Women’s Swimming & Diving: Norwich secures sixth-ever GNAC Championship, three-peat for first time since 2000, Laitala named Diver of the Year for second-straight season

The Cadets totaled an impressive 917 points over the three-day affair, usurping perennial powerhouse Simmons University's 810-point output.  Regis College rounded out the top three with 500 points, followed by Saint Joseph's College of Maine and the University of Saint Joseph (Conn.).  Elms College and Albertus Magnus College closed out the seven-team field.

Norwich held onto advantages from the beginning, widening the gap throughout the three-day event and joining the men's swimming & diving team in a clean sweep of the GNAC Championship for the third-straight season.  The victory marks the second-ever three-peat for the Norwich women's swimming & diving program since the GNAC began sponsoring a women's swimming & diving championship in 1998-99.  Norwich proved victorious during the 1998-99, 1999-00, and 2000-01 seasons and again in the 2022-23 and 2023-24 campaigns.

The Cadets took individual and relay victories in nine events over the multi-day Championship event, including capturing gold medals in four events on the final day.  Two of those solo wins came from Brandy Lewis (Strafford, Vt.), who broke her one-year-old record in the 1650-yard freestyle of 18:33.74 with an 18:29.03 effort, before also winning the 200-yard IM on a 2:20.33 effort.

Alannah Kelliher (Middleboro, Mass.) won the 100-yard backstroke after touching the wall with a time of 1:03.81, while Reilly Laitala (Sterling, Mass.) claimed victory in the 3-meter diving competition, scoring a 361.65.  Kelliher and Lewis earned wins on the first day of competition, with the former taking gold in the 50-yard butterfly on 27.59 while Lewis swam an 11:12.01 in the 1000-yard freestyle.  Kylie Farris (Leander, Texas) also hauled in a win, touching the wall first in the 200-yard backstroke on 2:18.88.

The second day saw a relay victory for the Cadets, as the quartet of Kelliher, Lewis, Deanna Parot (San Diego, Calif.), and Jenna Tschida (Goffstown, N.H.) swam a 1:42.69 to kick off finals in the 200-yard freestyle relay.  The day before, the grouping of Farris, Kelliher, Maria Piekarczyk (Dudley, Mass.), and Tschida made history in a second-place effort in the 200-yard medley relay, as the four combined for a 1:55.46 time, breaking a historic 26-year-old record in the event of 1:55.52, set by Jill Hartsock, Kelly Chiffer, Alexandria Evans, and Rachel Gaidys.

Other victories during the second day included another for Laitala, as she won the 1-meter diving competition with a 386.10 time.  Lewis capped off the final victory of the day for Norwich in the 500-yard freestyle at a time of 5:24.33.

For her efforts throughout the season and at the title meet, Norwich saw Laitala receive her second-straight GNAC Women's Diver of the Year accolade.  The junior has enjoyed a historic campaign on the diving board, attaining an astonishing 11 GNAC Diver of the Week plaudits, including six this season.  Last season, Laitala became the first-ever women's diver in program history to qualify for the NCAA Div. III Diving Regionals.

Kaylin Creel (Huntersville, N.C.) was named as Norwich's representative on the GNAC All-Sportsmanship Team.  For Head Coach Jennifer Cournoyer, the title marks the third women's championship under her leadership at Norwich University, and, with the men's title, her seventh overall.

The top three finishers in each event were also recognized as 2025 All-Conference honorees.  They included:
•    200 Medley Relay - Norwich (Kylie Farris, Alannah Kelliher, Maria Piekarczyk, Jenna Tschida)
•    50 Butterfly - Alannah Kelliher, Norwich
•    200 Backstroke - Kylie Farris, Norwich
•    1000 Freestyle - Brandy Lewis, Norwich
•    400 Freestyle Relay - Norwich (Brandy Lewis, Deanna Parot, Jenna Tschida, Alannah Kelliher)
•    200 Freestyle Relay - Norwich (Brandy Lewis, Deanna Parot, Jenna Tschida, Alannah Kelliher)
•    100 Butterfly - Maria Piekarczyk, Norwich
•    500 Freestyle - Brandy Lewis, Norwich
•    50 Backstroke - Kylie Farris, Norwich
•    50 Freestyle - Alannah Kelliher, Norwichs
•    800 Freestyle Relay - Norwich (Jenna Tschida, Hannah Shaner, Anna Gosselin (Lisbon, Conn.), Brandy Lewis)
•    1-Meter Diving - Reilly Laitala, Norwich; Gianna Varady (Highland Park, N.J.), Norwich
•    50 Breaststroke - Alannah Kelliher, Norwich
•    1650 Freestyle - Brandy Lewis, Norwich
•    100 Backstroke - Alannah Kelliher, Norwich; Kylie Farris, Norwich
•    200 IM - Brandy Lewis, Norwich
•    3-Meter Diving - Reilly Laitala, Norwich
•    400 Medley Relay - Norwich (Kylie Farris, Brandy Lewis, Maria Piekarczyk, Alannah Kelliher)

DAY 1 FINALS LEADERS:
•    200 Yard Medley Relay
o    Kylie Farris (Leander, Texas), Alannah Kelliher (Middleboro, Mass.), Maria Piekarczyk (Dudley Mass.), Jenna Tschida (Goffstown, N.H.)
    2nd, 1:55.46 (school record)
•    400 Yard IM
o    Kaylin Creel (Huntersville, N.C.)
    4th, 5:08.91
•    200 Yard Freestyle
o    Jenna Tschida
    5th, 2:07.08
•    50 Yard Butterfly
o    Alannah Kelliher
    1st, 27.59
•    100 Yard Breaststroke
o    Abbey Houghton (Dover, N.H.)
    6th, 1:16.49
•    200 Yard Backstroke
o    Kylie Farris
    1st, 2:18.88
•    1000 Yard Freestyle
o    Brandy Lewis (Strafford, Vt.)
    1st, 11:12.01
•    400 Yard Freestyle Relay
o    Brandy Lewis, Deanna Parot (San Diego, Calif.), Jenna Tschida, Alannah Kelliher
    2nd, 3:49.39

DAY 2 FINALS LEADERS:
•    200 Yard Freestyle Relay
o    Brandy Lewis, Deanna Parot, Jenna Tschida, Alannah Kelliher
    1st, 1:42.69
•    100 Yard Butterfly
o    Maria Piekarczyk (Dudley, Mass.)
    3rd, 1:03.76
•    500 Yard Freestyle
o    Brandy Lewis
    1st, 5:24.33
•    50 Yard Backstroke
o    Kaylin Creel
    5th, 30.78
•    50 Yard Freestyle
o    Jenna Tschida
    4th, 26.23
•    200 Yard Breaststroke
o    Abbey Houghton
    5th, 2:43.37
•    100 Yard IM
o    Maria Piekarczyk
    4th, 1:07.99
•    800 Yard Freestyle Relay
o    Brandy Lewis, Kaylin Creel, Anna Gosselin (Lisbon, Conn.), Jenna Tschida
    2nd, 8:34.24
•    1 Meter Diving
o    Reilly Laitala (Sterling, Mass.)
    1st, 386.10

DAY 3 FINALS LEADERS:
•    100 Yard Freestyle
o    Jenna Tschida
    5th, 56.88
•    50 Yard Breaststroke
o    Alannah Kelliher
    2nd, 33.04
•    1650 Yard Freestyle
o    Brandy Lewis
    1st, 18:29.03 (school record)
•    100 Yard Backstroke
o    Alannah Kelliher
    1st, 1:03.81
•    200 Yard Butterfly
o    Maria Piekarczyk
    4th, 2:36.08
•    200 Yard IM
o    Brandy Lewis
    1st, 2:20.33
•    3 Meter Diving
o    Reilly Laitala
    1st, 361.65
•    400 Yard Medley Relay
o    Kylie Farris, Brandy Lewis, Maria Piekarczyk, Alannah Kelliher
    2nd, 4:22.23

The Cadets will now look ahead to the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Open Swimming & Diving Championships, set to take place from Friday, Feb. 28 to Sunday, Mar. 2, hosted by the Naval Academy in Lejeune Hall in Annapolis, Md.

2025 GNAC Women's Swimming & Diving Final Rankings
1. Norwich - 917
2. Simmons - 810
3. Regis (Mass.) - 500
4. St. Joseph's (Maine) - 471
5. Saint Joseph (Conn.) - 463
6. Elms - 297
7. Albertus Magnus - 233

Portion of release courtesy of Great Northeast Athletic Conference office.