2026 American Conference Fan Guide: Rice In Line For A Far More Comfortable Win Than Last Year

American Conference (AC) – Women only

• Dates: Wednesday, February 18–Saturday, February 21
• Location: Greensboro Aquatics Center, Greensboro, NC
• Defending Champions: Rice women (2x)
• Live Results
• Live Video
• Championship Central
• SwimSwam Fan Guide
• Teams: East Carolina, Florida Atlantic, Florida International, James Madison*, Liberty*, Marshall*, North Texas, Rice, Tulane

SCHEDULE

Wednesday (2/18)

• 500 free
• 200 IM
• 50 free
• 200 medley relay

Thursday (2/19)

• 200 free relay
• 400 IM
• 100 fly
• 200 free
• 1-meter diving
• 400 medley relay

Friday (2/20)

• 800 free relay
• 3-meter diving
• 100 back
• 100 breast
• 200 fly

Saturday (2/21)

• 1650 free
• 100 free
• 200 back
• 200 back
• Platform diving
• 400 free relay

2025 STANDINGS

1. Rice – 1475.5
2. Florida International (FIU) – 1474
3. Tulane – 1234.5
4. East Carolina – 1177
5. North Texas – 1160
6. Florida Atlantic (FAU) – 1008

In the first season for the conference without SMU, the conference title came down to the very final event. Needing to score no more than four points fewer than Florida International on the 400 free relay, Rice did exactly that, placing 4th in that event with FIU in 2nd, to win by just 1.5 points and steal the title away.

FIU had won by over 100 points back in 2024, but both teams will have some new challengers this year. Three teams have been added to the conference for 2025-26, with Marshall, James Madison, and Liberty joining the fray.

Marshall’s stay looks to be a disappointingly short one. It was announced on Friday that the program was being cut at the end of the season, with a meeting to be held with the the university’s governing body to discuss the decision on Tuesday 17th February – when the team will be in Greensboro preparing for the AC Championships to begin the following day. Furthermore to the seemingly haphazard decision making around the decision, Marshall hired Tom Huynh as their Head Diving Coach just two weeks ago.

There was one NCAA qualifier from the AC last year in the form of FIU’s Emma Becker, who has not swum since last NCAAs and is not on the psych sheets, but the addition of Liberty and the pair of Aly Bozzuto and Kamryn Cannings means that there will still be two women in attendance in Greensboro who were at NCAAs last year.

Rice are the favorites to retain their title, leading the psych sheets by well over 100 points, Liberty will look to make a strong impression in their first year in the conference and have a strong diving corps led by three-time ASUN champion from last season, Shannon Icard.

RETURNING NCAA QUALIFIERS

Aly Bozzuto – Liberty

Bozzuto is one of two NCAA qualifiers from Liberty to return, having qualified in the 100 breast as she swept the breaststroke events at the ASUN championships last season. She notched times of 59.17 in the 100 and 2:11.28 in the 200, before swimming the 50 free and 100 breast at NCAAs last March. Bottuzo placed 40th in the 100 breast in 1:00.12, having placed 62nd in the 50 free the day before.

This time around, she leads the AC in only the 200 breast thanks to the 2:11.21 she swam at the TYR ’85 Invitational in November. Her season-best of 1:00.26 in the 100 breast, which ranks her second behind FIU’s Frida Loebersli, is around a second off her best of 59.17 from the ASUN Championships last year, and she is yet to break a minute since doing so for the first time there. With her best times she is in line to take an automatic qualifying spot in both breaststroke events and the 50 free – she will need to ensure she hits the wall first to make a repeat trip to NCAAs.

Kamryn Cannings – Liberty

Cannings was the other NCAA qualifier for the Flames last season, having qualified in the 50 free, 100 free, and 100 fly last year. She won all three events at the ASUN Championships, going 22.07 in the 50 free, 48.45 in the 100 free, and 51.42 in the 100 fly. She has been a force at Conference Championships for Liberty through her first two seasons in the NCAA, finishing off the top step of the podium just once, in the 100 free in her freshman season where she placed second. Cannings was a little slower in all three events at NCAAs, with her highest placing coming in the 100 fly where she finished 22nd in 51.66, a little off her 2024 best of 51.26.

She is another whose season best times may not fully reflect what she is capable of. Cannings tops the psych sheets only on the 100 fly in 52.44, sitting third on the free 50 (22.64) and fourth on the 100 free (49.77). Having hit season bests at the ASUN Championships in both of the last two seasons, she will be one to watch for automatic qualifying times in all three of her events.

OTHER STARS OF THE CONFERENCE

Ava Portello – Rice

Portello placed in the top two in all three of her events in her freshman year, winning the 500 free in 4:44.06 and taking second in both the 200 free (1:47.23) and 1650 free (16:23.43). She later dropped her mile down slightly at the Texas A&M last chance meet to 16:22.84, and comes into these championships as the top seed in both the 200 and 500 free and the second seed in the mile.

Her biggest swim so far this season came in what will likely be her focus event for this meet, after she blasted a time of 4:41.79 in the 500 free at midseason. That  is nearly two seconds under the automatic qualifying time for NCAAs in that event, and coupled with the chance to defend her title she will be a force to be reckoned with on Day 2. Her season bests in the 200 free (1:47.42) and 1650 free (16:26.29) stand her in good stead for her other events, and she will be a high scorer again for the defending champions.

Gwyn Frick– Liberty

This is Frick’s first conference championships, and she comes in with a trio of top-two seeds in the 200 back (1st), 100 back (2nd) and 200 IM (2nd). She set a best time of 52.97 in the 100 back at midseason, but her 200 back entry time of 1:56.10 is nearly two seconds off her best time of 1:54.01 from last March. Her 200 IM PB of 1:57.91 would also make her a real threat for an automatic qualifying time if she can take the win over defending champion Nicole Frank of FIU.

Her 200 back season best of 1:56.10 still ranks her first in the conference by nearly a second, and she will be an important part of Liberty’s medley relays. The front-half combo of Frick and Aly Bottuzo is the best in the conference, and will be important for the Flames’ conference title hopes.

Nicole Frank – FIU

Frank was a three-event champion at the AC Championships last year, sweeping the IM events in 1:57.42/4:12.23 and winning the 200 breast in 2:10.49. All three of those times are under the automatic qualifying time for NCAAs this season, and she is entered in the same slate as last year as she seeks to defend her titles.

Her best times make her the absolute favorite in all of those, but her entry times have her as the top seed in only one, the 400 IM. Frank has been 4:12.85 already at midseason, her fastest in-season time by more than two seconds, but only 2:00.74 in the 200 IM and 2:12.87 in the 200 breast, both slower than her in-season times from the last couple of years. She still ranks fourth in the 200 IM and third in the 200 breast in the conference this season though, and will be an important part of FIU’s 800 free relay on Night 1.

SHOWDOWNS

200 Free:

Last year’s winner, Tulane’s Maya Wilson, has graduated, but the two swimmers who tied for second behind her lead the psych sheets this time around. Ava Portello is the top seed in 1:47.42, just off the 1:47.23 she swam last year, just ahead of Tulane’s Lise Coetzee in 1:47.67.

Those two swimmers placed first and second in the 500 free last year, and are two of the top three seeds in that event in 2026. After what is likely to be a great battle there, and having duelled on the 800 free leadoffs, this will be the third and final round of their clash. Coetzee’s front end speed against Portello’s strength on the back-half will make for a great race here.

100 Breast:

There will be two women leading the way in this event, both with designs on NCAA qualification. Defending champion Emma Becker will not be here, and her vacant crown will be contested by Liberty’s Aly Bottuzo and FIU’s Frida Loebersli. The latter is the top seed with her season- and career-best of 59.52 from mid-season, but Bottuzo was the ASUN conference champion last year in her own career best of 59.17.

Loerbersli is the only swimmer in the conference to have broken 1:00 so far this season, but has not done so at a meet outside of Mizzou Invite. Similarly, Bottuzo has only broken the minute barrier on one occasion, in the ASUN final last year. Whichever one of them manages to do so in this event will likely take the crown, and likely an automatic NCAA qualifier spot.

200 Back:

Last year we saw a fantastic battle between Rice’s Ava Hamblett and FAU’s Meg Drover-Smith, with Hamblett getting out to a one second lead on the first 50 before Drover-Smith whittled the gap down to just 0.07 seconds at the touch, 1:55.81 to 1:55.88. Both of those swimmers return this season although not as the top seeds, instead sitting 3rd (Drover-Smith) and 6th (Hamblett). It is a pair of new swimmers in Liberty’s Gwyn Frick and Malia Francis with the fastest entry times, and there are eight swimmers entered under 1:58 after only four broke the barrier last season. With those eight swimmers representing six different schools, this will be a fascinating race to watch.

SWIMSWAM’S PICKS

1. Rice
2. Liberty
3. FIU
4. Tulane
5. Marshall
6. Fla Atlantic
7. East Carolina
8. James Madison
9. North Texas

Rice have a clear advantage in the pool, seeded for nearly 250 points more than second-ranked FIU, and with the divers they have the Owls should run away with the title this year. Liberty are less than 40 point back from FIU in the pool, but bring a strong diving team which should make the difference in the fight for second.

Those three should be locked in to top three spots, while Tulane will be in a battle with Marshall for fourth place. Both teams will have motivation for that fight – Tulane to cement their status as one of the powerhouses of the conference, Marshall in response to the completely unexpected announcement that the program was being cut.