Women's Swimming & Diving | 10/13/2020 9:49:00 AM

TROY, N.Y. - While the 2020-21 season has yet to begin, the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) women's swimming & diving roster has been established for the academic year and the squad 24 student-athletes. Head coaches Shannon O'Brien (swim) and Maria Coomaraswamy-Falkenstein (dive), along with assistant coaches Michael Sorrentino and Rob MacLeod, have compiled a team that consists of seven seniors, natives of 11 different states and a dozen majors.

Below is information about the team makeup as well as notes about the squad and individual student-athletes:

Class Years: 7 in Class of 2021 ... 6 in Class of 2022 ... 6 in Class of 2023 ... 5 in Class of 2024

Natives Of: California (4), Connecticut (1), Colorado (1), Delaware (1), Florida (2), Massachusetts (1), New Jersey (4), New York (4), Pennsylvania (2), Texas (1) and Virginia (3)

Majoring In: Aeronautical Engineering (1), Architecture (1), Biomedical Engineering (6), Business and Management (1), Chemical Engineering (2), Civil Engineering (3), Computer Science (2), Environmental Engineering (1), Industrial and Management Engineering (1), Information Technology and Web Science (2), Mechanical Engineering (2) and Undeclared Engineering (2)

• Team GPA in spring 2020 was 3.74 (23 student-athletes) ... Cumulative GPA was 3.26
• Junior Megan Beaulieu (San Jose, CA / Saint Francis) qualified for the NCAA Championships in each of her first two years, earning National All-America both seasons. She held an internship at NASA Ames Research Center working on the SIERRA project.
• Ola Nawrocki (Cheshire, CT / Cheshire) is the third member of her family to attend Rensselaer. Her father, a swimmer, is in the Class of 1994 and her brother in '21.
• Alyssa Cahill's (Bridgewater, NJ / Bridgewater Raritan) high school team was undefeated for 46 straight meets over three seasons.
• Pleasant Palmer (Westbury, NY / Saint Anthony's) has experience shadowing a primary care physician and as an intern with a Nassau County legislator.
• Aya and Mariam Tharwat (Yorba Linda, CA / Huntington Beach) are sisters.
• Kaitlin Joyce (Warrenton, VA / Fauquier) has conducted research with GAG Protein Interactions and been an engineering intern at Edwards LifeScience's. The Rensselaer Athletics Female Freshman Athlete of the Year in 207-18, she is studying to earn a private pilot's license.
• Amy Carosi's (Lebanon, NJ / North Hunterdon) parents both went to Drexel, where her mother was a swimmer and her father ran cross country. Her brother ran cross country and track at Embry-Riddle.
• Maddie Day (New Castle, DE / St. Mark's) has internship experience at Geo-Technology Associates (2018), 3DRigging (2018-19) and Steinle Construction.
• Kat Lopez (Pasadena, CA / Mayfield Senior School) was an IT intern for Trust Company of the West, where she helped transition the customer relationship management platform.
• Chloe Jepson (Richmond, VA / Trinity Episcopal School) has traveled to Lithuania for swimming. Her sister is a diver at Davidson.
• Christina Cavalluzzo (Doylestown, PA / Central Bucks West) was a member of the Philadelphia Sinfonia Orchestra (violin) throughout high school. Her cousins Stephanie Gay '99 and Selwyn Gay '97 competed for Rensselaer swimming & diving.
• Ashley German (Newburgh, NY / Newburgh Free Academy) has been an intern at West Point (collecting and interpreting data concerning heat transfer) and with SABIC (specialty materials).

On attending Rensselaer:
"I chose to come to Rensselaer because I was looking for a school that would allow me to be a member of a collegiate swim & dive team while studying aeronautical engineering. RPI stood out as a place where I had opportunities to be successful at both." - Megan Beaulieu (August 2019)

"The academics were a huge part of choosing wher)e I went to school, but the opportunities that are available to students at RPI is something you can't get anywhere else." - Ashley German (August 2019)

"I decided to attend Rensselaer because of the many opportunities the school provides in academics as well as athletics. The academic staff and the coaches really do want you to succeed!" - Maddie Day (August 2019

"I liked the wide variety of majors and I thought the EARTS and EMAC programs were very interesting and unique." - Gwyneth Yuen (August 2019)

"Having the opportunity to compete at the collegiate level with a very welcoming and driven team and pursue a degree at an academically competitive university." - Andrea Rochet (August 2019)

"As soon as I stepped on campus it instantly felt like home. The people were so welcoming and it had the programs I wanted academically while being able to continue with athletics." - Diana Lewis (August 2020)

Benefits of undergraduate community:
"Everyone is so friendly and welcoming. Also, there are a lot of opportunities and fun activities to be a part of such as joining clubs, varsity sports and research." - Mariam Tharwat (September 2018)

"You get to work with people who are doing amazing things." - Darby Burns (August 2018)

"RPI has amazing faculty that truly want you to succeed. Professors make time to meet with you and help you, and the school has many different programs to help students get acquainted with the rigorous academics." - Maddie Day (August 2019)

"I am surrounded by some of the most brilliant individuals I have ever met, and that makes me want to work to be that much better in the classroom and the pool." - Kat Lopez (August 2019)

"The community acts as a family where everyone communicates with each other and provides a lot of help and resources with whatever is asked." - Pleasant Palmer (August 2019)

"One of my favorite things about being a part of the undergraduate community is how much everyone wants to see each other succeed in their respective fields. Everyone is looking out for each other's best interests." - Diana Lewis (August 2020)

note: The roster is as of October 13, 2020, and is subject to change.