The Youngstown State women's swimming and diving program delivered many memorable moments during the 2024-25 season, including nine new school records, three Horizon League titles, a program-record 483 points at the Horizon League Championships, and the program's first-ever HLSD Women's Athlete of the Year Award winner.

Horizon League Swimming and Diving Women's Athlete of the Year

• Miriam Frass made program history on Apr. 30 when she became the first student-athlete in Youngstown State Women's Swimming and Diving history to be named the Horizon League Swimming and Diving Women's Athlete of the Year. She is the first Penguins swimmer, male or female, to win Horizon League Athlete of the Year honors.
• YSU Head Coach Brad Smith's remarks on the incredible honor for Frass: "She entered the season with the same passion, enthusiasm, and love for the sport that she brought her freshman year. She was determined to end her collegiate season on the highest of notes, and every day of practice, she lived up to that and the other goals she set for herself. Committed and hard-working is an understatement for this young lady. She was able to rekindle her love for the sport, and it showed. She's inspiring, and her swims are inspiring. I'm incredibly proud to have coached her and gotten to know the wonderful person that she is".

Horizon League Championship Highlights

• The Penguin women continued to raise the bar of expectations at the conference championship meet, breaking the program record for team points scored with 483. This marked the third consecutive season that the Penguins have outmatched the previous team point total mark at the HLCs. The team finished fourth overall.
• Miriam Frass was named the Horizon League Championships Women's Swimmer of the Meet, marking the first time in program history that a Penguin has received that award.
• Individually, Frass won the 1650 free title with a program-record time of 16:40.80 and became the first YSU female swimmer to win that event at the Horizon League Championships. She also won the 400 IM title for the second-straight year, clocking a program-record time of 4:18.91. She also secured a second-place finish in the 500 free for the third-straight year, clocking a time of 4:50.10 in the final. In the preliminary round of the event, Frass swam a time of 4:49.58, which set a new program record.
• Another groundbreaking moment occurred on the first night of the conference championships, as the 800-free relay team of Hailey Clark, Oliwia Kaniak, Olivia Sweetman, and Miriam Frass won the first relay conference title in YSU Swimming and Diving history, both male and female. They won the event with a time of 7:20.87, which was a new program record. The victory snapped a 10-year title run for Oakland in the event.
• Oliwia Kaniak also had a very strong meet for the Penguins, as she put together some very good individual performances aside from her part in the relay title. She finished runner-up in the 200 IM and clocked a program-record time of 2:02.46, while also finishing second in the 100 breaststroke (1:02.61) and 200 breaststroke (2:15.76).
• Olivia Swetman performed very well during her first appearance at the HLCs. She finished in second place in the 1650 free right behind Frass, clocking a time of 16:53.07. She also secured a third-place finish in the 500 free with a time of 4:50.10 and a sixth-place finish in 400 IM as she swam a time of 4:30.96.
• Hanna Held had a very good performance in the three-meter diving event, finishing fourth with a score of 273.60.
• The 200-free relay squad of Miriam Frass, Oliwia Kaniak, Madelyn Mahoney, and Izzy Rossi set a new program record with a time of 1:34.98, good enough for a fifth-place finish.
• Hailey Clark finished fifth place in the 1650 free, clocking a time of 17:10.14. She also placed seventh in the 500 free with a time of 4:56.88.
• Also securing a seventh-place finish was Macy Wang in the 400 IM as she swam a time of 4:31.27.
• The Penguins had two top-10 finishes in the one-meter diving event, as Emma Schum placed eighth with a score of 222.65, while Hanna Held finished in ninth place with a score of 258.55.
• Staying with diving, Natalie Weissman scored 230.25 in the three-meter dive, finishing eighth in the event.
• Morgan Glass finished ninth in the 500 free with a time of 4:58.50.

National Invitational Championship Highlights

• Oliwia Kaniak continued her impressive postseason stretch after the Horizon League Championship meet, posting a new school record time in the 100 breaststroke of 1:02.32, good enough for a 20th-place finish at the NICs. She also placed 19th in the 100 IM, clocking a time of 56.55.
• The Penguin women had three top-30 finishers in the 1000 free, led by Miriam Frass, who finished in 21st place with a time of 10:12.66.  Hailey Clark finished closely behind her in 23rd place with a time of 10:14.14, Olivia Sweetman clocked a time of 10:16.20, good enough for a 26th-place finish.
• Hanna Held scored 223.20 in the one-meter dive, good enough for a 35th-place finish, while Ellen Linscheid placed 37th with a score of 202.00.

Additional Highlights

• The Penguins started the season in strong fashion in a dual vs. St. Bonaventure on Sept. 26-27 inside a loud Beeghly Natatorium, edging out the Bonnies 152.5-147.5 to claim the victory. YSU catapulted to victory in eight individual events. Hanna Held started off the meet on its opening day with victories in both the one-meter and three-meter diving events. On the final day of the meet, Oliwia Kaniak led the Guins with three event victories, finishing first in the 100 breaststroke, 200 breaststroke, and 200 IM. Miriam Frass had two event victories of her own, winning both the 200 free and 500 free. Olivia Sweetman secured her first collegiate event win in the 1000 free.
• After strong performances in the season-opening dual, Oliwia Kaniak and Hanna Held received special recognition from the Horizon League, as Kaniak was named the Horizon League Women's Swimmer of the Week, and Held received Horizon League Women's Diver of the Week honors on Oct. 2.
• Miriam Frass had a meet to remember in a dual vs. Oakland on Oct. 4-5, capturing four freestyle-event victories. She placed first in the 100 free, 200 free, 500 free, and 1650 free. Oliwia Kaniak was just as good as Frass, claiming three event victories during the meet in the 50 breaststroke, 100 breaststroke, and 200 breaststroke. Olivia Sweetman won another portion of the 500 free at the meet as well.
• Miriam Frass claimed two more victories the following week at the Akron Zips Classic, which took place on Oct. 11-12. Frass won both the 500 free and 165 free, while Hanna Held scored a first-place finish in the three-meter diving event.
• The Penguins celebrated Senior Day on Nov. 2 during a dual with Northeast Ohio foe Cleveland State, and the Guins captured seven event victories. Miriam Frass claimed first-place finishes in the 200 free and 500 free. Oliwia Kaniak also won two races, finishing first in the 100 breaststroke and 200 breaststroke. The other winners for the Guins were Hanna Held in the three-meter dive, Olivia Sweetman in the 1000 free, and Allison Ramirez Romero in the 200 butterfly.
• The Penguins were back in their home pool the following week vs. Saint Francis on Nov. 9, where the Guins outlasted the Red Flash 139-123 with an impressive 12 event victories. Hanna Held kicked off the meet, winning both the one-meter and three-meter diving events. Oliwia Kaniak won three events during the afternoon battle, placing first in the 100 breaststroke, 200 breaststroke, and 200 IM. Miriam Frass also won three events for the Guins, as she finished first in the 100 free, 200 free, and 500 free. Olivia Sweetman won the 100 free, while Allison Ramirez Romero placed first in the 100 fly, and Natalia Andres won the 200 fly.
• Hanna Held was the lone Penguin to win an event at the three-day Magnus Cup Invitational hosted by Cleveland State from Nov. 21-23, as she took home a victory in the platform diving event. She also finished in fifth place in the one-meter diving event. Other top-five finishes for the Guins included Hailey Clark, who finished second in the 1650 free, Olivia Sweetman, who finished fifth in that event, and Oliwia Kaniak, who placed fifth in the 100 IM. The 3x3 relay diving team of Ellen Linscheid, Natalie Weissman, and Hanna Held also placed third.
• Select Penguins swimmers competed in the 2024 CSCAA Open Water Championships, hosted by Florida International University, on Dec. 15. Miriam Frass had a very impressive 5K race to lead the Penguins, as she placed second out of 108 swimmers. YSU had three other swimmers in the top 50, as Olivia Swetman finished 45th, Hailey Clark finished 46th, and Morgan Glass placed 48th.
• The Penguins competed against Denison University in a dual on Jan. 18, winning seven events. Miriam Frass and Oliwia Kaniak won two events each, as Frass finished first in the 200 fly and 200 breaststroke, while Kaniak won the 50 breaststroke and 50 free events. Eloise Fisher claimed a victory in the 100 breaststroke. Chiara Vetter won the 100 breaststroke. Hanna Held finished first in the one-meter diving competition.
• The Penguins sent select swimmers to the Miami Classic on Feb. 7-8 to wrap up regular season action. The 400-medley relay team of Kyndall Hindman, Gwyneth Thomas, Zoe Gallagher, and Maria Valcheva won their event during the meet's opening day.

Academic Excellence

• The Penguins had four student-athletes earn Horizon League All-Academic accolades this season, as Natalia Andres, Hailey Clark, Miriam Frass, and Oliwia Kaniak were each named to the 2025 Valeo Horizon League Swimming and Diving All-Academic Team.
• Andres, Clark, Frass, and Kaniak were each named to the 2024-25 CSC Academic All-District Team as well.
• The program earned CSCAA Fall Scholar All-American honors with an impressive 3.54 Fall 2024 GPA.