'Cats Capture 12th America East Championship, Complete Undefeated Season

Saturday, February 22

Lexington, Va.

10 AM

University of New Hampshire

America East Championships

'Cats Capture 12th America East Championship, Complete Undefeated Season

2/22/2025 11:17:00 PM | Women's Swimming and Diving

Photo Gallery

Willman Wins 22nd Career Coach of the Year Award

LEXINGTON, Va. – The University of New Hampshire swimming and diving team won the America East Championship for the fifth time in the last six years on Saturday evening at the VMI Aquatic Center. The Wildcats have a league-record 12 championships (1998, 1999, 2005, 2006, 2013, 2014, 2018, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2025).

"The America East Conference is growing stronger and more competitive each year and we knew that going in this year we would need to be at our best," Head Coach Josh Willman said. "We gained a lot of confidence throughout the dual meet season but rather than getting distracted by where we were placing and counting points, we just focused on doing our best and racing."

"This is one of the most driven group of swimmers that I've coached and combined with our strongest conference showing ever by our divers, we accomplished more than we could have expected," he added. "I'm really proud of our team and our staff for what we did this week."

Freshman Lydia Hart (Cornwall, Ontario), who won three individual gold medals and two relays, earned dual honors as Most Outstanding Swimmer and Rookie of the Meet. This marks the first time an athlete has achieved both America East honors since 2014.

Sophomore Grace Blume (Dedham, Mass.) was named Outstanding Diver of the Meet after taking gold in the 1-meter and silver in the 3-meter.

Senior Ana O'Neil (St. Paul, Minn.) earned the Elite 18 Award for having the highest GPA of any student-athlete competing at the America East Championships.

Willman, assistant coach Caleb Potvin and diving coach Dr. Rick Schavone were named the America East Staff of the Year. Willman, who is the America East Conference's most highly decorated coach, won his 22nd career Coach of the Year award. He has been selected America East Coach of the Year a league-record 18 times (1993, 1995, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2002, 2005, 2006, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2025) and ECAC Coach of the Year four times (2003, 2011, 2013 and 2014).

The Wildcats won the championship with a total of 782 points and had nine champions this year. Hart led the way with three individual golds in the 500 freestyle, 200 freestyle, and 1650 freestyle, in addition to winning two relay titles. Freshman Amelia Labno (Vienna, Va.) also secured multiple individual victories, taking first in both the 100 and 200 backstroke while contributing to two relay golds. Junior Audrey Mahoney (Downers Grove, Ill.) sprinted to victory in the 100 freestyle and was a key member of both freestyle relay wins. Blume secured UNH's lone diving gold, winning the 1-meter event. The Wildcats also dominated in the relays, with the 800 freestyle relay team of Hart, sophomore Emily Wright (Ventura, Calif.), freshman Teagen Jeffers (Bedford, N.H.), and Labno capturing gold, while Mahoney, Hart, Jeffers, and Labno closed out the meet with a win in the 400 freestyle relay.

meet info

America East Championships
Location: Lexington, Va. (VMI Aquatic Center)
Date: Saturday, Feb. 22, 2025 (Day 4 of 4)
Final Team Standings: UNH (782), Bryant (686), Vermont (637), UMBC (405), Binghamton (393), Maine (356), VMI (112)

how it happened

Hart continued her historic championship run with a victory in the 1650 freestyle, touching the wall in 16:14.71 to set a new America East conference and UNH school record.
Junior Carolyn Nelson (Glen Ellyn, Ill.) placed fifth in 17:12.53, while freshman Marisa White (Apex, N.C.) finished sixth in 17:20.17.
Junior Trinity Devanney (Gulf Breeze, Fla.) rounded out the top eight with a time of 17:32.39.
Labno added another gold to UNH's tally with a first-place finish in the 200 backstroke, clocking in at 1:59.56 as the only competitor to break the two-minute barrier.
Sophomore Izzie Campion (Auckland, New Zealand) secured a fifth-place finish in 2:03.25, while graduate student Sydney Stockwell (Hopkinton, N.H.) followed in sixth at 2:03.49.
Mahoney sprinted to gold in the 100 freestyle, touching in 49.32 seconds.
Freshman Lily Jackson-Oates (Redhill, England) earned silver in the 200 breaststroke, narrowly missing gold by a tenth of a second with a time of 2:15.90. Wright finished fifth in the event, clocking in at 2:18.60.
Senior Grace Sala (Sun Prairie, Wis.) added to UNH's medal count with a silver in the 200 butterfly, finishing in 2:01.37.
Sophomore Grace Mahon (Orange, Conn.) placed fifth in 2:02.80, while sophomore Kylie Boyle (Ashburn, Va.) finished seventh in 2:05.19.
The Wildcats capped off the championships in style, winning the 400 freestyle relay as Mahoney, Hart, Jeffers, and Labno combined for a winning time of 3:22.69.