Previews Courtesy of Athletic Communications Departments

Akron's Klintemar, Cox Ready for NCAA Swimming & Diving Championships
AKRON, Ohio - Claire Cox and Felicia Klintemar will represent the University of Akron at the 2026 NCAA National Swimming and Diving Championships in Atlanta, Ga.

The duo both earned automatic bids to the NCAA Championships by punching their tickets at the Mid-American Conference Championships earlier this month.

Cox will swim in the 100 breast on Thursday, March 19, after swimming a conference title time of 59.59 at the MAC Championships.

Klintemar will represent the Blue and Gold in the 100 fly on Thursday, March 19, and the 200 IM on Saturday, March 21. She captured autobids with a time of 1:57.52 in the 200 IM and 51.35 in the 100 fly.

Last season,  Abigail Daniel set a school and Mid-American Conference record in the 100-yard Fly prelims at the 2025 NCAA National Championships on Friday, March 21. Daniel, who set the school and MAC record with a time of 51.31 in 2023, advanced to the finals in the 100 Fly after finishing 14th overall with a time of 51.21.

In the finals, Abby finished 15th overall with a time 51.35 and was named an Honorable Mention All-American.


Ball State's Payton Kelly Set for the 2026 NCAA DI Women's Swimming and Diving Championship
MUNCIE, Ind. – Senior Payton Kelly looks to represent the Ball State swimming & diving program this week as she travels to Atlanta, Ga. to conclude her collegiate career at the 2026 NCAA DI Women's Swimming and Diving Championship. Action at the McAuley Aquatic Center opens Wednesday, March 18 and ends Saturday, March 21. 

Prelims are slated to begin at 10 a.m., followed by finals at 6 p.m. each day. 

Kelly will compete in two events during Friday's competitions, starting with the 100 backstroke and finishing with the 50 freestyle. She punched her ticket in both events at the Mid-American Conference Swimming and Diving Championships (Feb. 25-28), earning gold in the 100 back (52.07) and 50 free (21.88). Her times in those events rank 44th and 31st, respectively. 

A two-time first team ALL-MAC honoree and the 2026 MAC Most Outstanding Swimmer, Kelly stamped a career-high 20 individual wins throughout the 2025-2026 season. Five of those victories came in the 50 free while four came in the 100 back. 


Buffalo's Adele Melamund Set to Represent the Bulls at 2026 NCAA Swimming & Diving Championships
BUFFALO, NY – The University at Buffalo swimming and diving program is sending diver Adele Melamud to the 2026 NCAA Swimming & Diving Championships, hosted in Athens, Georgia, this Wednesday through Saturday. The freshman will compete in one-meter diving on Thursday and three-meter diving on Friday.

Melamud qualified for the NCAA Championships by placing fifth of 86 divers in the one-meter event at NCAA Zone A Diving Championships, posting a 12-dive score of 549.35 to punch her ticket. The freshman doubled back to take 11th of 66 divers in the three-meter with a score of 547.10, qualifying for NCAA Championships in the event, too.

Melamud became the first freshman in program history to qualify for NCAA Championships with the performance. The freshman also became the fifth UB diver to qualify for NCAA Championships, joining Marialis Kwak, Victoria Franz, Abbey Croce and Meili Carpenter in the program record book.

The freshman is set to compete in one-meter diving on Thursday morning, with preliminary rounds beginning at 10 a.m. The one-meter diving preliminary round will take place following five swimming events. Thursday's finals session begins at 6 p.m., featuring one-meter diving after two swimming finals.

Melamud will compete in the preliminary round of the three-meter on Friday morning. Preliminary rounds begin at 10 a.m. and diving will commence following five swimming events. Three-meter diving finals are set for Friday night, with the finals session scheduled for 6 p.m.


Miami's Chrisna Bezuidenhout Ready for NCAA Swimming & Diving Championships
Mar. 19 - Women's Swimming and Diving at NCAA Championships (Atlanta, Ga.), All Day
Mar. 20 - Women's Swimming and Diving at NCAA Championships (Atlanta, Ga.), All Day
Mar. 21 - Women's Swimming and Diving at NCAA Championships (Atlanta, Ga.), All Day

Dates, times, and locations tentative and subject to change; Access MiamiRedHawks.com for updated schedule information


Ohio's DiBetta, Szoke Ready for NCAA Swimming & Diving Championships
Ohio swim senior Casadie DiBetta and junior Zita Szoke are set for the 2026 NCAA Women's Swimming and Diving Championships, March 18-21 in Atlanta, Ga. The four-day event will take place at McAuley Aquatic Center and can be seen on ESPN+. Neither Szoke nor DiBetta will be competing on Wednesday, so they will see action starting on Thursday, March 19, at 10 a.m. ET. for the 100-yard breaststroke and the 200-yard freestyle prelims. Both are back in action on Friday, March 20, at 10 a.m. ET for the 200-yard breaststroke and the 50 free prelims, Szoke will conclude the week on Saturday, March 21, at 10 a.m. ET with the 100 free prelims. If either were to finish the prelims in the top eight and advance to finals, those will begin at 6 p.m. ET each day. 

This is the third trip to the NCAA Swim and Dive Championships for Szoke and the first for DiBetta. 

Both DiBetta and Szoke earned their spots at the 2026 NCAA Swim and Dive Championships by earning automatic bids at this year's Mid-American Conference Championships in Akron, Ohio. Szoke won the 200 and 100 freestyle, while DiBetta won her third-straight 200-yard breaststroke championship. Because of their automatic bids to the NCAA Championships and previously hitting NCAA standard times for those events, Szoke will be able to compete in the 50 free, and DiBetta in the 100 breast. 

After the MAC Championships, both Szoke and DiBetta were named First Team All-MAC.