Consistency is key for Swim and Dive going into MAACs

By: Hannah Wiley, Managing Editor

Men’s and women’s swim and dive head into MAACs this upcoming Wednesday, Feb. 11 after a tough regular season struggling to keep up with their performances from last year’s championship.

The standout Griffs consistently place first in regular season meets, but have been unable to match times from last year’s championship and will struggle to keep up on a bigger stage – such as the MAACs. They have swimmers who are really strong in certain races, but even they fall short when put up against other swimmers in the conference. 

Sophomore Daphne Mead was a standout last year in her rookie year and has continued her success this season. Finishing her rookie season as the 2025 MAAC Rookie of the Meet and the 2025 Canisius Female Rookie of the Year, Mead came into the season with the opportunity to make an even bigger splash – and she did. In the regular season, she broke three individual pool records, two school records and one relay pool record in the 400-yard medley. She broke two different 200-yard backstroke pool records with times of 2:06.78 and 2:06.25.

With that being said, Mead is going into MAACs ranked 30th and has reigning champion Natalie Killion of the Niagara Purple Eagles to look out for in the 200-yard backstroke. Mead came in fourth place last year with a personal best time of 2:02.13. She has yet to swim this time since that race.

Junior Evie Leighton is going into MAACs ranked 12th and has been a standout for the women’s team all season. Leighton has been consistently getting first in her 200-yard freestyle event during the regular season, which she came eighth in during the championship last year. She beat her MAAC final time at the University at Buffalo Invitational earlier this season with a time of 1:51.46, but, like Mead, still has yet to swim her same personal best time of 1:50.08 from prelims last year. 

Senior Sam Vidal is ranked 31st going into MAACs and has been a standout on the men’s side, but has also struggled in the second half of the regular season. Vidal broke the school record in the 200-yard breaststroke at last year's MAAC with a time of 2:00.14 and has stayed consistent in that race during regular season meets.

Relays have been a place the Griffs have always shined with the women’s team getting two school records last championship in the 800-yard freestyle and the 400-yard medley. Mead and Leighton, along with juniors Cassandra Ercoli and Lana Swanson broke a pool record in the 400-yard medley earlier this season with a time of 3:53.86.

Photo courtesy of Havana Austin