BUFFALO, N.Y. – The Cortland women's swimming and diving team captured the team title at the 2025 State University of New York Athletic Conference-Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference (SUNYAC-AMCC) Championship. The championship, held at the Burt Flickinger Center on the campus of Erie Community College, is the first-ever combined SUNYAC and AMCC Championship. Ten teams competed - six from the SUNYAC (Cortland, Fredonia, Oneonta, Oswego, New Paltz and Potsdam) and four from the AMCC (Alfred State, Pitt Bradford, Penn St. Altoona and Penn St. Behrend).
 
Cortland finished with 927 points, followed by Penn St. Behrend with 667, Oswego with 549 and Alfred State with 503. Oneonta finished fifth (297), with Penn St. Altoona (271), New Paltz (248), Potsdam (163), Pitt Bradford (106) and Fredonia (91) completing the scoring.
 
The Red Dragons received three post-meet awards. Brian Tobin and his assistants were named the Swimming Coaching Staff of the Meet, and Veronica Ribot-Canales was named the Diving Coach of the Meet. Alyssa Haberlack (Long Beach) and Megan McLaughlin (Avon) earned Co-Outstanding Diver of the Meet honors, each having scored 36 points, and Leah Bernhardt (Groton) was chosen as the SUNYAC's Grace Mowatt Award winner.
 
The Grace Mowatt Award is given annually to a senior female swimmer based on career athletic and academic achievement. A graphic design and digital media major with a 3.92 cumulative grade point average, Bernhardt won three events at this year's meet as well as two previous SUNYAC individual titles. Grace Mowatt earned her bachelor's degree from Cortland in 1959 and a master's degree from Cortland in 1963. She was the long-time women's swimming and diving coach at SUNY Oswego from 1963-93 and was a pioneer of women's swimming in the SUNYAC.
 
Bernhardt's third title of the week came in the 1,650-yard freestyle Saturday with a time of 17:51.92. Ella Garrow (Peru) won the 200-yard breaststroke in 2:27.67 and Julia Bryce (Rochester/School of the Arts) was the champion in the 200-yard butterfly in 2:11.07.
 
Ryann Redmond (Floral Park/Floral Park Memorial) placed third in the 1,650 freestyle (18:27.20) and the 400-yard freestyle relay team of Erin Galligan (Rochester/Our Lady of Mercy), Kaila O'Hara (East Islip), Rhianna Lynch (New Hartford) and Bernhardt finished third in 3:38.97.
 
Makenna Deitz (Ravena/Ravena-Coeymans-Selkirk) turned in a fourth-place effort in the 200 breaststroke (2:35.37) and Areiannah Martinez-Reyes (Queens/Benjamin Cardozo) was fourth in the 200 butterfly (2:16.36, 2:15.45 prelims). Sophie Amering (Hilton) finished sixth in the 1,650 freestyle (18:54.93), Emily Lantry (Helena/St. Lawrence) was sixth in the 200 backstroke (2:13.64) and Caitlin Elsasser (Merrick/Sanford H. Calhoun) finished sixth in the 200 butterfly (2:21.75).
 
Other Red Dragons earning top-eight finishes Saturday included Lynch in the 100 freestyle (seventh place, 56.01), Peyton Glor (Tonawanda/Mount Saint Mary Academy) in the 200 backstroke (seventh place, 2:16.31, 2:15.86 prelims), Alayna Miller (Hilton) in the 100 freestyle (eighth place, 56.52, 55.92 prelims) and Cassidy Torres (Brooklyn/High School for Health Professionals & Human Services) in the 200 breaststroke (eight place, 2:46.67, 2:38.90 prelims).
 
Galligan won the "B" final in the 100 freestyle in 55.59 seconds, with O'Hara finishing right behind her for a 10th-palce overall finish in 55.78 seconds.
 
Unlike past years in the SUNYAC Championships, teams are allowed this year to enter "B" relay teams that can score points but not finish ahead of any other school's "A" relays. Cortland's 400 freestyle relay "B" unit of Miller, Martinez-Reyes, Bryce and Lantry officially finished 12th in 3:45.89. They were the second-best "B" relay and the sixth-fastest overall.

Championship Web Page
 
FINAL TEAM SCORES:
 
1) Cortland - 927
2) Penn St. Behrend - 667
3) Oswego - 549
4) Alfred St. - 503
5) Oneonta - 297
6) Penn St. Altoona - 271
7) New Paltz - 248
8) Potsdam - 163
9) Pitt Bradford - 106
10) Fredonia - 91