The New York University women's swimming and diving team took to the pool in Greensboro, NC, for the 2025 NCAA Division III Swimming & Diving Championships on Wednesday, March 19.
Competition spans Wednesday through Saturday, with preliminary rounds taking place in the morning sessions and final events during the evening sessions. Eight Violets qualified to compete in the eight final events that occurred Wednesday evening based on their performances in the morning.
After eight events, the Violets sit in fourth place with 86 total points.
"We had a strong start to the meet with impressive performances across the board, including record-breaking swims and hard-fought relay efforts," said Head Coach Trevor Miele. "The team competed at a high level and set a great tone for the rest of the meet."
Kaley McIntyre took home the victory in the 50-yard freestyle, defending her title in an event she has won every year of her collegiate career. Her time of 22.15 gave her a winning margin of 0.51 seconds. She broke the NCAA Division III record in the preliminary heat Wednesday morning, with a time of 22.30, just to break it yet again and set a new record in the final.
"Kaley's 50 free was unbelievable. She shattered her own NCAA record and dominated the field," said Miele. "A truly impressive and well-deserved swim."
Aanya Wala placed 5th in the championship final of the 500-yard freestyle, earning All-America honors with a time of 4:52.74.
"Aanya really stepped up with an outstanding performance in the 500," said Miele.
Three Violets competed in the 500-yard freestyle consolation heat. Caitlin Marshall took second (4:50.72), Elle Motekaitis took third (4:53.14) and Bethany Spangler came in fourth (4:54.92), all earning Second Team All-America status. They each finished tenth, 11th and 12th, respectively in the overall stands for the race.
In range of another NCAA DIII record, the women's 400-yard medley relay team of Nicole Ranile, Anna Li, Hope Xayaveth, and McIntyre held the top prelim time (3:40.13) heading into the evening final.
McIntyre gave the Violets a fighting chance with her anchor freestyle leg of the final, outpacing her closest competitor by nearly two seconds with a 47.76 leg. NYU came up just eight one-hundreths of a second short of a first-place finish, taking second place with a 3:38.56 time, but still broke an NYU record with their swim. The relay team members also earned All-America honors for their silver swim.
"The women's relay team had a strong race," said Miele. "Nicole gave us a great start, we fell behind a bit in the middle, and Kaley nearly pulled off the win. Losing by less than a tenth is tough, but it was an incredible relay, and I'm extremely proud of what they accomplished."
The team begins day two of the competition Thursday at 10 a.m. with the 400-yard individual medley, 100-yard butterfly, 200-yard freestyle, 200-yard freestyle relay, and the 1-meter dive prelims.
