Indianapolis, Ind. — The Colby College Women's Swimming and Diving team closed out the 2026 NCAA Division III Championships on Saturday with a dominant final session, setting three school records and adding two more All-American honors to their historic week at the Indiana University Natatorium.
Alexis Coates led the Mules' charge in the 200-yard backstroke, securing an eighth-place national finish. During the morning preliminary heats, Coates clocked a 2:00.17 to shatter her own school record and earn First Team All-American honors. With the performance, she became the second Colby swimmer of the meet to achieve First Team status in an individual event, joining
Kellen Mottl, who reached the feat in the 100-yard breaststroke on Friday.
In the 100-yard freestyle, Colby featured a trio of competitors:
Eliza Marco placed 27th,
Caitlin Lacey took 43rd, and
Savannah Lombardi finished 60th. Additionally,
Zoe Fencil touched the wall in 38th place in the 200-yard backstroke, while Mottl finished 28th in the 200-yard breaststroke.
The Mules capped the meet with a 14th-place finish in the 400-yard freestyle relay. The team of Marco,
Zoe Buzzelli, Lacey, and Lombardi earned Second Team All-American honors for their performance. The group set a new school record of 3:26.15 during the preliminary session, where Marco's lead-off split of 50.95 also established a new individual program record.
Colby finished the championships in 15th place overall with 88.5 points. The result ties the third-best finish in program history and represents the Mules' best team standing at the national meet since 2007. This also marks only the second time in school history—and the first since 2005—that all five Colby relays scored points at the NCAA Championships. The 2025-26 campaign was defined by several milestones, as the Mules sent their largest-ever contingent to the national meet and produced a program-record eight All-Americans. Notably, every student-athlete who achieved All-American status did so in at least two separate events. The performance served as the finale to a season that included an undefeated dual-meet record, 13 individual and five relay school records, and over 150 lifetime-best swims.
The Mules will look forward to a great spring and getting ready for the 2026-2027 season.
All Americans:
Zoe Buzzelli - 200 Free Relay (2nd Team), 800 Free Relay (2nd Team), 400 Free Relay (2nd Team)
Alexis Coates - 400 Medley Relay (1st Team), 200 Medley Relay (1st Team), 100 Backstroke (2nd Team), 200 Backstroke (1st Team)
Aria Kapoor - 400 Medley Relay (1st Team), 800 Free Relay (2nd Team)
Caitlin Lacey - 200 Free Relay (2nd Team), 200 Medley Relay (1st Team), 400 Free Relay (2nd Team)
Savannah Lombardi - 800 Free Relay (2nd Team), 400 Free Relay (2nd Team)
Lucy Mackey - 200 Free Relay (2nd Team), 800 Free Relay (2nd Team)
Eliza Marco - 400 Medley Relay (1st Team), 200 Free Relay (2nd Team), 200 Medley Relay (1st Team), 400 Free Relay (2nd Team)
Kellen Mottl - 400 Medley Relay (1st Team), 200 Medley Relay (1st Team), 100 Breaststroke (1st Team)
