2026 Atlantic 10 Fan Guide: George Washington In Position For Fifth Straight Sweep

2026 Atlantic-10 Swimming & Diving Championships

• Dates: Wednesday, February 18–Saturday, February 21
• Location: Hampton Aquaplex, Hampton, VA
• Defending Champions: George Washington women (4x); George Washington men (5x)
• Teams: Davidson, Duquesne (women), Fordham, George Mason, George Washington, La Salle, Rhode Island (women), Richmond (women), St. Louis, St. Bonaventure
• Championship Central
• Live Results
• Live Video
• SwimSwam Fan Guide

SCHEDULE

Wednesday (2/18)

• 200 medley relay
• Men’s 1-meter diving
• 800 free relay

Thursday (2/19)

• 500 free
• 200 IM
• 50 free
• Women’s 3-meter diving
• 200 free relay

Friday (2/20)

• 100 fly
• 400 IM
• 200 free
• 100 breast
• 100 back
• Men’s 3-meter diving
• 400 medley relay

Saturday (2/21)

• 1650 free
• 200 back
• 100 free
• 200 breast
• 200 fly
• Women’s 1-meter diving
• 400 free relay

WOMEN’S PREVIEW

The George Washington women continued their run of dominance at last year’s conference championships, claiming their fourth straight Atlantic 10 title, though it was much closer than the season prior.

After the Revolutionaries dominated the 2024 championships, winning by a massive 420-point margin over Richmond, they only prevailed by 27.5 points last season, with the Spiders once again taking the runner-up spot.

The meet as a whole will have a different look this year, given that 11 of the 15 individual event winners have either graduated or transferred, opening things up for some new names to establish themselves.

One defending champion who will be hard to dethrone, however, is George Washington senior Ava Topolewski, who won the 500 and 1650 free in her junior year and comes in as the top seed in all three of her events this season.

Topolewski heads up the psych sheets in the 200 free (1:48.41), 500 free (4:44.89) and 1650 free (16:18.61), and she doesn’t appear to have any challengers in the two longer races.

In the 200 free, Topolewski could have a battle on her hands after placing 5th last year. The 2025 champion, Duquesne’s Orla Egan, has graduated, but the two other podium finishers will both be in the field: Lexi Sundgren (Duquesne) and Ginny Thorsen (Davidson).

Both Sundgren (1:49.41) and Thorsen (1:49.90) went sub-1:50 in last year’s final, and then this year, in addition to Topolewski, we’ve seen George Washington’s Colleen MacWilliams (1:49.08) and Fordham’s Hayley Clark (1:49.98) post quick times so far this season. Another name to watch in the event is Rhode Island freshman Molly Beckwith (1:50.25).

Along with Topolewski’s three events, George Washington also has individual top seeds in the form of MacWilliams in the 400 IM and Natalie Sens in the 100 breast.

In the 400 IM, MacWilliams owns the top seed by nearly six seconds in 4:17.80. She was the runner-up last season, but is the top returner with Fordham’s Ainhoa Martin graduating.

Sens was 3rd in the 100 breast last year as a freshman, but leads the conference this season at 1:01.66, with no one else sub-1:02.

Along with Topolewski, the other defending champion in an individual swimming event in the field is Duquesne’s Ashley Freel, who won the 100 fly last season as a freshman and also placed 2nd in the 200 fly and 4th in the 400 IM.

This season, Freel comes in seeded in the exact same positions she finished in 2025, leading the way in the 100 fly at 54.82 while ranking 2nd in the 200 fly and 4th in the 400 IM.

Her teammate, sophomore Sierra Snow, will also be one to watch as the top seed in both backstrokes. As a freshman, Snow was the runner-up in the 200 back last season while also making the ‘A’ final of the 100 back and placing 8th. She set a best time of 54.18 in the 100 back last month during a tri-meet with WVU and Villanova, showing strong form heading into the championship season.

With George Washington in the driver’s seat, the team that figures to give them the toughest challenge in the team race this season is Fordham, which has four different swimmers owning #1 seeds, and all are in their first year with the team.

Three of them are transfer additions, with Lexi Lundell coming over from Lynn University, Hayley Clark joining the team from Princeton, and Karina Kanary transferring from Penn State.

Lundell, a junior, leads the field in the 200 breast after setting a best time of 2:14.42 at the Bucknell Invitational in November, while Kanary, a sophomore, did the same in the 200 IM (2:00.80) at that meet and also ranks 2nd in the 200 breast (2:14.77) and 3rd in the 400 IM (4:24.00) coming into her first A-10 Championships.

Another junior, Clark owns the top seed in the 200 fly with her season-best of 2:01.05, though she’s been as fast as 1:58.24, done back in 2023.

The other newcomer is freshman Saskia Aikman, who owns the top seed in the 50 free (22.96) and 100 free (50.00) after setting best times in both at the Bucknell Invitational.

Those four swimmers alone are seeded to score 199 individual points, which is more than half of Fordham’s total from last year (339). Adding in the fact that their additions bolster their relays, with three of Fordham’s teams seeded 1st and one ranked 2nd, they’re in good shape to improve on their fourth-place finish from last year. But will it be enough to upend George Washington?

RACES TO WATCH

100 Butterfly

The 100 fly final was a barnburner last year with Duquesne freshman Ashley Freel (53.00) getting the better of George Washington senior Moriah Freitas (53.04) by just four one-hundredths of a second.

If Freel is able to put together a similar performance this year, she may defend her title in dominant fashion. She leads the conference this season in 54.82, a time she produced at a tri-meet last month. Coming into the 2025 championships, she went 54.87 at the same January meet, indicating she’s right on track for another 53-flat, or better, this season.

However, the race could be close if she’s not at her absolute best, with teammate Claudia Rzeznik (54.87) and Fordham’s Ella Montgomery (54.93) also sub-55 this season, and last year’s 6th-place finisher Lena Amare of Richmond, and the 2025 ‘B’ final winner Camilla Frost of La Salle, lurking close behind after impressive showings in their freshman seasons.

200 Breaststroke

The 200 breast is up for grabs with last year’s winner, Ainhoa Martin, graduating and the 2025 runner-up, Kendall Gilbert, competing at the MAC Championships next week after UMass changed conferences.

That leaves Duquesne senior Sydney Severini as the top returner after placing 3rd last year in a lifetime best of 2:11.92, but it’s the George Washington duo of Lexi Lundell (2:14.42) and Karina Kanary (2:14.77) heading up the psych sheets, with Duquesne sophomore Jess Burns ranked 3rd at 2:15.31.

Severini is seeded 5th in 2:16.15, while last year’s 4th-place finisher, La Salle’s Gabriela Herbreder, will be another threat with her PB of 2:13.38 from the 2025 final.

200 IM

Six of the eight ‘A’ finalists from last year have graduated, which leaves Richmond sophomores Lena Amare and Gabbie Primiano as the only returners in the top eight.

As previously mentioned, Fordham’s Karina Kanary leads the conference this season with her best time of 2:00.80, but Amare was faster in last year’s championship heat (2:00.62), as was Gabriela Herbreder, who fired off a time of 2:00.20 from the ‘B’ final.

If all three are at their best, this race could come down to the wire.

As for others to watch for, George Washington’s Colleen MacWilliams owns the #2 seed after hitting a best time of 2:02.81 in the fall, while Primiano owns a PB of 2:02.21.

2025 RESULTS

1. George Washington, 598.5
2. Richmond, 571
3. Duquesne, 525
4. Fordham, 339
5. George Mason, 324
6. Davidson, 300.5
7. UMass, 284
8. La Salle, 268
9. St. Bonaventure, 241
10. Rhode Island, 189
11. Saint Louis, 72

SWIMSWAM PREDICTIONS

1. George Washington
2. Fordham
3. La Salle

George Washington has star power, led by Topolewski, depth, and solid diving, making them the favorites to make it five in a row.

However, Fordham has revamped its roster this season and will be a tough out, especially considering the Rams own the top seed in five individual swimming events and three relays. The depth and diving of the Revolutionaries figures to be too much to overcome for Fordham to claim its first title since 2010, but we expect them to improve on their 4th-place finish from a year ago.

The race for 3rd could get interesting. Reigning runner-up Richmond had 13 double-digit scorers last season, and they’ve only got eight projected to do so this year. Their biggest loss is reigning A-10 champion Melissa Nwakalor, who transferred to Virginia.

Duquesne’s depth has been superior this season, but they’ve been relatively weak on the relays. La Salle’s relays, on the other hand, have been on fire, and with eight swimmers projected to score 20+ points, we’re giving them the edge in the race for 3rd.

MEN’S PREVIEW

While the George Washington women escaped with a relatively close victory last season to extend their conference winning streak to four, the men’s team made it five in a row with ease.

The Revolutionaries piled up 883.5 points, 366 clear of runner-up St. Bonaventure, thanks in large part to seven individual event victories and A-10 titles in four of the five relays.

And although George Washington has lost its top two point scorers from the 2025 championships, Connor Rodgers and Elliot Irwin, they’re still in good shape to make it a six-peat.

Rodgers scored a perfect 60 points last season with A-10 titles in the 200 fly, 200 IM and 400 IM, while Irwin put up 54 with a win in the 100 free and two runner-up finishes, and he also played a key role in all four of their winning relays.

In their absence, George Washington will be looking to their defending individual champions, Shae Stratton, Ganesh Sivaramakrishnan and Benjamin Sosnowski, along with freshmen Andres Brooks, Heitor Napolitano and sophomore Matija Radjenovic to pace them to another title.

Stratton won the 200 back as a freshman last year in a time of 1:42.96, and he sits atop the psych sheets this season at 1:45.50. Sivaramakrishnan (46.63) went 1-2 with teammate Holden Thomas (46.97) last season in the 100 back, and he was also a key relay player. Sosnowski won the 200 breast (1:56.23) in his sophomore year and also earned a pair of 3rd-place finishes in the 200 and 400 IM to score 52 points.

Stratton and Sivaramakrishnan hold the top seed in the events they won last season, while Sosnowski sits 2nd in the 200 breast behind George Mason sophomore Ryan Serbia.

George Washington swept the top three spots on the podium last year in the 400 IM, and they may do it again with Brooks (3:52.73) and Napolitano (3:54.01) owning the top two seeds, and their teammates Gage Boushee and Sosnowski being the top two returners from the 2025 final when they were 2nd and 3rd.

Radjenovic is a versatile option for the Revolutionaries, currently owning the #3 seed in the 200 breast and 200 IM and the #4 seed in the 200 free.

Beyond George Washington, the men’s meet projects to be largely dominated by a pair of stars, Dylan Felt and Felix Jedbratt.

Felt, a senior at Davidson, is the three-time defending champion in the 500 and 1650 free and the two-time defending champ in the 200 free, and he’ll be the massive favorite to sweep them once again. He owns all three conference records, set in 2024, when he went 1:32.96 in the 200, 4:16.58 in the 500 and 14:55.89 in the 1650.

Jedbratt is the defending champion in the 50 free, having set the conference record last year at 19.20, and the 100 fly, having clocked an A-10 Championship Record of 44.97 in 2025. The Swedish native was the runner-up in the 100 free last year, but could end up racing the 200 fly instead this year as the conference leader by more than three seconds at 1:42.22 (he’s entered both).

Another key name to watch is George Mason’s Tate Anderson, who had finished in the top-three in all of his individual events last season and comes in seeded 1st in the 200 IM and 2nd in both the 100 and 200 free.

RACES TO WATCH

100 Breaststroke

Only two of the five men who went sub-54 in last season’s final return this year: George Washington’s Preston Lin (53.48), who was the runner-up, and SLU’s Brae Sanchez (53.88), who took 5th in a tightly contested race.

Sanchez comes in seeded 2nd this year at 54.47, while Lin sits back in 8th in 55.58.

Leading the way is George Washington freshman Alessandro Borsato, who clocked 54.18 at the NC State Invitational in November. Two other freshmen, Fordham’s Max Maycher (54.55) and George Washington’s Eldad Zamir (54.80), are seeded 3rd and 4th, setting up a youthful and exciting final.

100 Freestyle

The 100 free projects to be an exciting battle with four men seeded between 43.3 and 43.9 on the entry lists and three of the top four finishers from last year in the field.

However, Dylan Felt is entered at 43.95, and he’ll likely end up racing the 1650 free. Felix Jedbratt was the runner-up last year in 43.16 and is entered with NT this year, but chances are he’ll opt to race the 200 fly.

That leaves La Salle junior Carter Perkins as the top seed at 43.31, while George Mason’s Tate Anderson (43.81) and St. Bonaventure’s Emanuele Zingaro (43.93) are close behind and pose threats to the title. Anderson set a personal best of 43.18 last year leading off the 400 free relay, while both Perkins and Zingaro set their PBs earlier this season.

George Washington’s AJ Wood was 4th last year in 43.88 and will be a contender again in his senior year as the 6th seed at 44.28.

200 Free Relay

George Washington powered to the 200 free relay title last season in 1:18.42, but with the loss of lead-off man Elliot Irwin, they may have a race on their hands this year.

Fordham is the only team sub-1:20 this season at 1:19.39, as they have three of the top nine seeds in the 50 free, while George Mason (1:20.24) ranks 2nd in the conference and has two men seeded in the top five in the 50 free. George Washington is right behind them on the psych sheets, and we can’t forget about La Salle, which has a lethal 1-2 punch with Felix Jedbratt and Carter Perkins currently ranking 1-2 in the conference in the 50 free this season.

2025 RESULTS

1. George Washington, 883.5
2. St. Bonaventure, 517.5
3. George Mason, 509
4. Davidson, 446
5. La Salle, 358
6. UMass, 332
7. Fordham, 250
8. Saint Louis, 209

SWIMSWAM PREDICTIONS

1. George Washington
2. George Mason
3. St. Bonaventure

Similar to last year, George Washington is the overwhelming favorite to extend their streak. Although they lost some star power and their relays are weaker, they have several individual swimmers in contention for individual titles and the team’s depth is unmatched in the conference.

In the race for 2nd, St. Bonaventure edged out George Mason by just 8.5 points last year, and the momentum seems to be on the side of the Patriots this season—they have four swimmers seeded for 40+ points, compared to none for the Bonnies. Though St. Bonaventure may have a leg up in diving, George Mason’s gap in swimming should slot them comfortably in the runner-up spot.