Swimming Summer Competitions Recap
Sep 25 | Women's Swimming & Diving
PISCATAWAY, N.J. ā Rutgers' swimmers continued to work over the summer in perfecting their craft and improving their times. During the summer, a number of Scarlet Knights made strides with strong performances during summer competitions.
Anna Vlachou excelled in May during the Greek National Swimming Championships. Vlachou set a pair of Greek national records for U-23, doing so in the 50 Butterfly with a time of 26.31 and a 55.03 in the 100 Freestyle. Vlachou won the gold medal in the butterfly, swimming the European Championship A Cut. That qualified her for the European Championships, where she compete in August in Freestyle and Butterfly events. Vlachou was recently named a Big Ten Swimmer to Watch as she enters her senior year and is the school record holder in both the 100 Fly and the 100 Free.
Rising sophomore Emilianna Gonzalez also excelled at a high-level meet this summer, where she competed at the USA Swimming Speedo Junior National Championships, in action alongside incoming freshmen Journei Webster and Grace Sorensen. In the 50 Freestyle, Gonzalez had a bronze medal performance, earning her spot on the podium with a third-place finish in the A Final. Gonzalez, who entered the race as the top seed with the fastest prelim time, swam a 25.51 at night to earn the bronze. Gonzalez was just .13 off of first place and just .01 seconds behind second place.Ā Webster also made the B Finals in the event, finishing 15th. Ā Gonzalez had a strong freshman campaign 'On the Banks' as a Finalist in the Big Ten Championships in the 50 Free and was named the Big Ten Swimmer and Freshman of the Week after the meet at Princeton.
Incoming freshman Florence Robitaille competed for her country this summer, as she was selected to the Team Canada Squad for the Junior Pan Pacific Championships. She competed in four events, making three finals
appearances, highlighted by the 200 Backstroke, where she was the fastest Canadian swimmer in the event, reaching the A Final and placing sixth overall.
Rutgers also had eight swimmers in competition at the 2026 USA Swimming Summer Speedo Sectionals event in Ohio. Rutgers had five top-10 performances across the competition, including two A Finals appearances by team captains Ellie Schinsky (fourth in 200 Butterfly) and Ana Hazlehurst (fifth in 400 IM). Returners Tayla Smith, Casey Zentz, Ava Jurkiewicz and Brooke Thompson were also in competition at the event alongside newcomers Alexis Mesina and Mia Boccio.
Building off the summer competitions, RU swimmer continue to practice ahead of the upcoming 2026-27 season, which begins with the first meet RU hosts on October 9-10. Integrating experienced returners with a talented group of newcomers, the Scarlet Knights are poised for a successful season.
"I've been here for a while now and I think that this is the most excited I have been for a season," captain and fifth year Ellie Schinsky explained. "And not just for me, but for the team as a whole. We have a lot of very talented freshmen that are starting their career at Rutgers. We're looking forward to showing up and showing out and show everyone that we're here, we're going to make it known."
Ā
Anna Vlachou excelled in May during the Greek National Swimming Championships. Vlachou set a pair of Greek national records for U-23, doing so in the 50 Butterfly with a time of 26.31 and a 55.03 in the 100 Freestyle. Vlachou won the gold medal in the butterfly, swimming the European Championship A Cut. That qualified her for the European Championships, where she compete in August in Freestyle and Butterfly events. Vlachou was recently named a Big Ten Swimmer to Watch as she enters her senior year and is the school record holder in both the 100 Fly and the 100 Free.
Rising sophomore Emilianna Gonzalez also excelled at a high-level meet this summer, where she competed at the USA Swimming Speedo Junior National Championships, in action alongside incoming freshmen Journei Webster and Grace Sorensen. In the 50 Freestyle, Gonzalez had a bronze medal performance, earning her spot on the podium with a third-place finish in the A Final. Gonzalez, who entered the race as the top seed with the fastest prelim time, swam a 25.51 at night to earn the bronze. Gonzalez was just .13 off of first place and just .01 seconds behind second place.Ā Webster also made the B Finals in the event, finishing 15th. Ā Gonzalez had a strong freshman campaign 'On the Banks' as a Finalist in the Big Ten Championships in the 50 Free and was named the Big Ten Swimmer and Freshman of the Week after the meet at Princeton.
Incoming freshman Florence Robitaille competed for her country this summer, as she was selected to the Team Canada Squad for the Junior Pan Pacific Championships. She competed in four events, making three finals
appearances, highlighted by the 200 Backstroke, where she was the fastest Canadian swimmer in the event, reaching the A Final and placing sixth overall.
Rutgers also had eight swimmers in competition at the 2026 USA Swimming Summer Speedo Sectionals event in Ohio. Rutgers had five top-10 performances across the competition, including two A Finals appearances by team captains Ellie Schinsky (fourth in 200 Butterfly) and Ana Hazlehurst (fifth in 400 IM). Returners Tayla Smith, Casey Zentz, Ava Jurkiewicz and Brooke Thompson were also in competition at the event alongside newcomers Alexis Mesina and Mia Boccio.
Building off the summer competitions, RU swimmer continue to practice ahead of the upcoming 2026-27 season, which begins with the first meet RU hosts on October 9-10. Integrating experienced returners with a talented group of newcomers, the Scarlet Knights are poised for a successful season.
"I've been here for a while now and I think that this is the most excited I have been for a season," captain and fifth year Ellie Schinsky explained. "And not just for me, but for the team as a whole. We have a lot of very talented freshmen that are starting their career at Rutgers. We're looking forward to showing up and showing out and show everyone that we're here, we're going to make it known."
Ā
Players Mentioned
Free
/ Women's Swimming & Diving
Free
/ Women's Swimming & Diving
Fly/IM
/ Women's Swimming & Diving
Breast
/ Women's Swimming & Diving
Breast/IM
/ Women's Swimming & Diving
Back
/ Women's Swimming & Diving
Back/Fly
/ Women's Swimming & Diving
Free
/ Women's Swimming & Diving
Fly
/ Women's Swimming & Diving
Free
/ Women's Swimming & Diving
Free/Fly
/ Women's Swimming & Diving
Free/Back/Fly
/ Women's Swimming & Diving
Free
/ Women's Swimming & DivingMonday, June 15
Monday, October 06
Friday, February 28
Thursday, December 19
