Rutgers swimming and diving is opening the 2026-27 season with plenty of buzz, and the Scarlet Knights won’t have to wait long to test themselves. The team hosts an Invitational this Friday and Saturday at the Rutgers Aquatic Center, with Army, St. Bonaventure, Northeastern, Boston College and Fordham all in the mix.
Head coach Jon Maccol believes this group stands apart from the ones that came before it.
"This team has the greatest amount of talent that we've ever been able to collect," head coach Jon Maccol said. "The level of focus, things are just a bit different this year.
It's the youngest team we've ever had since I've been here, but at the same time, it's also the most mature. And that is a credit to the recruiting and the high level of selectiveness we have when going through that process.
These are women that have swam in a lot of high-level meets and medaled and finaled there. And the vast majority of them are under 20 years old.
It's a talent level and mixed with maturity and focus and understanding of what we're trying to do here, that's an exciting thing for the program."
There’s no shortage of headline names on the roster. Anna Vlachou earned a spot as a Big Ten Preseason Swimmer to Watch after setting school records in the 100 Freestyle and 100 Butterfly. She also reached the A Final in the 100 Butterfly at the Big Ten Championships.
On the boards, Katerina Hoffman was selected as a Big Ten Preseason Diver to Watch. She was one of three Rutgers divers to reach NCAA Championships and picked up Second Team All-American honors on the 3-Meter.
Fellow returnee Bailee Sturgill, who also participated for Team USA, joined her at NCAAs. Rutgers’ diving group finished last season nationally ranked among the country’s top diving programs.
Diving coach Natasha Chikina is eager to see what comes next from that unit.
"I'm really looking forward to continuing to work with this group of divers," said diving coach Natasha Chikina. "I'm excited to see how much they can improve this season, what they can contribute to the team and how much progress they can make this season."
Hoffman also gives Rutgers leadership as one of four captains. She shares that role with Chiara Alberti, Ana Hazlehurst and Ellie Schinsky. Hazlehurst had a strong Big Ten Championships, making three finals and posting 200 and 400 IM times that rank among the top three in school history.
Schinsky, meanwhile, sees a team ready to make an early statement.
"This is the most excited I've been for a season for the team as a whole," Schinsky said. "We have a lot of very talented freshmen starting their careers. We're looking forward to showing up and showing out and showing everyone that we're here and we're going to make it known."
Rutgers enters the weekend with momentum from last season, when it improved its Big Ten point total by more than 70 points over the year before and produced its best Big Ten score since the West Coast expansion of the conference. The Scarlet Knights also added nine new marks to the all-time top-10 list, including five that landed among the top three in program history, and finished with 14 finalists at Big Tens.
The program kept building over the summer, too. Emilianna Gonzalez won bronze at the USA Swimming Speedo Junior National Championships, while Vlachou set two U-23 Greek National records.
Now comes the first look at a freshman class that Rutgers believes can make an immediate impact. With that mix of experienced returners and newcomers, the Scarlet Knights head into the weekend ready to show where they stand. The schedule includes three sessions: Friday at 5 p.m., Saturday at 10 a.m. and Saturday at 4 p.m.
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