2025-26 Tufts University Women's Swimming & Diving Season Preview

MEDFORD, MA (November 20, 2025) - The Tufts University women's swimming & diving team sent a most-ever 15 individuals to the NCAA Championship meet last year, and the bulk of that group is back for what is shaping up as a very promising 2025-26 season.

Nine Jumbos who earned All-American awards last year and 11 individuals who have been All-Americans in their careers will lead head coach Adam Hoyt's team. Tufts begins the season this weekend with a quad meet at Williams College on Saturday and a home event versus Brandeis University on Sunday.

Nine-time All-American Quinci Wheeler and eight-timer Madeleine Dunn, both seniors, lead the return of a Jumbo group with impressive national resumes, That also includes seniors Isa Chambers, Katharine Skelly, Malia Leung and Madison Hagberg, juniors Elena Harrison, Sydney Stasz and Selin Tuncay and sophomores Noa Chambers and Angel Smyrniou.

The Jumbos will miss the contributions of 2025 national qualifiers Emma Claus, Jillian Cudney, Cierra McCarty, Gaurika Singh, Lara Wujciak and others from the senior class, who helped the team place 11th at the NCAA meet and second in NESCAC by a small amount. Cudney departed as the program's all-time leader in All-American awards with 17.

However, the haul of returnees for this season is impressive as the Jumbos aim to get back into the national top 10 and compete for a NESCAC championship.

"Having graduated 10 women from the 2024-25 roster, and adding nine new team members, we'll be excited to see some of our returning team members step up and help establish our team as one of the best in the country," head coach Adam Hoyt said. "We'll rely on a talented group of divers, as well as some great leadership from our senior class to lead the way this season."

Here's a closer look at the team by event:

BACKSTROKE: A solid group of four NESCAC finalists returns here. Harrison is the school-record holder in the 50 and 100, and won the 50 at NESCAC's last season. Noa Chambers was excellent in her first year with the team last season, earning an honorable mention All-American finish in the 200 and All-Conference honors in the 100 and 200. Hagberg and sophomore Olivia Pettit were fifth and sixth, respectively, in the conference 200 last year, as well as consolation finalists in both the 50 and 100. Sophomores Anna Gjervold and Alya Hocaoglu add young depth.

BREASTSTROKE: Wheeler is one of the top returnees in the nation in the breaststrokes after placing 10th in the 100 at NCAA's. She has won back-to-back 50 breast titles in NESCAC and holds the Tufts records in the 50 and 100. Junior Mia Solomon, named as an NCAA alternate last year, and Stasz delivered strong performances last season. Solomon was in the top 16 for all three events in the conference, including seventh in the 100. Stasz swam in the 100 at NCAA's (placing 25th) and was sixth in the event at NESCAC's.

BUTTERFLY: Harrison, Smyrniou and Skelly give the Jumbos another good core of returnees in this event. Smyrniou was also a top first-year performer on the team in the 2024-25 season as the runner-up in the 50 and 100 fly at the conference meet and 25th-place national finish in the 100. The versatile Harrison swam at NCAA's in the 100 and 200 butterfly, while Skelly was All-Conference in the 50. Sophomore Lila Strober also figures into the mix here after a scoring performance in the NESCAC 200 last year. Sophomore Angelia Sagaow leads the young depth.

DIVING: As Coach Hoyt noted, the Jumbos have a deep group here. Four Tufts divers qualified to compete at the NCAA Regional last year led by Leung. She was a honorable mention All-American off both boards in 2024 and narrowly missed qualifying nationally last season. Sophomore Luci Karp was seventh in three-meter and eighth in one-meter in her first NESCAC meet last season. Junior Arya Gupta and sophomore Riley Metz were NCAA Regional participants who now have good experience to draw upon.

FREESTYLE: Like Wheeler in the breaststroke, Dunn is among Division III's best in the distance events. She holds the Jumbo 500, 1000 and 1650 records and was the 1000 NESCAC champion in 2025. Sixth in the NCAA 500 and 1650 for All-American recognition last year, she won all three races at NESCAC's as a sophomore in 2023. Strober is a solid second-scorer in the distances, with a best of ninth in the 1650 at the 2025 conference meet. Isa Chambers, All-NESCAC and 28th nationally in the 50, Skelly, sophomore Sweeney Su and Tuncay lead the group of contributors in the shorter events. Wheeler, third in the NESCAC 100, Smyrniou and Noa Chambers also made championship-season starts here last season.

INDIVIDUAL MEDLEY: Sagaow stepped up late in her first season with the team last year, winning the 200 at the Boston University Winter Open and then taking fourth in the 200 and 13th in the 400 at NESCAC's. Stasz was an honorable mention All-American in the 200, as was Dunn in the 400 while Harrison in the 200 also raced at NCAA's. Sophomores Clara Behling, Sophia Knight and Gjervold look to add to the depth here.

RELAYS: Eight Jumbos who started for A relays at the 2025 NCAA meet are back as Tufts will once again field strong foursomes. The eighth-place NCAA 400 freestyle team - also the NESCAC champion - returns Isa Chambers, Wheeler and Stasz. The 400 medley relay that was just outside of the top eight nationally has Harrison, Wheeler and Smyrniou back. Isa Chambers and Skelly swam with the 200 free relay that was the conference champion and 11th at NCAA's. Dunn, Wheeler and Tuncay were part of the honorable mention All-American 800 free relay, with Noa Chambers having anchored the group to a NESCAC runner-up place. Tufts' 200 medley relay was also the conference champion and an NCAA qualifier, with Harrison and Wheeler at the front of that foursome. Solomon and Su started for championship B relays last season and are also key pieces to the puzzle.