On the heels of three straight conference championships, Pomona-Pitzer has been selected to once again top the SCIAC in the 2026-27 Women's Swimming & Diving Preseason Poll, as voted by the league's head coaches.
The Sagehens earned eight of the nine first-place votes for 80 points, with Claremont-Mudd-Scripps claiming the remaining vote. The Athenas trailed just behind with 73 points, followed by Chapman with 61 points in third.
Pomona-Pitzer will continue to be led by the conference's reigning Athlete of the Year Nina Aballea, who was the SCIAC champion in the 100 and 200-yard freestyles. She was also a part of the 400-yard medley, 400-yard freestyle, and 800-yard freestyle relay teams that placed first at the SCIAC Championships. At the NCAA Championships, she earned All-American status in four races. The Sagehens saw four other swimmers earn a total of five individual first-place finishes at the conference championships last season and will return all of them this upcoming year in Francesca Coppo, Ellie Burkhardt, Bennet Jones, and Amaia Sherman. As a team, Pomona-Pitzer tallied an eighth place finish at the 2026 National Championships.
For CMS, sophomore Elyse Newlands is set to pick up where she left off after being named the SCIAC Newcomer of the Year. The Winnetka, Ill., native claimed five first-place finishes, four of which were individual, at the 2026 SCIAC Championships before recording All-American performances in the 200 IM as well as the 200 and 400-yard medley relays at Nationals. On the diving side, Simone Sabeeh is coming off of a 2026 SCIAC Diver of the Year campaign in which she came in first in both the one-meter and three-meter dives at the conference championships. The Athenas also placed 10th at the 2026 NCAA Championships.
This upcoming season will feature several new Head Coaches, including former Chapman men's swimmer Jason Willman taking over for the Panthers. Andrew Brabson is now set to lead La Verne after eight seasons as the Head Men's and Women's Swimming and Diving Coach at Caltech. For the Beavers, Alys Lindsay has taken the reigns for the 2026-27 season. Jeff Natalizio is also being elevated as Whittier's Head Coach after spending two years on the coaching staff.
Another notable highlight for the upcoming season is the introduction of Azusa Pacific, as the Cougars reclassify from Division II to Division III.
2026-27 SCIAC Women's Swimming & Diving Preseason Poll
1. Pomona-Pitzer, 80 points (eight first-place votes)
2. Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, 73 points (one first-place vote)
3. Chapman, 61 points
4. California Lutheran, 52 points
5. Caifornia Institute of Technology, 43 points
6. Occidental, 39 points
7. Whittier, 29 points
8. Redlands, 16 points
9. La Verne, 12 points
Azusa Pacific*
* - Ineligible for SCIAC Championship as school transitions from Division II