One of Ithaca's most successful intercollegiate athletic programs, the women's swimming and diving team has achieved great results at the state, regional and national levels. In 56 seasons the Bombers own a 452-98-3 record (a .823 winning percentage) and have had a .500 record or better in 55 of the program's 56 seasons.
During the 2017-18 season, the Bombers boasted a 2018 two-time national champion in diver Nickie Griesemer, who was the program's first-ever diving national champion. Griesemer finished out her diving career at IC as a seven-time All-American and earned CSCAA Diver of the Year honors following her national championships.
Success started immediately for the Bombers and inaugural coach Peggy Anderson as the team posted an 8-0 mark and won the New York State Association of Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (NYSAIAA) title in 1968-69. The winning continued through the early 1970s with four consecutive state championships under coach Deborah Wuest.
Ithaca College Athletic Hall of Fame member Bill Ware spent one year as women's coach in 1980-81 and coached Ithaca's first all-American, Cindy Weibtraub, who earned the honor in the 50-yard freestyle event at the 1980 Association of Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW) championship.
Jim Perkins took over as coach in 1981 and after one season led Ithaca to a top-10 national finish. Perkins coached Ithaca's first women's swimming national champion, Catherine Lyons, who won the 50-yard freestyle at the 1983 NCAA championship. Lyons earned five all-American honors that season, while teammate Dorsi Raynolds earned four. In 1992 Lyons became the first swimmer inducted into the Ithaca College Athletic Hall of Fame. Raynolds was inducted in 1996.
The Bombers' best years have come under current coach Paula Miller. During her 23 seasons the Bombers have finished in the top 10 at the NCAA Division III championship 12 times and have twice placed fourth in the meet.
The program's best season came in 1986-87 when Ithaca finished fourth at the NCAA championship. Eight Bombers earned all-American honors. Nancy Stapp, a member of the Athletic Hall of Fame, earned six all-American honors that season and 25 in her career. Miller received Division III coach of the year honors.
Ithaca finished fourth again in 1988-89 as sophomore Amy Robinson set the Division III record while winning the individual national title in the 100-yard backstroke at the NCAA championship. Robinson, an 18-time all-American, was inducted into the Athletic Hall of Fame in 1997.
During the early 1990s Maria Ampula and Dawn Schmalzriedt were Ithaca's top swimmers. Ampula earned a school-record 28 all-American honors and Schmalzriedt received all-American recognition 25 times. Their teammate, Julie Smith, set the school's 200-yard backstroke mark and earned 21 all-American honors. All three have been inducted into Ithaca College's Athletic Hall of Fame.
Ithaca has won eight state titles in the past 12 seasons. The Bombers finished eighth at nationals in 1998 and seventh in 1989. Renee Helbok, a 25-time all-American, won the 500-yard freestyle at the 1999 NCAA championships. Miller received her second Division III coach of the year award after that season.
Megan Hughes, a 15-time all-American, recorded nine individual top-10 finishes at nationals during her four-year career. Hughes' best performance came at the 2003 NCAA championships where she finished third in the 200-yard freestyle.
In 2008, four Bombers - Kelly Turpin, Lauren Botterbusch, Jen Heberton and Sheila Rhoades - qualified for the NCAA Championships. The quartet earned all-American honors in four relay events, including a eighth-place finish in the 200-yard medley relay. Botterbusch also earned all-American honors in the 100- and 200-yard breaststroke events. As a team, the Bombers placed 20th.
In 2017, the foursome of of Grace Ayer, Samantha Reilly, Jaclyn Pecze and Lake Duffy came in 12th place overall in the 400 medley relay and fourth in the consolation heat. The time was a new Ithaca program record, while it came just 16 one-hundredths of a second shy of tying the UNYSCSA Association record. The quartet also came in 20th overall in the 200 freestyle relay. Griesemer closed out a stellar third year as the National Runner-Up in the three-meter springboard.
In addition to Nickie Griesemer's national championship in 2018, four other divers qualified for nationals - Alyssa Wishart, Anna Belson, Katie Helly and Lindsey Suddaby. In her final season, Suddaby finished sixth in the three-meter springboard which was her highest finish at nationals and garnered her the first All-America honor of her career. Wishart and Helly both earned All-America Honorable Mentions in the one-meter while Belson earned an honorable mention in both the one and three meter boards. Diving coach Chris Griffin was named the College Swimming Coaches Association of America Diving Coach of the Year at the completion of competition.
The 2018-19 season saw Ithaca College claim their first-ever Liberty League title, claiming the championship victory on the final day of the meet by just two points with a 1,254.5 total points over RIT. At the conclusion of the championship, Anna Belson was named Liberty League Diver of the Meet after sweeping both the 1-meter and 3-meter boards. Belson notched her sixth career All-America honor at the first day of the 2019 NCAA Division III Swimming and Diving Championships with a third-place finish on the 3-meter board. Jocelyn Pawcio notched her first All-America honor earning an Honorable Mention after finishing third in the consolation final for 11th place overall. Belson would wrap up her collegiate career with yet another All-American finish placing fourth on the 1-meter board.
Head coach Paula Miller led the Bombers to a perfect 12-0 regular season in duals as Ithaca repeated as Liberty League champions in what turned out to be the final season at the helm for Miller during the 2019-20 season. Her and her staff were voted Co-Coaching Staff of the Year by the Liberty League. IC saw a pair of divers qualify for both the 1-meter and 3-meter competitions as Ava Lowell and Eliana Wallock earned qualifications for the 2020 NCAA Division III Swimming and Diving Championships, but just prior to the start of the competition the NCAA canceled all remaining winter and spring NCAA Championships due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The pandemic carried over into 2020-21 as Kevin Markwardt took over the women's program as the swimming and diving program was restructured with combined coaches for both men and women with Mike Blakely-Armitage returning to the South Hill as a full-time assistant men's and women's swimming coach and assistant aquatics coordinator. Unfortunately due to the COVID-19 pandemic, essentially the entire season was canceled with the Bombers competing in a virtual meet against Liberty League schools along with an exhibition meet against Le Moyne.
The Bombers would claim their third-straight Liberty League title during the 2021-22 season as they won the meet by racking up 1,597 team points as RIT finished the meet in second with 1,339 points. Graduate student Ava Lowell was named the conference's 2021-22 Diver of the Year after winning both the 1-meter and 3-meter events as she reset the association and championship record in the 3-meter, totaling a finals score of 547.45. Lowell along with fellow divers Rachel Lange, Abby Marraccino, Karalyn Pawcio and Eliana Wallock each qualified for the NCAA Division III Championships where they finished 18th overall. Lowell achieved her fifth overall All-American honor as she put together a third-place finish in the 1-meter event with a finals score of 443.95. She would cap off her exceptional career by winning the 3-meter competition with a finals score of 486.45, becoming the program's fifth-ever individual national champion. Rachel Lange earned herself Honorable Mention All-American status with a 10th place finish on the 3-meter boards at nationals. Ava Lowell was also selected as an Academic All-American by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) as she was a Second Team At-Large honoree. She became the third-ever CoSIDA Academic All-American joining Nickie Griesmer and Anna Belson who were also enshrined with the honor.Â
The 2022-23 season saw IC finish with a perfect 14-0 record in dual meets as they were also crowned champions of the Bomber Invitational along with winning their fourth-straight Liberty League Championship. Ithaca shined during the four-day Liberty League meet as they totaled 1,619 points holding off Vassar (1,277) and RPI (1,369). Impressively enough, the Bombers swept the major awards with Sonia Mlakar being named Swimmer of the Meet after winning several events and Karalyn Pawcio earned Diver of the Meet after winning the 3-meter and her equally impressive performance in the third-place finish on the 1-meter. In addition to Mlakar and Pawcio, Katie Champagne, Abigail Ignagni, Rachel Lange, Leah Levin, Abby Marraccino, Jane Pfeufer and Emily VanderSleen represented Ithaca College at the 2023 NCAA Division III Championships. During the first day of competition at NCAA's, the Bombers saw a pair of divers crowned First Team All-Americans as Karalyn Pawcio finished second and Rachel Lange was eighth in 3-meter diving. Those performances were followed up by the foursome of Jane Pfeufer, Abigail Ignagni, Sonia Mlakar and Emily VanderSleen each earning Second Team All-American status as they finished seventh in the consolation final and 15th overall in the 200-yard freestyle relay. Mlakar garnered herself Second Team All-American honors in the 100-yard backstroke finishing 15th overall with her consolation finals time of 56.49. Leah Levin finished third overall on the 1-meter diving boards as she was just over four points behind the winner Sydney Blestein (431.40), as the sophomore scored a 427.65. Finishing in fifth-place and also earning First Team All-America honors was Karalyn Pawcio who had a finals score of 418.50.
IC would claim its fifth-straight Liberty League Championship as the Bombers showcased its speed, depth and diving talents along the way to totaling 1,512.5 total team points, which once again bested the RIT Tigers (1,437.5).The Bombers saw Kailee Payne earn All-Liberty League First Team in both 1-meter and 3-meter diving as she was also named the Liberty League Diver of the Meet and Diver of the Year. In the 1-meter, she recorded a score of 502.00 and then posted a score of 559.95 from the 3-meter, earning her Diver of the Meet accolades. Payne qualified for the 2024 NCAA Swimming & Diving Championship by winning both the 1-meter and 3-meter dives at the NCAA Region IV Diving Regionals.At the NCAAs, she was crowned the Individual National Champion from both the 1-meter and 3-meter boards. She bested the 1-meter field with a score of 515.15 with a margin of victory of 62 points and totaled a score of 509.50 from the 3-meter dive surpassing the 2023 winning score (479.40) and winning by over 20 points. Payne was named the CSCAA Division III Diver of the Year at the conclusion of the meet and this season she was selected Liberty League Diver of the Week six times. Also earning All-Liberty League First Team during the 2023-24 season was Kathleen Papiernik in the 100-yard butterfly and Kerry O'Brien in the 1650 freestyle. Abby Marraccino, Angela Burke and Kailee Payne each were named to the CSCAA Scholar All-American First Team and Audrey Scott, Eliza Salus and Jenell Slesser earned Second Team distinction.
Ithaca has won 167 of its last 206 dual meets and has finished first or second at 29 of the past 33 state meets. The Bombers had also won the Empire 8 crown for 12 straight seasons, until moving into the Liberty League during the 2017-18 school year. They have continued their dominance in the Liberty League winning five-straight Liberty League Championships.Â
08/15/2024
