Between repeat championships on the women’s side and a continued reign of over half a decade of dominance on the men’s side, the 2025 SCIAC Swim and Dive Championship had it all for 5Cs fans.
From Feb. 19 to 22 at Eastern Los Angeles College, the Pomona-Pitzer (P-P) women’s team won it all to go back-to-back, and the Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (CMS) men’s team took home the trophy to win their sixth consecutive championship. Over the four-day tournament, the SCIAC teams competed in 26 events, resulting in dominant performances, tight finishes and record-breaking swims.
“It feels absolutely incredible to be back-to-back champions,” Valerie Mello PZ ’25 said. “As seniors, this victory is a perfect way to cap off our season, and I couldn’t be prouder of my fellow seniors and everything we’ve built together.”
The P-P women’s team clinched first place by a large margin, with their 1,051.5 points easily beating out second-placed CMS, who scored 886 points. The Sagehens had several standout performances.
Mello was the women’s 200-yard freestyle champion with a commanding performance. She set a new SCIAC conference record with a time of 1:49.78. She was also named the SCIAC Women’s Swim and Dive Athlete of the Year.
“Being named Athlete of the Year was an absolute surprise,” Mello said. “The SCIAC is filled with so many talented and hardworking women, and I believe each one of them is just as deserving.”
Francesca Coppo PO ’27 was the women’s 50-yard freestyle champion, setting a meet record with a time of 22.84 seconds. Izzy Yoon PO ’28 won both the 100 back and 200 back, setting a new SCIAC record of 2:00.6. Yoon was also named SCIAC Women’s Swim and Dive Newcomer of the Year at the championships.
On the other side of Sixth Street, the Athenas finished as the runners-up in the women’s championship. Izzy Doud CM ’25, Mackenzie Mayfield CM ’26, Katy Shaw HM ’26, Revere Schmidt CM ’27 and Sun Young Byun CM ’26 highlighted a strong all-around showing.
For Doud, who was named SCIAC Diver of the Year, success came on the first day of the championships, where she overcame a failed dive to take her first title since 2023. The Athenas continued their strong performances the following day, as Shaw claimed her third 500 free title in as many years, with a time of 4:58.89 — five seconds faster than the second-placed team. Mayfield also repeated as the 200 IM champion with a time of 2:03.57.
Additionally, Shaw won the 1,650-yard freestyle with a time of 17:05.49. Schmidt finished second, fifteen seconds behind, racing at 17:20.06.
On the CMS men’s side, the Stags clinched first place with 979 points, winning their sixth straight championship and beating out second-placed P-P, who scored 751 points. Weston Crewe CM ’25 emphasized the pressure on the team, specifically the seniors, to keep the streak alive.
“Our class is definitely feeling very proud of the fact that we won all four of our years,” Crewe said. “I think we all definitely take pride in that fact and sort of carry that burden a little bit in training. You don’t want to be the class that loses the streak. The other classes are really amped up for next year to keep that momentum going.”
Lucas Lang HM ’25 had an excellent showing for CMS, breaking his own 2022 meet record in the 1,650-meter freestyle with a time of 15:22:23.
Crewe attributed the team’s success in part to moments of failure in the regular season. He noted a loss in the CMS vs P-P dual meet on Feb. 8 leading up to the SCIAC championship meet.
“We were definitely hungry because we lost the duel meet,” Crewe said. “Because if you lose the dual meet, it’s a worry sign that you’re not going to win SCIAC, obviously. So none of us wanted to experience that. We wanted to jump in the pool with the trophy.”
Despite finishing as the runners-up, the Sagehens men’s team also saw some standout performances.
Casey Jacobs PO ’27 was the men’s 50-yard freestyle champion, setting a meet record of 20.14 seconds. Jacobs, Adrian Clement PO ’26, Diego Hodge PO ’28 and Kyle Huang PO ’27 were champions in the men’s 400-yard freestyle relay. Huang showed his versatility, also winning the men’s 400-yard individual medley with a 3:58.62 time. Huang’s standout performance throughout the meet earned him the award for SCIAC Men’s Swim and Dive Athlete of the Year.
Tommy Matheis PO ’28 was the men’s 3-meter diving champion. He was also named SCIAC Men’s Swim and Dive Newcomer of the Year and Diver of the Year. Matheis spoke about his season and the stakes in a tournament like this.
“Well, first of all, no competition is perfect, and there’s definitely lots of room for improvement,” Matheis said. “With that being said, I had a great performance and I am super proud of how my season went. I’m very glad I ended it on such a positive note.”
With the SCIAC championships over, the Sagehens and Stags are now turning their attention to the NCAA championships, where they will send those who achieved NCAA ‘B’ cuts or secured automatic qualifying times to compete on the Division III national level.
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