Delaware Men’s and Women’s Swimming & Diving to Join the Atlantic Sun

NEWARK, Del. – The University of Delaware men's and women's swimming & diving program has accepted an invitation to join the Atlantic Sun effective July 1, 2025, both organizations announced Thursday. The men will join Bellarmine, Florida Atlantic, Gardner-Webb, Old Dominion, and Queens, while the women join Bellarmine, Florida Gulf Coast, Gardner-Webb, Liberty, North Florida, Queens, and UNC Asheville.

"I'm incredibly excited for our swimming & diving programs to be joining the ASUN," Director of Athletics, Community, and Campus Recreation Chrissi Rawak said. "This move will allow our student-athletes to continue to compete at a high level. I cannot thank Commissioner Jeff Bacon and the athletic directors enough for affording us this opportunity."

Both the men's and women's programs have seen significant growth and success over the past few seasons. This past season, both the men's and women's programs finished second at the CAA Championships. It was the women's best team finish since 2001, while the men's claimed second for the third year in a row.

"We are incredibly grateful to join the ASUN," head coach Pablo Marmolejo said. "The strides this team has made since arriving on campus is nothing short of remarkable. This is the fastest this program has ever been and will continue to get faster. We appreciate our time in the CAA and look forward to an exciting new chapter for the swimming & diving program."

The two programs combined for 35 top three finishes, including five first place finishes on both sides this past season. Kaloyan Levterov won the 200 freestyle and 200 backstroke, Toni Sabev won the 200 breaststroke, along with the 200 and 400 medley relay. Lauren Hartel won the 500 freestyle, Victoria Novinskiy won the 200 butterfly and Mania Tasakou won the 200 breaststroke, along with the 400 and 800 freestyle relay. Levterov and the men's 200 medley relay set a new CAA record at the 2024 Championships.

Sabev became the first swimmer in program history to compete at the NCAA Championships in the 100 and 200 breaststroke.

Collectively, the programs have won 31 CAA Championships under Marmolejo. Under his direction, both programs have recorded their best finishes at the CAA Championships.

Since the start of the 2021-22 season, the men's team is 19-1, and the women's team is 19-1-1 in dual meets. Both teams have set 33 new program records, 19 coming from the men's side, while 14 came from the women's side.

On the diving side, seven athletes have gone on to compete in the NCAA diving zone championships since 2016, Kristina Congdon, Rowan O'Sullivan, Alex Pastris, Julia Servas, Kevin Siegfried, Caitlin Stockwell and Philip Townsend.

This summer, there were a handful of student athletes who competed for a spot in the 2024 olympic games, including Currie, who competed in the U.S. Team Trials from June 15-23, along with Levterov and Sabev, who competed in the European Championships from June 17-23.

Historically, the swimming & diving programs have won ten conference championships. Seven of which came from the men's side, dating back to 2000 capping off a stretch of four-straight years where the program won the American East Championship. The other three came from the women's side, with the last one coming in 1997, capping off back-to-back American East Championships.

Since 1995, the men's and women's programs have captured 87 individual or relay championships, 45 by the women and 42 by the men.

"We are pleased to welcome the University of Delaware Men's and Women's Swimming and Diving coaches and student-athletes to the Atlantic Sun Conference," ASUN Commissioner Jeff Bacon said. "Our membership prides itself on delivering a first-class championship experience and we believe that the addition of a high-quality program such as Delaware will only elevate that experience. Thank you to Director of Athletics, Chrissi Rawak for her commitment to the ASUN."

Men's and Women's Swimming and Diving became sponsored by the Atlantic Sun Conference last year with the ASUN absorbing the championship records and history of the Coastal Collegiate Sports Association (CCSA). The first championship held under the ASUN banner took place in February of 2024 with SMU winning the Men's crown and Liberty claiming the Women's title. This season's championship event returns to the Allan Jones Aquatic Center in Knoxville, Tenn., on the campus of the University of Tennessee.

The University of Delaware's academic programs are among the nation's best and its research classification places the University in the top 3% of all U.S. universities and colleges. Announced in September, UD ranks No. 76 among national universities and No. 36 nationally among public universities, according to U.S. News & World Report's 2024 Best Colleges rankings. In addition, the 2024 edition of Best Graduate Schools, U.S. News and World Report has ranked 22 University of Delaware graduate programs among the best in the nation including 10 in the top 50. UD Is also a top-50 university in the U.S. for veterans and active-duty military.

UD's outstanding academic reputation also translates to UD Athletics and UD student-athletes who complement their athletic success with strong academic performances. In the 2022-23 academic year, Blue Hens compiled a cumulative 3.286 grade-point average—the highest in department history, excluding academic terms impacted by COVID-19. This marked the ninth-consecutive year and the 19th-straight semester in which UD student-athletes have posted a 3.00 GPA or better.

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University of Delaware Athletics

Delaware Men’s and Women’s Swimming & Diving to Join the Atlantic Sun

Players Mentioned

Lauren Hartel

Kaloyan Levterov

Victoria Novinskiy

Rowan O'Sullivan

Alex Pastris

Toni Sabev

Julia Servas

Kevin Siegfried

Mania Tasakou

Philip Townsend

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