YSU Swim and Dive Teams to Open Season Friday in Indianapolis
9/10/2026 4:54:00 PM | Swimming and Diving
Youngstown, Ohio — Youngstown State's swimming and diving program will begin its new era under first-year head coach Hannah Saiz this weekend with a two-day meet against IU Indy and Cleveland State in Indianapolis.
The event will consist of three sessions over two days at the IU Natatorium, starting with an opening session on Friday at 5 p.m. There will be two sessions on Saturday, with action beginning at 10 a.m. and continuing at 2 p.m.
The competition against the Jaguars and Vikings will provide an early look at two Horizon League opponents as the Penguins have the earliest season start in program history.
Saiz's thoughts on the season-opening meet: "We've been doing a lot of focus on teamwork the last few weeks. Our success in this upcoming meet looks like dialing into our team (lots of cheering, being loud, taking up space) and executing our turns the way we've been practicing the last three weeks. It's a great chance to shake off the racing rust and practice competing with courage and joy."
Ron Kontura and Nick Rodriguez are also new to the coaching staff in 2026-27. Kontura is the head diving coach and director of operations, and Rodriguez is the assistant diving coach. Noah Frederick, Abby Doss and Crispy Barton each return to the staff in their same roles.
Men's preview
The YSU men's team features 24 student-athletes on its roster this season, adding 10 newcomers to 14 returners from last season's squad that finished third at the Horizon League Swimming and Diving Championships. The team features three swimmers and one diver who placed in the top five in events at last season's conference meet.
Senior Adrian Andres Moreno finished in the top five of both breaststroke events last season, and his third-place finish in the 200-yard breaststroke represents the highest finish among YSU's returning group. Other returning swimmers with top-five finishes include sophomore Valer Kennedy, a fourth-place finisher in the 200-yard butterfly, and sophomore Pablo Santos, who finished fifth in the 200-yard backstroke. In diving, sophomore Rafael Serey-Cormier placed fourth at last year's conference meet on the 1-meter board while placing sixth on the 3-meter.
The men have 10 newcomers, including three transfers in Joey Chang (Army), Elijah Dredge (Barton) and Nathan Spetz (Cincinnati). The freshmen are Mohamed Antar, Jaxon Arenholz, Henry Geitz, Sam Grojean, Jeremy Mitchell, Adam Speedie and Zachary Totin.
The men's captains are senior distance freestyler David Grant, junior diver Andrew Miller and junior sprint freestyler Reid Withey.
Women's preview
The women return three swimmers who advanced to the finals and 13 student-athletes overall from last season's team that placed fifth at the Horizon League Championships. There are seven newcomers overall on the roster, including six freshmen.
Junior Olivia Sweetman's return is one of the top headlines in the Horizon League this season, following her impressive performance at the conference championships in 2025-26. Sweetman was named the Swimmer of the Meet at the championships after winning the 200-yard freestyle, 500-yard freestyle and 1,650-yard freestyle. Other returning top-eight finishers at the league meet include sophomore Chloe Moore, who placed eighth in the 50-yard freestyle, and sophomore Lara Lilic, who was eighth in the 200-yard backstroke.
Lexxi Chavez is the lone transfer on the roster, and she is YSU's only female diver in 2026-27. The seven freshmen swimmers are Tova Axelsson, Sage Gillibrand, Lily Ho, Kylie Kowka, Isobel Munnoch and Elif Tetik.
The women's captains are Sweetman, senior individual medley swimmer Emily Aten and junior freestyler Amelia Matzke.
Meet Schedule
Session 1: Friday at 5 p.m.
- Women's 200 Freestyle Relay
- Men's 200 Freestyle Relay
- Women's 500 Freestyle
- Men's 500 Freestyle
- Women's 200 IM
- Men's 200 IM
- Women's 50 Freestyle
- Men's 50 Freestyle
- Women's 3-Meter Diving
- Men's 1-Meter Diving
Session 2: Saturday at 10 a.m.
- Women's 100 Butterfly
- Men's 100 Butterfly
- Women's 400 IM
- Men's 400 IM
- Women's 200 Freestyle
- Men's 200 Freestyle
- Women's 100 Breaststroke
- Men's 100 Breaststroke
- Women's 100 Backstroke
- Men's 100 Backstroke
- Women's 200 Freestyle Relay
- Men's 200 Freestyle Relay
- Women's 1-Meter Diving
- Men's 3-Meter Diving
Session 3: Saturday at 2 p.m.
- Women's 1,000 Freestyle
- Men's 1,000 Freestyle
- Women's 200 Backstroke
- Men's 200 Backstroke
- Women's 100 Free
- Men's 100 Free
- Women's 200 Breaststroke
- Men's 200 Breaststroke
- Women's 200 Butterfly
- Men's 200 Butterfly
- Women's 400 Freestyle Relay
- Men's 400 Freestyle Relay
Up Next
Youngstown State's next meet will be a two-day competition at Oakland on Oct. 2-3. For more information on YSU's swimming and diving programs, follow @ysuswimdive on Instagram, Facebook and X.
