HARTFORD, Conn. – The women's swim and dive team put on an electrifying performance Saturday afternoon, shattering multiple pool records and achieving personal bests across the board. It was a day filled with monumental achievements that highlighted the depth and talent of the squad.
The day kicked off with an incredible team effort in the women's 200 medley relay, where the squad of Rachel Kim, Charlotte Murphree, Niamh Kastner, and Isabelle Tagliaferro broke the pool record with a time of 1:46.48 , surpassing the previous mark of 1:48.56 set earlier this season by a Trinity team that included Kim, Murphree, Iris Huerta, and Tagliaferro. Rachel Kim set the tone, leading off with a pool-record performance in the 50 backstroke, clocking a stellar split time.
Across the lanes, Bantams claimed first place in nearly every event. Notable first-place finishes came from:
- Niamh Kastner (Women's 1000 yard freestyle & 50 yard butterfly)
- Wes Lowe (Men's 1000 yard freestyle & 100 yard freestyle)
- Addison Dunham (Women's 200 yard freestyle & 100 yard freestyle)
- Ben Lyons (Men's 200 yard freestyle)
- Rachel Kim (Women's 50 yard backstroke)
- Jack Rinaldi (Men's 50 yard backstroke)
- Charlotte Murphree (Women's 50 yard breaststroke & 100 yard Breaststroke (With pool record in both))
- Illja Tosic (Men's 50 yard breaststroke)
- Iris Huerta (Women's 100 yard butterfly)
- Matthew Brown (Men's 100 yard butterfly)
- Ella Cooper (Women's 50 yard freestyle)
- Tadija Ciric (Men's 50 yard freestyle & 50 yard butterfly)
- Hannah Flis (Women's 100 yard backstroke)
- Tudor Ionescu (Men's 100 yard backstroke)
- JP Soukoulis (Men's 100 yard breaststroke)
- Kathryn Unverzagt (Women's 500 yard freestyle)
- Ryan Kam (Men's 500 yard freestyle & 100 yard IM)
- Alex Snyder (Women's 100 yard IM)
Charlotte Murphree had an unbelievable day, breaking a pool record in every event she swam. She notably broke the 50 breaststroke pool record by a razor-thin margin of 0.04 seconds, stopping the clock at 30.03, surpassing the previous record of 30.07 set by Audrey Butler of Trinity in 2015. Murphree also set the 100 breaststroke pool record, posting a time of 1:05.61 to best the previous mark of 1:06.59 set by Mary Erb of Conn College in 2017. This made it a perfect day for Murphree, who dominated each event she entered.
Matthew Brown also got in on the record-breaking action, topping the 100 butterfly pool record by a fraction of a second, clocking in at 51.24 to break the previous mark of 51.25 held by Sam Gill of Conn College.
Another huge highlight came in the women's 800 freestyle relay, where the team of Murphree, Huerta, Kastner, and Tagliaferro smashed the pool record by more than 10 seconds, finishing in a blistering time of 7:54.03, easily surpassing the previous record of 8:05.42 set by Trinity's relay squad last season.
In addition to the historic swims, the diving squad put on an impressive showing, complementing the strong performances in the pool with their own skill and precision. Their efforts were key in helping the team dominate throughout the meet. Bridget Kahan logged first-place finishes in both the 1-meter and 3-meter dives, while Owen Schmidt took first place in both the men's 3-meter and 1-meter events.
"I am so proud of this team and everything they accomplished today," said Head Coach Hannah Hagy. "We've been training incredibly hard the last two weeks, and the sheer volume of personal bests and pool records was amazing. We have a busy week of meets coming up and can't wait to see what else we can do!"
It was an unforgettable day for the team, filled with record-breaking swims, personal bests, and incredible team chemistry. The performances set the tone for a strong remainder of the season, and the team is already looking forward to the upcoming meets.
Recap of Record-Breaking Performances
