Spiders Break School Record on the Second Day of Atlantic 10 Championships

HAMPTON, Va. – The University of Richmond's swimming and diving team had a successful day at the Atlantic 10 Championships on Thursday. The team finished with 17 new personal bests, captured two gold medals and set a new school record.

In the preliminaries, 13 Spiders advanced to the finals, and 11 of the swimmers set new personal best records.

Richmond advanced all its swimmers to the 500 free finals. Freshman Carys Edgar finished sixth with a NIC B cut with a time of 4:54.49. Freshman Hannah Wieczorek finished with a time of 4:56.74. In the B final of the 500 free, sophomore Erin Budde finished 10th with a personal best time of 4:54.97 making a NIC B cut. Sophomore Kaitlyn Bauer followed in 11th, finishing with a personal best time of 4:55.14. Junior Natalie Stuart also finished with a personal best time of 4:55.83, placing 14th.

In the 200 IM, four Spiders advanced to the finals and made an NIC B cut. Freshman Lena Amare led with a time of 2:00.62, finishing fourth and holds the fifth best time in program history. Freshman Gabbie Primiano finished eighth with a time of 2:03.07. In the B final, junior Katie Chignell finished with a personal best time of 2:02.56, placing 12th and is tied for the ninth best time in program history. Senior Carstyn Klosterman finished 13th with a time of 2:03.37.

In the 50 free, Richmond saw four swimmers in the finals. Sophomore Melissa Nwakalor captured gold with a time of 21.98, tying her own A-10 and school record. Nwakalor finished as the back-to-back champion in this event. In the B final, sophomore Presley Baber, who set a new personal best, and junior Julia Krichev tied for 12th with a time of 23.33. Junior Caitlyn Hughes finished 16th with a time of 23.53.

In the 200 free relay, the Spiders set a new school record, captured gold and made a NIC B cut with a time of 1:30.54. All members of the relay swam sub-23-second splits to seal the first-place finish and break the record of 1:31.37, set in 2022. Swimming the relay were Nwakalor (22.13), Baber (22.93), Krichev (22.77) and Hughes (22.71).

Richmond 2025 Atlantic 10 Medals:

Caroline Weldon, Gabbie Primiano, Lena Amare, Melissa Nwakalor (200 medley relay – 1^st – Gold)
Melissa Nwakalor (50 free – 1^st – Gold)
Melissa Nwakalor, Presley Baber, Julia Krichev, Caitlyn Hughes (200 free relay – 1^st – Gold)

Atlantic 10 Standing as of 2/20/25

George Washington University (256 points)
University of Richmond (228 points)
Duquesne University (182 points)
Fordham University (150 points)
Davidson College (121 points)
La Salle University (121 points)
George Mason University (117 points)
St Bonaventure University (96 points)
University of Massachusetts (94 points)
University of Rhode Island (55 points)
Saint Louis University (40 points)

The Spiders are back in action tomorrow with prelims at 10 a.m. and finals at 6 p.m.

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