KUTZTOWN, Pa. – Kutztown University women's swimming features 16 returnees on its 2025-26 roster and will look for that wealth of experience to translate into a rise in the team standings at the PSAC Championships.
The Golden Bears are coming off a 10th-place finish at the 2025 PSAC Championships but enjoyed several highlights that can be used as building blocks for the new season.
A majority of KU's PSAC point scorers are back, led by senior
Annamarie Rodier (Mount Laurel, N.J./Lenape).
Rodier tallied a team-high 62 points with top finishes of ninth in the 400-yard individual medley and 1650-yard freestyle. The Mount Laurel, N.J., native ranks second in program history in the 400 IM with a time of 4:39.24.
Tatum Rothermel (Halifax, Pa./Halifax) totaled 24 points, second most on the team, by virtue of her impressive seventh-place swim in the 200 breaststroke. The junior from Halifax, Pa., was the lone Golden Bear to qualify for an 'A' Final at the 2025 conference meet, improving by 11 spots over her 18th-place finish in the same event as a sophomore. Rothermel also picked up a point in the 100 breast and ranks in the top 10 in KU history in both the 100- and 200-yard events, with her 2:26.21 in the 200 sitting fourth all-time.
Fellow junior
Birta Smaradottir (Mosfellsbær, Iceland/Commercial College of Iceland) had a breakout season by scoring in three events and setting program top 10 times in all three. Smaradottir ranks fourth in the 400 individual medley (4:44.89), fifth in the 200 breast (2:29.44) and eighth in the 200 IM (2:12.93). She was 18th, 20th and 22nd in those events at PSACs.
Senior
Ana Soto (Hamburg, N.J./Vernon Township) finished top 20 in the conference in the 50 free (18th) and 100 free (20th). She got back in the pool at the PSAC Championships to swim a time trial in the 50 free and wound up breaking Elizabeth Thoryk's 29-year old school record of 24.25 with a 24.19.
Frannie Pease-Wingenter (Goodyear, Ariz./Millennium) also saw success in the 50 free with a 19th-place showing at PSACs and the fourth-fastest time in program history (24.32).
Juniors
Lorelei Grove (Red Lion, Pa./Red Lion) and
Camryn Sedora (Chester, Md./Kent Island) each registered points in the 1650 free by placing 20th and 21st, respectively.
Along with the upperclassmen, head coach
Tim Flannery, now in his 29th season, saw some of last year's newcomers make an immediate impact.
Sarah Zeminski (West Chester, Pa./West Chester East) set the third-best time in team history in the 200 fly at the Franklin & Marshall Invitational last November (2:11.84) and went on to finish 16th in the event at PSACs.
Kara Damico (Brookhaven, Pa./Sun Valley) turned in top five program times in the 100 fly (fourth, 58.64) and 50 free (24.33) and was a 'C' Final qualifier in both events at the conference meet.
Phoebe Armes (Somerset, UK/Millfield School) secured a 16th-place finish in the 200 IM at PSACs and posted KU top 10s in the 200 IM (seventh, 2:11.83) and 100 back (eighth, 1:00.97).
Damico, Soto, Armes and Pease-Wingenter put up a school record time of 1:36.61 in a 200 free relay time trial at the PSAC meet after placing seventh in the scored event. The Bears also had strong performances in the 400 free relay, where Soto, Rodier, Damico and Pease-Wingenter swam a 3:34.67 to rank second in team history, just 1.01 seconds off the school record from 2010, and the 200 medley relay, with Armes, Rothermel, Damico and Pease-Wingenter recording the fifth-best time at KU (1:49.27).
Five new swimmers have joined the Golden Bears from the high school ranks and will look make their mark in tandem with the returnees to help the team achieve its goals during the upcoming season.
Kutztown kicks off the new campaign with a home meet against Shippensburg tonight, Sept. 24, at 5 p.m. The Golden Bears will also be home for tri-meets with Bloomsburg and Edinboro on Saturday, Nov. 1, and Arcadia and Kean on Saturday, Dec. 6.
The PSAC Championships will again be held in York, Pa., at the Graham Aquatic Center, Feb. 18-21.
