2026 America East Swimming & Diving Championships
- Dates: Wednesday, February 18–Saturday, February 21
- Location: VMI Aquatic Center, Lexington, VA
- Defending Champions: New Hampshire women (1x); Binghamton men (2x)
- Teams: Binghamton, Bryant, Maine, New Hampshire (women), NJIT (men), UMBC, Vermont (women), VMI
- SwimSwam Fan Guide
- Championship Central
- Live Results
- Live Video: ESPN+ for U.S. viewers; AmericaEast.TV outside the U.S.
- Day 1 Results
TEAM STANDINGS (THRU DAY 1)
MEN
- UMBC – 125
- Binghamton – 115
- Bryant – 87
- VMI – 78
- Maine – 74
- NJIT – 56
WOMEN
- Bryant – 114
- UMBC – 96
- New Hampshire – 94
- Maine – 77
- Vermont – 75
- Binghamton – 72
- VMI – 55
The 2026 America East Championships kicked off yesterday in Lexington, VA. Following the 1st day of the meet, Bryant is leading the women’s team standings, while UMBC has taken the lead in the men’s meet.
Bryant kicked the meet off with a win, taking the women’s 200 medley relay in 1:39.62. Clara Steen (25.53), Jocie Niemczyk (28.10), Ruby Tonelli (23.22), Marcella Figueroa (22.77) combined to win the race. Another notable split in the women’s medley relay was UMBC’s Ashley Gutshall, who anchored her relay in 22.14. The Bryant relay broke the America East record, as well as their own program record, and the VMI Aquatic Center pool record.
UMBC won the men’s 200 medley relay in 1:26.85. Quinn Marchionini (22.23), Sean Neils (24.49), Stefano Perez (20.58), and Axel Mori (19.55) teamed up to get UMBC on the top of the podium. They won the relay by a healthy margin, touching 1.56 seconds ahead of runner-up Bryant.
New Hampshire then won the women’s 800 free relay in a close race with Bryant. Lydia Hart (1:47.76), Teagen Jeffers (1:50.29), Emily Wright (1:53.13), and Sydney Leblic Garcia (1:49.34) stopped the clock in 7:20.52. New Hampshire got out to an early lead over Bryant, but Bryant was able to take the lead in the middle of the race. Bryant’s Jocie Niemczyk led off in 1:50.69, putting them about 3 seconds behind New Hampshire. Katherine Bailey then popped a 1:49.38 on the 2nd leg for Bryant, which cut into New Hampshire’s lead. Jill Carline then came up huge for Bryant, splitting 1:50.36 on the 3rd leg, which brought Bryant all the way into the lead. Makayla Pearce anchored the Bryant relay in 1:50.49, getting her team into the finish in 7:20.92.
UMBC then won the men’s 800 free relay in 6:29.27, winning by over 4 seconds. Matthew So (1:37.98), Braden Weise (1:36.39), Tyler Kay (1:36.94), and Andrew McEachern (1:37.96) earned the win for UMBC.
Women’s 1-meter diving also took place yesterday, seeing New Hampshire’s Grace Blume win with a final score of 278.50. She won the event by 20 points. The men’s diving event was 3-meter, which Christopher Buonocore (Bryant) won with a score of 348.20. Buonocore finished 24 points ahead of the field.
