DANVILLE, Ky. – Trinity made their mark earning the 2026 Southern Athletic Association Women’s Swimming and Diving title.
Neely Burns won Swimmer of the Meet as she topped the podium six times for gold. The Trinity Coaching Staff won the SAA Women’s Swimming Coaching Staff of the Year.
Freshman Juliet Hood of Trinity won the 1m and 3m dive to earn Rookie of the Meet while her coaching staff was named the Diving Coaching Staff of the Year.
The 2026 Rookie of the Meet belonged to Charlotte Hill of Rhodes who found her way to the podium four times during her first SAA Championship meet.
Trinity won the title with 995.5 points to dominate. Centre took second at 722 while Rhodes claimed third at 674.5.
Final Standings:
- Trinity – 995.5
- Centre – 722
- Rhodes – 674.5
- Sewanee – 443
- Southwestern – 376
- Berry - 295
Sewanee Tigers opened the evening in dominant fashion as Ella Deitch delivered the first gold medal of the night in the 1650-yard freestyle, touching the wall in 17:47.00. Centre Colonels sophomore Sarah Field turned in a strong performance to secure silver with a time of 17:51.69, while Trinity Tigers senior Audrey Jacobson completed the podium in third place at 18:05.90.
Gracie Shapard claimed her fourth medal of the meet and her second gold representing Rhodes in the 200 back as she defeated competitors by almost three seconds (2:03.63).
During the 100 free a strong race ensued between Amy Benson of Trinity and Caroline Lee of Centre as they tied for first at 51.73 to capture 18.5 points apiece.
Senior Neely Burns captured her fifth gold of the meet after dominating the 200 breast (2:20.18) as Paxton Smythe of Rhodes took second and brought in her fifth overall medal.
Freshman Charlotte Hill took her first gold medal in the 200 fly and her fourth medal for the meet as she beat out opponents by three seconds (2:07.61).
In the final diving event, Juliet Hood a freshman from Trinity took the top spot with a final score of 417.25 while Centre’s Erin Dannemiller finished second with 348.00 to beat out teammate Sara Jean Postle at 342.55.
The night capped with Trinity taking the 400 Free Relay (3:28.71) as Centre and Rhodes took the silver and bronze.
Women All-Sportsmanship Team:
Berry - Ella Quigley
Centre - Katelynn Stanczyk
Rhodes – Paxton Smythe
Sewanee - Ada Digby
Southwestern - Cece Sullivan
Trinity – Neely Burns
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