HAMILTON – Colgate Swimming and Diving kicks off their 2025-26 season with the annual Colgate Invite, set to take place Friday and Saturday inside Lineberry Natatorium. The Raiders welcome UMass, Le Moyne, and St. Francis as part of the season-opening weekend in Hamilton.
The women's swimming and diving team made history at last year's home event, winning its fall classic for the first time. Colgate has been hosting its season-opening event since 2015-16, and twice earned second-place finishes (2015-16, 2019-20) before claiming the top spot in 2025. The Raiders scored 802 points, besting St. Bonaventure by 11 points.
The season-opening victory was a sign of things to come for the women's swimming and diving team, which captured an eighth place finish in the Patriot League championship and landed head coach Ed Pretre as the Patriot League's Coach of the Year – Colgate's first coach to earn the top honor since 2011.
"So far, the team has been amazing," said Pretre. "The leadership has been exceptional, and it's clearly having a positive impact—there's a noticeable shift in focus this year. You can sense that the team is in a great place, building on the momentum from where they left off last season. The first-year swimmers and divers are already making a strong impact as well. They're pushing the upperclassmen in the pool, and the pace is definitely faster this year."
Women's Swimming and Diving Preview
At last year's Patriot League championship, MG King shined with 68 points throughout the weekend – good for second-best on the team and 21st overall among 161 swimmers in action during the four-day championship. They hauled in a second-place finish in the 200 Back on the final day, taking silver with a time of 1:58.44.
Audrey Collins emerged throughout the championship to lead the team in scoring with 73.5 points, good for 18th overall. The junior landed a pair of top five finishes, fourth in the 200 IM and fifth in the 100 Fly, to highlight her individual success during the championship. Collins and King were both All-Patriot League Second Team honorees.
King and Collins were both key contributors to Colgate's 400 Medley Relay quartet that took third place, becoming Colgate's first relay team to medal since 2014.
Along with seven newcomers for the 2025-26 season, Colgate's women's swimming and diving team returns 23 student-athletes from last year's team that finished 5-5 on the season with a 2-3 league mark. The Raiders bested Holy Cross late in the season, highlighting their conference head-to-head success. Behind 10 victories in the event, King, Natalie Hofer, Collins, and Lucy Art shattered four pool records in the 159.5-140.5 triumph over the Crusaders.
"I believe our women are poised to make another big jump this year," Pretre said. "Our divers are more experienced, and our first-year class is probably one of the most versatile groups of athletes I've coached in a long time. We can put them in just about any event, and they're going to be effective."
Men's Swimming and Diving Preview
The men's swimming and diving team claimed six program records during the four-day Patriot League championship, showcasing its growth and strength toward the end of the season. Scott Pejic paced the team with 27 points scored during the championship meet, helping the Raiders to 307 total points en route to a 10th-place finish.
Michael Granin contributed to four program records at the Patriot League championship, headlined by his 200 Breast clip of 2:03.44 on the final day of competition. He scored 22 points over the four days, good for second best among returners and one point more than Jack Schurtz-Ford, who returns this season as a junior on the squad.
On the men's side, the Raiders finished with a 2-8 overall record with wins over Le Moyne and Hamilton. Colgate also closed the gap significantly in a narrow defeat at Holy Cross, winning seven events led by Schurtz-Ford, Zack Berner, and Matt Freund who combined for four victories in the head-to-head Patriot League battle.
In addition to eight newcomers set to join the team for the 2025-26 season, the Colgate men's swimming and diving team returns 14 student-athletes from last year's squad as they look to build off their success in the upcoming campaign.
"If we stay healthy, our men's team is going to surprise some people this year," Pretre said. "We have four divers—which is something we haven't had since I've been here—and that's going to be a huge advantage for us. Our first-year class may be small on the swimming side, but it's mighty. All four of these young men have the potential to make an impact and score for us at Patriots."
Schedule Outlook
Following the season-opening event at Lineberry Natatorium, Colgate opens Patriot League play at Lehigh and Lafayette (Oct. 24-25). Colgate hosts Marist on Nov. 8 for its final home meet of the 2025 season before heading to Baltimore, Md., for the Loyola Invite Nov. 21-23. The Raiders close out the 2025 portion of the schedule at Hamilton College on Dec. 12.
The 2026 slate begins with back-to-back home meets against Boston University and Fairfield (Jan. 10) and Holy Cross (Jan. 17). The Raiders are at St. Bonaventure on Jan. 24 before the Boston U Winter Open (Feb. 6-7) as the final event before the four-day Patriot League championship, set for Feb. 18-21 hosted by Navy in Annapolis, Md.
