LEXINGTON, Va. – Natalie Schick set the school record in the 100 Back and won the league title to lead a backstroke push from the Catamounts on day three of the 2026 America East Championship hosted by VMI. The Catamounts continue to sit in third place with 414 points. Bryant continues to lead the way with 582 points while UNH is in second with 455 points.
 
RELATED LINKS
Day 3 Results (.pdf)
CatamounTV: Schick Wins 100 Back
 
COACH'S QUOTE
"We had a really good night tonight," said Head Coach Gerry Cournoyer. "Our backstrokers came through for us tonight scoring 72 points."
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• Schick set a new school record in the 100 Back during the prelims with a time of 54.06. In the evening's final she won her first America East title with a mark of 54.86. She finished .59 seconds faster than the field.
• Schick's teammates Julie Prues Salvador and Michaela Miller tied for fifth in the race with a time of 56.37.
• Ellie Fazio earned All-Conference honors setting the school record in the 100 Breast with a second-place finish in a time of 1:01.67.
• Jessica Drozdowski finished seventh for Vermont in the 100 Fly with a time of 56.30. It was her second straight season earning points for UVM in the event's A Final.
• Emma Freer (4th, 4:25.59) and Natalie Schlemmer (6th, 4:28.58) earned 28 points for Vermont in the A Final of the 400 IM.
• Anastazja Szukala was the Catamounts top finisher in the 200 Free with a time of 1:53.16, good for seventh place.
• The Catamounts rounded out the night placing third overall in the 400 Medley Relay. Schick, Fazio, Drozdowski and Szukala combined for a time of 3:43.90. 

WHAT'S NEXT
Following Friday's action, the Catamounts will wrap up the America East Championship with Day Four on Saturday, February 21. Preliminaries will begin at 10 a.m. in the 200 Back, 100 Free, 200 Breast, 200 Fly followed by finals at 5:30 p.m. including the 400 Freestyle Relay and 1650 Free. All of Saturday's action can be streamed live on ESPN+ and an international stream is available at AmericaEast.TV.
 
For more news about the Vermont swimming & diving program, follow @UVMswimanddive on Instagram, @UVMswimming on X and Facebook, and visit UVMathletics.com.
 
Speeder & Earl's Coffee is the presenting sponsor of Vermont swimming & diving