FAIRFIELD, Conn. – The Fairfield University men's and women's swimming and diving teams will begin their quest for the 2026 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Championships this week. The Stags will travel to SPIRE Academy in Geneva, Ohio to compete for the titles, the third straight season that the facility has hosted the championship.
Last season, Fairfield finished second in the women's championship standings and third in the men's championship rankings. The women's team will look for their fifth MAAC Championship, last winning the crown in 2023. The men's squad will challenge for their first conference title, taking second place in the rankings in the 2022 event.
The Stags enjoyed another stellar season, tackling another challenging schedule that saw Fairfield compete in dual meets and regional invitationals. The women's team garnered five dual meet wins including decisions over MAAC foes Marist University, Iona University, and Sacred Heart University. The squad also took home the Fairfield Invitational title while it held the fifth slot at the Terrier Invitational.
The men's team recorded seven dual meet victories which complemented a first-place finish at the Fairfield Invitational and a third-place placement at the Terrier Invitational. The Stags also outscored their two conference opponents in Iona and Marist earlier in the season.
Tone Sandsjo will return to defend her win in the 100 breaststroke last year, setting the MAAC Championship record with a time of 1:00.61. She was also part of the 200 medley relay team that established a new MAAC standard by completing the distance in 1:40.61. The rest of the relay foursome included Lara Kisakol as well as graduated Erini Pappas and
Olivia Thompson.
Newcomers Natasha De Pree and Katie Torrey have also been key contributors to the team's success. De Pree earned three MAAC Rookie of the Week honors (November 28, October 22 and October 15) as well as two MAAC Swimmer of the Week accolades (November 28 and October 15). Torrey also garnered a Rookie of the Week honor (October 29) for her performance against Marist. Allie Bashor was the latest women's swimmer to garner weekly honors, taking home the award on January 28.
The men's team also has a great deal of experience from last year's strong performance in the championship.
Aidan Schnapf (January 28) and
Balazs Ament (November 28) both earned a MAAC Swimmer of the Week award during the fall. Among the freshman class,
Andrew Nathe (October 29 and October 22) and
Bobby Regan (January 21) gained attention for their efforts, securing Rookie of the Week honors.
From the diving board,
Andrew Cataldo built another successful season at both the 1 and 3 meter events. Cataldo brought home a gold medal at the 2025 MAACs from the 1 meter board, scoring 284.55 points. Lillian Tonole, who finished fourth in the same event at last year's MAACs, put together another solid season which was highlighted by her being named the MAAC Diver of the Week on October 29.
The 2026 MAAC Championships will open on Wednesday, February 11 with five events being decided, namely the 200 medley relays, women's 1-meter diving, and the 800 free relays. For the remaining three days, preliminaries will begin at 9:30 am with the finals each day's events starting at 5:30 pm. All sessions will be broadcasted on ESPN+.
For links to ESPN+ broadcasts, live results, as well as results, please visit the
MAAC Championship Central page.
