ITHACA, N.Y. – The Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) swimming & diving teams opened the 2026 Liberty League Swimming & Diving Championships with a strong opening day at host Ithaca College, as the women's team sits second out of nine programs and the men's team stands fourth following Wednesday's competition.
The Engineers were well represented in the opening distance freestyle events, with
Sam Ciegler leading the way on the men's side by placing fifth in the 500 freestyle. Earlier in the afternoon, Ciegler had eclipsed the men's program record in the 500 free with a mark of 4:33.85 in the prelim session. On the women's side,
Ellie Tandlmayer delivered a key scoring swim by finishing fourth in the 500 freestyle, touching the wall in 5:07.16.
The individual medley races also produced important points for RPI, as
Tyler Kim placed fourth in the men's 200 IM with a time of 1:54.10, while
Ellen Lorentz finished fifth in the women's 200 IM at 2:12.43.
Katie Schloth added to the scoring in the same event, placing seventh with a time of 2:13.95.
Sprint speed was on display in the 50 freestyle, highlighted by
Vera Korff's third-place finish in the women's race as she set a school record with a time of 23.82 seconds.
Sierra Pargett followed closely behind, earning fifth place with a time of 24.04 seconds to further bolster RPI's point total.
The night concluded with the 400 medley relays, where both RPI squads delivered podium finishes. The men's relay of
Jason Weller,
Peter Meehan,
Hayden Dinkin, and
Beckham Palmer combined for a third-place finish with a time of 3:21.49. The effort yielded RPI's third school record of the day, as Weller's 49.11 second split to start the relay was the fastest 100 backstroke time in RPI history.
Ellen Lorentz,
Audrey Lewis,
Vera Korff, and
Sierra Pargett followed with a second place effort in the women's 400 medley relay. The group touched in 3:56.11 to earn the third podium of the opening day for the Engineers.
Competition resumes Thursday with a full slate of championship events, including the 200 freestyle, 100 butterfly, 400 IM, women's 1-meter diving, and the 200 freestyle relay, as RPI looks to build on its early momentum across both programs.
