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Rutgers swimming & diving cheering on the pool deck prior to the start of day three at the 2025 Big Ten swimming and diving championships hosted by Ohio State

Women's Swimming & Diving

Swimming & Diving Annual Award Winners

PISCATAWAY, N.J. – The Rutgers women's swimming & diving team celebrated its annual award winners as the Scarlet Knights made history sending a school record four divers to the NCAA championships, crowned two NCAA Zone champions and made 26 entries into the Scarlet Knight top 10, including school records in the 200 breast and 400 individual medley.

The Swimmer of the Year award is presented annually to the Scarlet Knight 

who had the biggest impact on the team

Molly Urkiel - Swimmer of the Year graphic

Molly Urkiel set school records in the 200 breast and 400 IM, was a B finalist in both events while winning the C final of the 200 breast and was a part of the champion ECAC 200 medley relay team.

Urkiel set a new RU benchmark of 2:10.90 at the Minnesota Invitational in the 200 breast and later set her second Rutgers record with her swim of 4:10.08 as she took 11th overall at the Big Ten Championships in the 400 IM.

The Rosemont, Minnesota native has also left her mark in the RU record book with the second fastest time in the 200 IM (2:00.21) and fifth fastest time in the 100 breast (1:00.87).

 

The Diver of the Year award is presented annually to the Scarlet Knight 

who had the biggest impact on the team

Sephora Ford - Diver of the Year graphic

Sephora Ford became the sixth Scarlet Knight diver and fourth in the last five seasons to be named an All-American after earning second team honors on platform at the NCAA Championship. 

Ford qualified for the consolation finals, finishing seventh in the round and 15th overall in the event with a score of 270.00.

The Sheffield, England native was runner-up on platform and third on 3M at NCAA Zones.

This season, Ford also put her name into the record book with the third highest score in program history (302.50) with her runner-up performance at the Princeton Platform Invitational.

At the Big Ten Championships, Ford reached the consolation finals on platform, where she finished third in the round and 11th overall.
 

 The Newcomer of the Year award is presented annually to a first-year 

Scarlet Knight who had the biggest impact on the team

Bailee Sturgill - Newcomer of the Year graphic

Bailee Sturgill was named Big Ten All-Freshman as she reached the podium twice in her first season “On The Banks” on 1M and 3M while qualifying for the NCAA Championships on 1M, 3M and platform and taking the NCAA Zone A platform title.

On platform at zones, the Nobelsville, Indiana native won the event with a 10-dive total of 570.30 as the second Scarlet Knight to win a title at this year's zone championships.

Sturgill was also third on 1M and fourth on 3M at zones.

During the season, she captured the second-highest platform score in school history with a 313.45 at the Princeton Platform Invitational and the eighth-highest score in the RU record book with a 330.65 at the RU Dive Invite.

Also this year, Sturgill was a co-champion in synchronized 3M and teamed up with fellow Scarlet Knight Katerina Hoffman to take bronze in synchronized platform at the USA Diving Championships and won the synchronized 3M title at the USA Diving Winter Nationals.

 The Galthbraith Award is presented to outstanding Scarlet Knight divers

 who have excelled on the national level was named in honor of Rutgers

 swimming & diving's first All-American – Robert Galbraith, 

a 1924 NCAA Champion on 1M 

 

Sephora Ford - Galbraith Award graphic

Sephora Ford became the sixth Scarlet Knight diver and fourth in the last five seasons to be named an All-American after earning second team honors on platform at the NCAA Championship. 

Ford qualified for the consolation finals, finishing seventh in the round and 15th overall in the event with a score of 270.00.

The Sheffield, England native was runner-up on platform and third on 3M at NCAA Zones.

This season, Ford also put her name into the record book with the third highest score in program history (302.50) with her runner-up performance at the Princeton Platform Invitational.

At the Big Ten Championships, Ford reached the consolation finals on platform, where she finished third in the round and 11th overall.
 

Katerina Hoffman - Galbraith Award graphic

Katerina Hoffman qualified for the NCAA Championships on all three boards and was the NCAA Zone A Champion on 3M.

On 3M at zones, Hoffman finished with a total of 714.85 with her final six dives totaling 356.45 for the third-highest total in the Rutgers record book. It was the highest score among all zone competitors across the nation on 3M.

Additionally, Hoffman finished fourth on 1M and sixth on platform at zones.

At the Big Ten Championships, the Whitehouse Station, New Jersey native reached the consolation final on both 1M and 3M. On 1M, Hoffman finished third in the consolation round and 11th overall, while on 3M she landed in eighth place in the consolation round and 16th overall. 

Hoffman also earned the sixth-highest score (310.65) in program history on 1M against Fordham and the eighth-highest score (273.65) in the Rutgers record book on platform at the Ohio State Invitational.

Following the season, Hoffman teamed up with fellow Scarlet Knight Bailee Sturgill to take bronze in synchronized platform at the USA Diving Championships.

 

 

Bailee Sturgill - Galbraith Award graphic

Bailee Sturgill was named Big Ten All-Freshman as we reached the podium twice in her first season “On The Banks” on 1M and 3M while qualifying for the NCAA Championships on 1M, 3M and platform and taking the NCAA Zone A platform title.

On platform at zones, the Nobelsville, Indiana native won the event with a 10-dive total of 570.30 as the second Scarlet Knight to win a title at this year's zone championships.

Sturgill was also third on 1M and fourth on 3M at zones.

During the season, she captured the second-highest platform score in school history with a 313.45 at the Princeton Platform Invitational and the eighth-highest score in the RU record book with a 330.65 at the RU Dive Invite.

Also this year, Sturgill was a co-champion in synchronized 3M and teamed up with fellow Scarlet Knight Katerina Hoffman to take bronze in synchronized platform at the USA Diving Championships and won the synchronized 3M title at the USA Diving Winter Nationals.

The Alumni Spirit Award is presented annually to a team member 

who through her leadership, loyalty and ability has 

best demonstrated outstanding competitive spirit & sportsmanship

Shannon Meadway - alumni spirit graphic

Shannon Meadway was Rutgers' Big Ten Sportsmanship honoree who reached the C final of the 200 back at the Big Ten Championships and captured three top 10 program times.

Meadway placed 22nd overall at the conference championships in the 200 back, swimming to the sixth fastest time in program history (1:56.02).

Additionally, the Toronto, Ontario, Canada native was an A finalist in both the 200 IM (2:00.51) and 400 IM (4:17.50) at the Minnesota Invitational, capturing the third and fifth fastest times in the RU record book, respectively.

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