ITHACA, N.Y. – The Ithaca College men's and women's swimming and diving programs start the 2025-26 regular season this Saturday the Kelsey Partridge Bird Natatorium when they host both the University of Scranton and Hartwick College. Saturday's events will begin at 1 p.m.
 
The women's team is looking to build off their sixth-straight Liberty League Championship in the conference championship meet, while the men are looking to breakthrough after finishing second to RIT. The women accumulated 1,700 points and a margin of victory of 220.5 points ahead of RPI, and the men's team finished as the runner-up with 1,524 points behind RIT who earned its fourth-straight Liberty League title.
 
The Bombers are guided by third year head coach Mike Blakely-Armitage '00 and assistants Chris Griffin, Paula Miller, Lara Mitchell, Taryn Wisner and Emily Snyder.
 
"For the women's team, our goal is to maintain our strong culture and championship mindset," said Blakely-Armitage. "We're focused on breaking through in close meets against tough non-conference opponents, while helping our first years develop so they feel like seasoned competitors by midseason."
 
"On the men's side, we aim to continue our academic excellence by achieving a team GPA of 3.5 or higher," said Blakely-Armitage. "To make a breakthrough at the Liberty League Championships, we'll need meaningful contributions from every class—seniors, juniors, sophomores, and first years. That collective effort will be key to our success this season."
 
New Faces
Ithaca welcomes a talented freshman class in 2025, featuring nine newcomers on the men's team and eight first years on the women's side, including two divers.
 
Replacing two-time national champion Kailee Payne on the 1-meter and 3-meter boards will be no easy task but expected to step up for the Bombers are first-year Madison Morris, junior Emily Provost, and sophomore Maya Hathorn.
 
Who's Back
Captains Elke Beaumont, Kathleen Papiernik, and Sierra Houck return to lead the women's team in 2025. Papiernik earned All-Liberty League First Team honors last season after winning the 100-yard butterfly, 200-yard individual medley, and contributing to the Bombers' victory in the 800-yard freestyle relay at the Liberty League Championship.
 
Also returning are fellow All-Liberty League First Team selections Samantha Bender (200-yard backstroke), Sydney Koehler (200-yard breaststroke), and Claire Weppler (400-yard individual medley).
 
Weppler was named the Liberty League Rookie of the Year after scoring the most individual points among all first year swimmers at the championship meet. She captured the 400-yard individual medley title with a personal-best time of 4:33.70, winning by nearly six seconds. Weppler also earned All-Liberty League Third Team honors with a third-place finish in the 200-yard breaststroke (2:22.47) and a seventh-place showing in the 200-yard individual medley (2:10.05).
 
The Bombers return a strong core on the men's side, led by graduate student Matthew Mitros and captains Ryan Cooke and Matthew Janssen. Mitros and Cooke both earned All-Liberty League First Team honors last season in the 50-yard freestyle and 500-yard freestyle, respectively.
 
Also returning are Alec Kutsner, Evan Wardrop, Marshall Adams, Spencer Alderson, James Kissel, and Bennett Molitor-Kirsch, who will be counted on to provide leadership and consistency across a range of events. With experience spread across all classes, the men's team is poised to build on last season's momentum and make a push at the Liberty League Championships.
 
The Schedule
The Bombers' 2025–26 schedule features eight meets and two separate diving invitationals. The season opens with a tri-meet against Scranton and Hartwick, followed by a home meet against Hobart & William Smith College and Worcester Polytechnic Institute on Saturday, October 25.
 
IC then hits the road for three consecutive dual meets at RPI (Nov. 1), Cortland (Nov. 8), and RIT (Nov. 22), before returning home to host the three-day Bomber Invitational beginning Thursday, December 6.
 
After the winter break, the Bombers host Hamilton College on January 17, then travel to the University of Rochester the following week. Diving will host the Dick Comanzo Invitational on Sunday, January 25. Both programs will then celebrate Senior Day with a home meet against SUNY Geneseo at 1 p.m. on January 31. The final regular season event is the Geneca Diving Invitational on February 7. The Bombers will then host the Liberty League Championships at Kelsey Partridge Bird Natatorium from February 18–21.