SAA:
SAA Women’s Swimming & Diving Schedule/Results
SAA Women’s Swimming & Diving Performance List
2026 SAA Swimming & Diving Championship
Athletes of the Week:
Swimming:
Ava Gates | Centre | FR | Shelbyville, TN – Ava Gates had a big weekend at the Speedo Invitational. She broke and then re-broke Centre's longest standing record in the 200-yard breaststroke. A record time of 2:25.10 had stood since 1992. Gates broke that mark in prelims with a time of 2:24.11. In the final, Gates was even better as she broke her own record with a time of 2:22.69 to also set a new meet record. She swam 3rd in the 100-yard breaststroke final in a time of 1:05.78, which was better than the meet record entering the race. Gates also swam a fast split for Centre in the 200 medley relay as her time of 25.69 kept the Colonels in the hunt and led to a 3rd place finish. She also notched a lifetime best in the 200 IM with a time of 2:12.55 to finish 2nd in the B final.
Diving:
Erin Dannemiller | Centre | JR | Cincinnati, OH –At Centre's Speedo Invite, Erin Dannemiller finished 2nd on the 3-meter board with a total score of 344.05 points. When the competition switched to the 1-meter board, Dannemiller also finished 2nd with 375.20 points, just over 10 points off the meet record.
Notable Performances:
Swimming
- Campbell Cummins | Berry | FR | Alpharetta, GA – A freshman from Alpharetta, GA Cummins helped lead the Vikings to a 6th place finish out of 12 teams at the Speedo Centre Mid Season Invite. Cummings finished 6th in the 100 free with a season best 53.17, 4th in the 200 free with a season best 1:56.51, 8th in the 100 back with a 1:00.78 and 7th in the 500 free with a 5:19.72. Cummins also shone in the relays leading off the 200 free relay with a season best 25.26, anchoring the 400 medley relay with a 53.78, anchoring the 400 free relay with a 52.93 and anchoring the 800 free relay which placed 4th with a 1:59.47. Cummins time in the 100 free is currently the third best in the SAA.
- Ella Deitch | Sewanee | SO | Arnold, MD – Deitch finished fourth in the 1650-yard freestyle and fifth in the 500-yard freestyle and 400-yard individual medley at the Speedo Centre Invitational. She posted a time of 17:58.41 for fourth in the 1650 freestyle and 4:46.70 in the 400 IM along with 5:18.08 in the 500 free. She was also part of the sixth-place 800-yard freestyle relay, leading off with a time of 2:02.93.
- Ava Easley | Trinity | FR | Allen, TX – Ava Easley was Trinity's highest point scorer at the Tiger Invite meet this weekend. Her top performance was a school record setting 100 backstroke. She led off the 400 medley relay with a time of 56.59, just .01 off the NCAA B cut. Ava was a member of four winning relays. She also contributed a split of 24.33 on the 200 freestyle relay, 53.17 on the 400 freestyle relay, and 26.71 on the 200 medley relay. Individually, Ava was runner up in the 100 back (57.43) and 100 fly (58.40). She finished third in the 50 free (24.25) and 100 free (53.49).
Diving
- Zoe Napier | Sewanee | SR | Indianapolis, IN – Napier finished ninth in the three-meter with 243.90 points and 10th in the one-meter with 223.05 points at the Speedo Centre Invitational.
- Juliet Hood | Trinity | FR | Wexford, PA – First year Juliet Hood achieved her first NCAA Regionals qualifying score at the Tiger Invitational, en route to winning the 11 dive competition on one meter. She scored 236.55 points to win the six dive one meter competition and 237.05 to win the six dive three meter competition. On the three meter board she came up just a few points shy of the NCAA Regionals score.
2025-2026 Women’s Swim and Dive Report Archive (AOW Swimmer/Diver)
Week One – Sept. 23 (Kendall Mitzel)
Week Two – Sept. 30 (Makenna Mitzel)
Week Three – Oct. 7 (None)
Week Four – Oct. 14 (Caroline Lee/ Erin Dannemiller)
Week Five – Oct. 21 (Kaitlyn Phan/ Riley Taylor)
Week Six – Oct. 28 (Sarah Feild/ Zoe Napier)
Week Seven - Nov. 3 (Ava Easley/Juliet Hood)
Week Eight - Nov. 10 (Kaya Alvegaard-Struble/Juliet Hood)
For more information on all things SAA, visit the websites of any of the participating schools, or go to the SAA's home on the internet at www.saa-sports.com. Be sure to stay up to date on all of your Southern Athletic Association news by following @SAA_Sports on Twitter (X) and @SAA_Sports on Instagram.