Trinity Women’s Swim & Dive Crushes School Records at NESCACs

Annika Haley ’26

Sports Editor

The 2025 NESCAC Women’s Swimming & Diving Championships took place from Feb. 13 to 16 at Colby College in Waterville, ME, bringing together the top collegiate swimmers and divers from across the NESCAC. The NESCAC Championship meet had a packed schedule of individual and relay events. 

Swimmers Rachel Kim ’26, Charlotte Murphree ’27, Niamh Kastner ’26 and Isabelle Tagliaferro ’25 broke the schools record in the 400-yard medley relay on Feb. 14 with a time of 3:51.08 during the NESCAC Championship. The same group also set a school record of 1:44.09 for the 200-yard medley relay on Feb. 15 in the NESCAC Championship. Murphree also set new records in both the 100-yard breaststroke with 1:03.85 and the 50-yard breaststroke with 29.16 during the NESCAC Championship. Overall, Trinity placed last out of the 11 teams. 

The Bantams entered the NESCAC championship with momentum from their regular season, including big victories against Wesleyan and Wheaton. One highlight of the Bantams’ impressive season was the Trinity College women’s swimming and diving team setting 14 new bests times in a tri-meet against the University of Saint Joseph and Clark University on Saturday, Jan. 11. The Bantams dominated their home pool, breaking multiple school records and delivering outstanding performances across events. The Jan. 11 meet began with a record-breaking effort in the women’s 200 medley relay, where the team of Kim, Murphree, Kastner and Tagliaferro set a new record with a time of 1:46.48, passing the previous record set earlier in the season. Kim also opened the relay with a pool-record split in the 50 backstroke. The team’s ability to continuously rewrite the record books shows their competitiveness as they continued to build momentum leading into the NESCAC Championship. The Bantams’ dominance in the pool went beyond just record-breaking performances, as they claimed first place in almost every event during the Jan. 11 tri-meet. Victories came from Kastner in both the 1000-yard freestyle and 50-yard butterfly, while Addison Dunham ’25 secured wins in the 200-yard and 100-yard freestyle events. Kim finished first in the 50-yard backstroke, while Murphree continued to deliver wins in the 50-yard and 100-yard breaststroke, breaking records in both.

Murphree’s record-breaking performance was one of the highlights of the meet, as she broke the school record in every event she swam. She beat the 50-yard breaststroke record by just 0.04 seconds, finishing in 30.03, and followed up with an amazing performance in the 100-yard breaststroke, setting a new record of 1:05.61. Murphree also contributed to another record-breaking performance in the women’s 800 freestyle relay, where she worked with Huerta, Kastner and Tagliaferro to break the previous record by over 10 seconds, finishing with a time of 7:54.03. 

The Bantams’ 2024-25 schedule included several victories, such as a hard-fought 159-140 win against Wesleyan on Jan. 15. In addition to this key NESCAC win, the Bantams built momentum throughout the season with victories over a range of opponents, including Wheaton College, Skidmore College, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Clark University, the University of Saint Joseph, Mount Holyoke College and Vassar College. These wins showed the team’s versatility across multiple events, with strong performances in freestyle, backstroke, breaststroke, butterfly and individual medley races, as well as in diving competitions. The Bantams also showed strength in relay events, an area that was important in close matchups. Despite only securing one NESCAC victory during the regular season, the Bantams faced the challenge head-on. Their consistent success against non-conference opponents showed their potential and competitive ability as they dealt with the challenges of the competitive NESCAC conference. 

The Trinity College swimmers and divers gained valuable experience competing against top-tier athletes in the conference. The NESCAC championship meet provided an opportunity for the Bantams to measure their progress since the beginning of the 2024-2025 season and set goals for seasons to come.

To gain insight into the team’s performance and her individual achievements, the Tripod spoke to Murphree. She had a standout season, breaking school records in both the 50-yard and 100-yard breaststroke at the NESCAC Championship. When asked about the experience and what it meant to achieve these milestones at such an important event, Murphree said, “It was surreal to break the 50 and 100 records at NESCACs, especially because those were goal times I had for the entire season. I was so proud of myself, and the whole women’s team, for stepping up at such a big meet and setting so many best times and school records. My success this season is a testament to our team’s work ethic this year. I went into this season incredibly focused on my own personal goals and the goals we set as a team, so accomplishing them at our championship meet was an incredible feeling! I felt so lucky to have so much support and to get to celebrate my success this season with the whole team.”

Murphree’s excitement and appreciation for her team’s support show the camaraderie within Trinity’s swimming and diving program. In addition to her individual accomplishments, she also played a large role in the Bantams’ record-breaking relay performances. Regarding the team chemistry and the preparation that goes into relay events like the 200 and 400 medley relays, Murphree said, “The medley relays are my absolute favorite events to swim at every meet, because we are such a close knit group. Before each race, the four of us get in a small circle and do our own cheer to get excited for the relay! That tradition is something I look forward to every meet. It helps me get in the right headspace before we race. Going into races that are so pivotal to Trinity’s success, like the 200 medley relay, it is so important to know that we all trust each other and have each other’s backs.”

The Trinity swim and dive team faced challenges in the highly competitive NESCAC conference. Despite the tough competition, Trinity continued to deliver strong performances against non-conference opponents. The Tripod asked Murphree how she and her teammates stayed motivated and focused throughout the season: “I think it was so important for us to face the challenge of swimming the top teams in the NESCAC. It prepared us for who we were swimming against at the end of the season and allowed us to focus on our goals for the NESCAC Championship Meet. The non-conference opponents we swam this year were largely comparable to our team in terms of speed and depth, so being so successful against those teams really built momentum. Our team’s performance and success later in the year helped us go into our championship season confident that we can accomplish the goals we set at the beginning of the year!”

Murphree’s reflections on the season show how the team’s challenges fueled their growth. With the momentum they’ve built, the focus now turns to the future and what comes next for both her and the program. Regarding looking into the future, Murphree stated “Going into next season, our main goal is to build on the momentum of this year. We had so many best times, and I think we have the potential to improve even more in the coming seasons. As a whole, we are very focused on improving our NESCAC ranking and finding ways to score more points at our championship meet. The success we saw this year has definitely helped us gain confidence, and I am so excited for what’s to come! This team is so special to me, and I am so proud of our performance this season!”