DANVILLE, Ky. - After three days of competition, Trinity still holds the lead for the 2026 SAA Women's Swim an Dive Championship as Centre and Rhodes battle closely.
Trinity University junior Allison Ortiz captured the 100 butterfly title with a dominant swim of 56.30, finishing nearly two seconds ahead of runner-up Charlotte Hill of Rhodes College (58.07). Southwestern University’s Niva Maskey rounded out the podium with a third-place finish in 58.96.
Neely Burns delivered one of the most impressive performances of the evening, shattering both the meet and open records in the 400 IM with an NCAA B-cut time of 4:22.81 — more than nine seconds faster than the previous meet record. Sewanee’s Ella Deitch claimed silver in 4:34.07, while Charlotte Hill of Rhodes added another medal with a bronze finish of 4:37.35.
Trinity continued its strong showing in the 200 freestyle, with Amy Benson leading the way in 1:53.57 to secure the gold. Freshman Campbell Cummins of Berry College earned the first medal of her collegiate career with a silver-medal performance in 1:53.87, while Trinity’s Julia Carter took third.
Rhodes broke Trinity’s gold streak by taking the 100 breaststroke as Paxton Smythe touched first in 1:04.52. Centre senior Natalie Cox finished second in 1:06.27, and Smythe’s teammate Autumn Bruns added a bronze for Rhodes in 1:05.99.
Rhodes added another victory in the 100 backstroke, with Gracie Shapard earning gold in 56.58. Trinity freshman Ava Easley secured silver in 56.97, and Centre senior Caroline Lee completed the podium with a 57.32 finish.
Trinity ended the night by winning the 400 medley relay with Ava Easley, Neely Burns, Allison Ortiz, and Julia Carter coming in at 3:49.81 while Rhodes and Centre took second and third, respectively.
Standings:
1. Trinity 646
2. Centre 476.5
3. Rhodes 470.5
4. Sewanee 308
5. Southwestern 256
6. Berry 205
The final day of competition begins tomorrow at 10 AM with prelims, finals will begin at 6 PM.
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