"Strong leadership" is the theme frequently echoed by head coach Rob Harrington when it comes to The College of Wooster women's swimming and diving team as it gets set for the 2026-27 season.

"We have a talented group on the women's side," said Harrington. "I foresee them doing great things this season. We have tremendous leadership and I think we have talent in the right places. We certainly have opportunities for our returning swimmers to rise up and lead this program."

Firepower throughout at the top of each event group has the Fighting Scots primed for success. That starts with junior Maggie Layne, a North Coast Athletic Conference championship final qualifier from last season.

"Maggie looks great already to start the season," shared Harrington. "We are going to continue to have her take the lead in the breaststroke events and the distance individual medley events as well."

Senior Rachel Frank, a College Swimming and Diving Coaches Association College National Open Water Championship qualifier is the Scots' distance anchor and was the team's top placer at two individual events at last year's conference meet.

"Every year I feel like is a breakout season for Rachel," said Harrington. "With new opportunities, we might see her in some butterfly events and in some individual medley events as we sort out our lineup."

Elena Sandifer leads the versatility among the sophomore class. She is the top sprinter and middle-distance freestyler returning in the program. Harrington projects to see Sandifer "take the lead in a lot of relay and individual events," and could slot her into some distance freestyle and individual medley events as the season progresses.

Backstroke and breaststroke are arguably Wooster's two deepest areas within the program. Harrington noted "we always seem to add to our backstroke in recruiting."

Sophomore Aryanna Harton and senior Charlotte Helm are the top returning backstrokers within the program, and Wooster welcomes back senior Tara McGovern to the program. Harton took 11th in the 200 backstroke at conference as a first-year, Helm was a championship final qualifier in the 200 backstroke as a sophomore, and McGovern was a top-15 placer in both backstrokes at the 2024 conference meet.

Sophomore Reese Lucas, sophomore Jess Kelly, and junior Nicole Ortega Chirinos round out the backstroke swimmers among the returnees.

In the breaststroke, Layne is complemented by sophomore Jasmyn Coviello, junior Savannah Cox, and senior Becca Murray, who were all key scorers for the Scots at last year's conference meet. Murray and sophomore Leah Dean will be looked to for depth in the individual medley and butterfly events as well, per Harrington.

"We are going to see a lot from this group throughout dual meets and then at our conference championships," said Harrington. "We have a core group of solid swimmers all around. They could be in different events almost every weekend and still be very successful."

Senior Anna Lundquist backs Frank up in the distance freestyle and projects to focus more on those events this season, per Harrington, as the NCAC coaches voted to remove the 100 individual medley from the conference championship lineup.

Other returnees include junior Ella Henderson, junior Charlotte Kottenstette, senior Sylvia Krieg, and sophomore Genevieve McCullar. Henderson and Kottenstette add depth to the breaststrokes and could see an uptick in middle distance and freestyle events, per Harrington. Krieg is a core member of the sprint events, per Harrington and McCullar is part of the core group of backstrokers and distance freestylers.

Wooster's first-year class consists of Gabby Cain, Blu Jones, Emma Verkleeren, and Mary Claire Zimmerman. Junior Addison Fletcher projects to join Jones in the diving well upon the conclusion of field hockey season.

"We have a small but mighty first-year group," said Harrington. "They touch almost every single event. It is exciting to have diving again on the women's side."

Wooster's season starts at the Denison Diving Invitational on Saturday, October 24. The Scots are home for the first time on Saturday, November 7 when Heidelberg University is in town for a 1 p.m. dual meet. Wooster hosts the three-day Wooster Invitational, which starts December 3, and the NCAC Championships at Denison kick off on February 10.

"We are going to be challenged quite a bit at the Wooster Invitational and the NCAC Championships," wrapped up Harrington. "We are really going to find out what this team is all about when it comes to the championship meets."