The Boston University swimming and diving team wrapped up its season at the 2025 Patriot League Championships at Bucknell University’s Kinney Natatorium over the weekend.
The first day of competition saw two championship final berths in the women’s three meter.
Senior Sophia Souza, the two-time defending champion in the event, was unable to three-peat, falling 3.75 points short of the podium, with a score of 267.45. Fellow senior Marina Cataldo finished seventh.
Head coach James Sica described how the divers have left a big legacy for the program despite the result.
“They are always great competitors,” Sica said. “I can’t say enough good things about the way they approach this competition. It’s always really positive.”
Sophomore diver Zein Mahana made his championship final debut on the second day of competition, finishing seventh in the men’s one meter with a score of 287.05.
The Terriers would see their first medals of the meet on day three.
Souza rebounded from a mishap in the prelims with a silver in the women’s one meter, winning her fourth Patriot League Championship medal to cap off her diving career.
Junior Haley Newman won silver in the women’s 400-yard individual medley, marking her third medal in this event, after winning bronze last year and gold in 2023.
On the final day, Newman reclaimed gold in the women’s 200-yard butterfly with a winning time of 1:58.94. She first won gold in this event back in 2023.
When Sica was asked about the secret behind Newman’s continued success in those events, he turned to her mentality.
“Those are two of the most grueling events on the schedule, and she approaches them with really great confidence, which is always fun to watch,” Sica said.
The freshmen swimmers also made impressive championship final introductions on the final day of competition.
Cambria Jewett made her first championship final in the women’s 200-yard backstroke, finishing in fifth with a season-best time of 1:59.35, narrowly beating the 1:59.41 she set at the Terrier Invite in November.
On the men’s side, freshman Giovanni Sullo grabbed bronze in the men’s 1,650-yard freestyle at his first PL Championship of his career, swimming a personal-best time of 15:21.69. His teammate, freshman Charles Schreiner, finished fourth just two seconds behind.
Sica was impressed about the championship final debuts, knowing that this is a step in the right direction for the future of the program.
“We just want them to keep being excited about these opportunities,” Sica said. “They want to keep growing, they want to keep contributing, they want more finals in their future, which is awesome.”
After four days of competition, both the men’s and women’s teams finished fifth out of 10 schools in overall team rankings.
“I’m really proud of this group,” Sica said. “They had great energy, great attitudes, great effort throughout the meet, definitely built on each session.”
With attention shifting toward the offseason, Sica shared his optimism for the incoming freshman class.
“We’ve got some great people coming in who are really excited to contribute, and are at a place where they will be able to contribute,” Sica said.
