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2025-26 Academic All-America® Teams and Honorees
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Curzan, Mears-Bentley, Naveen and Hahn highlight 2025-26 Academic All-America® Women's Swimming & Diving teams
Four talented student-athletes lead 2025-26 Women's Swimming & Diving Academic All-America® teams as Team Members of the Year
Women's Swimming & Diving Release (NCAA, NAIA Divisions): PDF | doc
GREENWOOD, Indiana – Four standouts in the pool and in the classroom –
Claire Curzan of University of Viriginia
, Emily Mears-Bentley of University of Findlay
, MIT’s
Annika Naveen, and SCAD Savannah’s
Nikki Hahn – highlight the 2025-26 Academic All- America® women’s swimming & diving teams selected by College Sports Communicators.
Curzan (Division I), Mears-Bentley (Division II), Naveen (Division III) and Hahn (NAIA) have each been named the Academic All-America® Team Member of the Year for their respective divisions. Hahn earned first team Academic All-America® honors for the third straight year and Curzan earned first team honors for the second consecutive year. Mears-Bentley and Naveen each garnered first team Academic All-America® honors for the first time, with each being named to an Academic All-America® team for the third time in their careers.
NCAA Division I
Claire Curzan is a junior Applied Statistics major with a 3.87 GPA. She won her third consecutive NCAA title in the 200-yard backstroke (the first while swimming for Stanford) and back-to-back titles in the 100-yard backstroke. For the second year in a row, she swam on the NCAA champion relays in the 200- and 400-yard freestyle relays, and the 200- and 400-yard medley relays in helping the Cavaliers to their sixth consecutive national championship.
She is a 21-time All-American with five individual and eight relay NCAA titles in her first three seasons. Curzan has captured 18 conference championships and was named ACC Championship Most Valuable Women’s Swimmer of the Meet this past season after winning a pair of individual races and swimming on three champion relays.
Curzan won the 200-meter backstroke at the 2025 Toyota US National Championships from lane one after placing seventh in the preliminaries. The victory qualified her for the 2025 World Aquatics Championships, where she earned a bronze medal in the event and swam as part of the gold medalist 400-meter relay. She earned a silver medal on the 400-meter medley relay team at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
Seven members of the Academic All-America® Division I women’s swimming & diving teams boast a perfect 4.0 GPA in their undergraduate work or graduate school. The nine members of the first team have an average GPA of 3.91.
In addition to Curzan, seven other student-athletes are repeat selections on the Academic All-America® Division I women’s team –
Lucy Bell,
Caroline Bricker, and
Torri Huske (Stanford University),
Emily Jones (University of Alabama),
Gena Jorgenson (University of Nebraska
), Ela Freiman (San Jose State), and
Emily Lundgren (Washington State University).
| FIRST TEAM |
| Name |
School |
Yr. |
GPA |
Major |
| Lucy Bell (2) |
Stanford University |
Sr. |
3.80 |
Design |
| Caroline Bricker (2) |
Stanford University |
Jr. |
3.79 |
Human Biology |
| Claire Curzan (1) |
Virginia |
Jr. |
3.87 |
Applied Statistics |
| Erin Gemmell |
The University of Texas at Austin |
Jr. |
4.00 |
Plan II Honors |
| Torri Huske (1) |
Stanford University |
Sr. |
3.78 |
Design |
| Emily Jones (3) |
University of Alabama |
Sr. |
4.00 |
Sport Management |
| Gena Jorgenson (3) |
University of Nebraska |
Sr. |
3.95 |
Biological Sciences |
| Brady Kendall |
University of Michigan |
Sr. |
4.00 |
Pharmacy |
| Letitia Sim |
University of Michigan |
Sr. |
4.00 |
Applied Exercise Science |
| SECOND TEAM |
|
|
|
|
| Name |
School |
Yr. |
GPA |
Major |
| Anita Bottazzo |
University of Florida |
So. |
3.76 |
Biotechnology |
| Ela Freiman (4) |
San Jose State University |
Gr. |
3.80/4.00 |
Biomedical Engineering |
| Miranda Grana |
Indiana University |
Sr. |
3.74 |
Sport Marketing & Management |
| Katie Grimes |
Virginia |
So. |
3.99 |
Arts & Sciences |
| Gigi Johnson |
Stanford University |
Sr. |
3.66 |
Psychology |
| Emily Lundgren (1) (4) |
Washington State University |
Sr. |
4.00 |
Digital Technology & Culture |
| Anna Moesch |
Virginia |
So. |
3.58 |
Undeclared |
| Sophie Verzyl |
University of South Carolina |
Sr. |
3.80/3.80 |
Sport & Entertainment Management (G) |
| THIRD TEAM |
| Name |
School |
Yr. |
GPA |
Major |
| Sydney Bergstrom |
University of Pennsylvania |
Sr. |
3.74 |
Mathematics |
| Reese Cole |
Rice University |
So. |
4.00 |
Sports Med. & Exerc. Physiology & Neuroscience |
| Mya DeWitt |
Indiana University |
Sr. |
3.81 |
Exercise Science |
| Nina Janmyr |
Harvard University |
Sr. |
3.83 |
Applied Mathematics |
| Shiyun Lai |
University of Kansas |
Jr. |
3.89 |
Liberal Arts & Sciences |
| Sydney Lu |
Harvard University |
Sr. |
3.65 |
Applied Mathematics |
| Anya Mostek |
Harvard University |
Sr. |
3.65 |
Applied Mathematics |
(1) – 1st team Academic All-America® in 2024-25
(2) – 2nd team Academic All-America® in 2024-25
(3) – 3rd team Academic All-America® in 2024-25
(4) – 3rd team Academic All-America® in 2023-24
NCAA Division II
Emily Mears-Bentley, a senior with a 3.90 G.P.A. in Psychology, was named the College Swimming & Diving Coaches Association of America Women’s Swimmer of the Year. She was named a second team Academic All-America® honoree in 2024-25 and a third-team selection in 2023-24.
She became the first women’s swimmer in Findlay history to capture an NCAA title and just the fourth swimmer in either the men’s or women’s program to accomplish the feat when she won the 200-yard butterfly at this year’s NCAA championship. She earned seven first team All-America honors, four in individual events and three in relays, to lead Findlay to a program-best seventh place finish.
Mears-Bentley finished her career with 24 All-America honors, 17 of which were on the first team. She was selected as Great Midwest/Mountain East Conference Championship Women’s Swimmer of the Meet all four years. She won 26 conference titles.
Five of the 24 members of the Academic All-America® Division II women’s swimming & diving teams boast a perfect 4.0 GPA in their undergraduate work or graduate school. The eight members of the first team have an average GPA of 3.86.
In addition to Mears-Bentley, there are seven repeat selections on the Academic All-America® Division II women’s swimming & diving teams –
Kenya Meyer and
Ada Qunell (Colorado Mesa University),
Marit Reckmann and
Fiona Byrne (Catawba College),
Celina Schmidt (University of Indianapolis),
Elly Bellmore (Wayne State University), and
Joslyn Jurski (Pennsylvania Western University, Clarion). Qunell and Schmidt joined Mears-Bentley as three-time Academic All-America® honorees, while Schmidt and Reckmann garnered first team accolades for the second consecutive year.
The Division II Academic All-America® program is being financially supported by the NCAA Division II national governance structure to assist the College Sports Communicators with handling the awards fulfillment aspects for the 2025-26 Division II Academic All-America® program.
| FIRST TEAM |
| Name |
School |
Yr. |
GPA |
Major |
| Emily Mears-Bentley (2) (5) |
University of Findlay |
Sr. |
3.95 |
Psychology |
| Kenya Meyer (3) |
Colorado Mesa University |
Sr. |
3.87 |
Exercise Science |
| Agata Naskret |
University of West Florida |
Sr. |
3.68 |
Psychology |
| Ada Qunell (2) (4) |
Colorado Mesa University |
Sr. |
3.88 |
Chemistry |
| Marit Reckmann (1) |
Catawba College |
Sr. |
4.00 |
Biology |
| Emilia Ronningdal |
Nova Southeastern University |
Sr. |
3.70 |
Applied Professional Studies |
| Celina Schmidt (1) (4) |
University of Indianapolis |
Sr. |
3.82/3.82 |
Business Administration (G) |
| Hailey Williams |
Nova Southeastern University |
Sr. |
3.98 |
Psychology |
| SECOND TEAM |
| Name |
School |
Yr. |
GPA |
Major |
| Elly Belmore (2) |
Wayne State University |
Gr. |
3.94 |
Exercise & Sport Science and Nursing |
| Fiona Byrne (2) |
Catawba College |
Jr. |
4.00 |
Biology & Psychology |
| Joslyn Jurski (3) |
Pennsylvania Western University, Clarion |
Sr. |
4.00 |
Management |
| Katie Madigan |
Pennsylvania Western University, Clarion |
Jr. |
3.91/3.90 |
Speech Pathology |
| Amelia Marsicek |
Lewis University |
So. |
3.93 |
Aviation Flight Technology |
| Adriana Mieses-Sanchez |
University of West Florida |
Sr. |
4.00 |
Biology |
| Tilde Morin |
University of Tampa |
Sr. |
3.98 |
Environmental Studies |
| Olivia Nelson |
University of West Florida |
Sr. |
3.83 |
Nursing |
| Kristina Orban |
Nova Southeastern University |
So. |
3.95 |
Management |
| Katie Susi |
University of Findlay |
Sr. |
3.97 |
Exercise Science for Health Professions Major |
| THIRD TEAM |
| Name |
School |
Yr. |
GPA |
Major |
| Anique Hazebroek |
East Stroudsburg University |
Jr. |
3.94 |
Biology |
| Lexi Hieber |
Saginaw Valley State University |
Jr. |
3.62 |
Nursing |
| Sophie Leo |
Concordia-St. Paul |
Jr. |
3.65 |
Business Management |
| Maria Fe Munoz |
Drury University |
Sr. |
3.57 |
Management & Marketing |
| Rachel Stanchek |
Ashland University |
Jr. |
4.00 |
Forensic Biology |
| Taylor White |
Bentley University |
Sr. |
3.93 |
Finance |
(1) – 1st team Academic All-America® in 2024-25
(2) – 2nd team Academic All-America® in 2024-25
(3) – 3rd team Academic All-America® in 2024-25
(4) – 2nd team Academic All-America® in 2023-24
(5) – 3rd team Academic All-America® in 2023-24
NCAA Division III
A Bioengineering major with a 4.00 GPA,
Annika Naveen earned her third Academic All-America® honor being named to the first team after receiving second-team recognition the past two years. She earned the NCAA Elite Scholar-Athlete Award at the 2026 NCAA Division III Women’s Swimming and Diving Championship.
Naveen finished her career with 12 All-America honors, including three NCAA champion relays. She swam on two winning 200-yard medley relays and one 200-yard freestyle relay. She won 11 New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference titles in her career in helping the Engineers run their conference championship win streak to 16 years.
She repeated her conference meet victory in the 50-yard freestyle this year and captured the 100-yard freestyle in her career to combine with being a part of eight relay championship squads.
Naveen was one of three members of the Academic All-America® Division III women’s swimming & diving teams boast a perfect 4.0 GPA in their undergraduate work or graduate school. The eight members of the first team have an average GPA of 3.88.
Including Naveen, 10 student-athletes are repeat selections on the Academic All-America® Division III women’s swimming & diving teams –
Fiora Beretahani and
Sydney Smith (MIT),
Claire Kozma (Case Western Reserve University),
Nicole Ranille and
Kaley McIntyre (New York University),
Drue Thielking and
Emily Harris (Denison University),
Tess Boyer (Wheaton College, IL), and
Francesca Coppo (Pomona-Pitzer Colleges). Kozma and McIntyre joined Naveen as a three-time Academic All-America® selection. Beretahani and McIntyre are two-time first team Academic All-America® honorees.
The Division III Academic All-America® program is being financially supported by the NCAA Division III national governance structure to assist the College Sports Communicators with handling the awards fulfillment aspects for the 2025-26 Division III Academic All-America® program.
| FIRST TEAM |
| Name |
School |
Yr. |
GPA |
Major |
| Fiora Beratahani (1) |
MIT |
Jr. |
3.90 |
Mechanical Engineering |
| Molly Haag |
Kenyon College |
Sr. |
3.77 |
Mathematics |
| Madeleine Kan |
Claremont-Mudd-Scripps |
Sr. |
3.78 |
Engineering |
| Claire Kozma (2) (6) |
Case Western Reserve University |
Sr. |
4.00 |
Human Nutrition |
| Annika Naveen (2) (5) |
MIT |
Sr. |
4.00 |
Bioengineering |
| Nicole Ranile (2) |
New York University |
Sr. |
3.89 |
Media, Culture & Communications |
| Sydney Smith (3) |
MIT |
Jr. |
3.80 |
Mechanical Engineering |
| Drue Thielking (3) |
Denison University |
Sr. |
3.91 |
Biology |
| SECOND TEAM |
| Name |
School |
Yr. |
GPA |
Major |
| Tess Boyer (2) |
Wheaton College (IL) |
Jr. |
3.96 |
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology |
| Gwen Eisenebis |
Kenyon College |
Sr. |
3.84 |
Mathematics |
| Greta Gidley |
Hope College |
Sr. |
3.75 |
Elementary Education |
| Mackenzie Mayfield |
Claremont-Mudd-Scripps |
Sr. |
3.85 |
Biology |
| Kaley McIntyre (1) (4) |
New York University |
Sr. |
3.83 |
History |
| Nina Schwab |
Carleton College |
So. |
3.93 |
Chemistry |
| Kavita Sekhon |
Wellesley College |
Sr. |
3.94 |
Biological Sciences & Political Science |
| Alicia Soosai |
University of Chicago |
Sr. |
3.70 |
Economics & Data Science |
| Lisa Torrecillas-Jouault |
Kenyon College |
Sr. |
3.87 |
Philosophy & Political Science |
| THIRD TEAM |
| Name |
School |
Yr. |
GPA |
Major |
| Francesca Coppo (3) |
Pomona-Pitzer |
Jr. |
3.98 |
Psychological Science |
| Madeleine Dunn |
Tufts University |
Sr. |
3.73 |
Biopsychology |
| Emily Harris (2) |
Denison University |
Sr. |
3.81 |
Financial Economics |
| Maeve Kelley |
Amherst College |
Jr. |
3.86 |
Economics |
| Makenna Mincey |
Baldwin Wallace University |
So. |
4.00 |
Mathematics & Accounting |
| Emery Muller |
New York University |
Sr. |
3.84 |
Media, Culture & Communications |
| Donna Zhang |
Amherst College |
Sr. |
3.88 |
Mathematics & Statistics |
(1) – 1st team Academic All-America® in 2024-25
(2) – 2nd team Academic All-America® in 2024-25
(3) – 3rd team Academic All-America® in 2024-25
(4) – 1st team Academic All-America® in 2023-24
(5) – 2nd team Academic All-America® in 2023-24
(6) – 3rd team Academic All-America® in 2023-24
NAIA
Nikki Hahn, a senior User Experience Design major with a 4.0 GPA, earned first team Academic All-America® accolades for the third consecutive year. She won this year’s NAIA titles in the 100- and 200-yard breaststrokes in helping lead SCAD Savannah to a runner-up finish.
She earned 12 All-America honors, including five in the 2026 NAIA Championship. In addition to her pair of national titles, she swam on the runner-up 200- and 400-yard medley relays and earned All-America honors in the 200-yard individual medley. Hahn’s finishes in the three individual events gave her two All-America career honors in each event.
Hahn swept the 100- and 200-yard breaststroke events at the 2026 Sun Conference Championships and finished with four all-conference honors for the second year in a row. Her career eight all-conference awards included two each in the breaststroke events.
Hahn was one of three members of the Academic All-America® NAIA women’s swimming & diving teams boast a perfect 4.00 GPA. The nine members of the first team have an average GPA of 3.87.
Riley Renaud (Milligan University) and
Sarah Zoellner (University of the Cumberlands) joined Hahn in repeating as first team Academic All-America® honorees.
The NAIA Academic All-America® program is being financially supported by the NAIA national governance structure to assist the College Sports Communicators with handling the awards fulfillment aspects for the 2025-26 NAIA Academic All-America® program.
| FIRST TEAM |
| Name |
School |
Yr. |
GPA |
Major |
| Irene Artabe |
St. Ambrose University |
Sr. |
3.99 |
Industrial Engineering |
| Luiza Bersi |
Keiser University |
So. |
3.93 |
Psychology |
| Rachel Bradley |
Keiser University |
Sr. |
3.93 |
Exercise & Sport Science |
| Natalia Gorska |
Lindsey Wilson University |
Jr. |
3.88 |
Business Administration |
| Nikki Hahn (1) |
SCAD Savannah |
Sr. |
4.00 |
User Experience Design |
| Riley Renaud (1) |
Milligan University |
Sr. |
3.51 |
Nursing |
| Alanis Santiago |
Keiser University |
So. |
3.59 |
Exercise & Sport Science |
| Ugne Takuseviciute |
University of the Cumberlands |
So. |
4.00 |
Business Administration |
| Sarah Zoellner (1) |
University of the Cumberlands |
Jr. |
4.00 |
Biology |
(1) – 1st team Academic All-America® in 2024-25
(2) – 1st team Academic All-America® in 2023-24
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Jeff Schwartz, Retired, North Dakota State University | Academic All-America® Co-Director for Publicity
Schwartzy2@yahoo.com | (701) 793-0538
Timothy Farrell, University Athletic Association | Academic All-America® Coordinator of Publicity
tfarrell@uaasports.info | (508) 423-3180