University of Richmond Athletics
University of Richmond
The Richmond Invitational
Spiders Dive Into Season at Richmond Invitational Friday Night
10/09/2026 | Women's Swimming & Diving
Hampton, Va. — The University of Richmond swimming and diving team opened its 2026-27 season Friday with a second-place finish at the Richmond Invitational at the Hampton Virginia Aquaplex. The Spiders totaled 682.5 points, finishing behind Duquesne (791) and ahead of George Mason (610.5) and Davidson (524).
Richmond recorded three event victories, highlighted by junior Gabbie Primiano's sweep of the breaststroke events and a first-place finish in the 200-yard freestyle relay. The Spiders also earned 13 additional top-three finishes across individual swimming and diving events, with several freshmen contributing in their collegiate debuts.
Primiano won the 50-yard breaststroke in 29.65 seconds before claiming the 200-yard breaststroke in 2:18.76. She also placed fifth in the 400-yard individual medley with a time of 4:29.14.
Richmond's 200-yard freestyle relay team took first in 1:34.68, finishing more than a second ahead of George Mason (1:35.84). The Spiders also placed second in the 400-yard medley relay with a time of 3:50.28.
Junior Lena Amare recorded two individual runner-up finishes, placing second in the 400-yard individual medley (4:23.00) and 50-yard butterfly (25.19). Senior Molly Blanchard added a pair of top-three performances, taking second in the 200-yard backstroke (2:04.45) and third in the 400-yard individual medley (4:27.37).
Freshman Julia Cort made her collegiate debut with two top-three finishes, placing second in the 100-yard freestyle in 53.10 seconds and third in the 50-yard backstroke in 26.98 seconds.
Fellow freshman Ansley Neff placed second in the 500-yard freestyle with a time of 5:07.49. She also finished fourth in the 200-yard freestyle in 1:54.96, leading a pair of Richmond newcomers as Ellie McNamara followed in fifth at 1:55.28.
Sophomore MaryAgnes Smith added a third-place finish in the 200-yard butterfly (2:08.03) and took sixth in the 500-yard freestyle (5:14.40). Sophomore Kaitlyn Martin finished sixth in the 200-yard butterfly in 2:11.00.
Freshman Melia Eckman advanced through all four rounds of the 50-yard freestyle skins competition, finishing second in the final round. Eckman opened with a time of 24.14 seconds, the fastest of her four swims, before recording times of 24.26, 24.38 and 24.88 in the subsequent rounds.
On the diving boards, senior Rachel Vandersea finished second in the 1-meter competition with a score of 233.65, while freshman Gia DiMaggio made her collegiate debut with a third-place finish at 226.00. DiMaggio also placed seventh on the 3-meter board with 205.00 points. Junior Addie Grainger finished sixth in the 3-meter competition (205.80) and seventh in the 1-meter competition (209.10).
Additional top-five performances came from senior Erin Budde, who finished fourth in the 100-yard freestyle (53.25), junior Hannah Wieczorek, who placed fourth in the 50-yard backstroke (27.12), and senior Trinity Schulze, who took fourth in the 200-yard breaststroke (2:23.88).
Richmond will return to the Hampton Virginia Aquaplex Saturday, Oct. 10, for the Richmond Duals, where the Spiders will compete against George Mason, Duquesne and Davidson for the second consecutive day.
