The Emory University swimming teams returned to the pool for the first time competitively during the 2025-26 season on Saturday as the Eagles played host to Division I's Queens University of Charlotte at the Madeleine Jude Brown Aquatics Center in Atlanta.
Emory had a showcase afternoon in the opener as Eagle swimmers claimed event wins in 16 of the 32 events. The Emory women secured the team's first win over a Queens University program since 2016 with their 179-83 victory on the afternoon while the Emory men were out gained 154-108.
The Emory women had a standout day in the pool as they secured 11 of the team's wins in the opener. Sophomore Elodie Mitchell and freshman Emma Lunn combined for four wins with Mitchell shining with wins in the 200 Fly and 500 Free and recorded the lone NCAA B Cut time on the day with her mark of 2:03.96 in the butterfly. Lunn made the most of her Emory debut with wins in the 200 Freestyle (1:53.57) and 200 Backstroke (2:04.62).
Also turning in individual wins for the women were sophomore Maddy Lu in the 100 Breaststroke (1:05.13), senior Ava Kennedy in the 50 Freestyle (23.73), sophomore Caitlin Crysel in the 100 Freestyle (52.31), sophomore Sophia Joos in the 200 Breaststroke (2:22.32) and sophomore Allison Greeneway in the 200 IM (2:06.05).
The Eagles had four events with three swimmers inside the top four as well as the top three finishes in both the 200 Freestyle and 500 Freestyle.
Furthermore, the Emory women swept both relay events with the group of Lu, Greeneway, Crysel and senior Penny Celtnieks posting a winning time of 3:50.42 in the 400 Medley Relay and in the 200 Freestyle Relay, the team of Kennedy, Celtnieks, Crysel and senior Jane Sanderson came through at 1:36.57.
On the men's side of events, the Eagles claimed wins in five events with five different swimmers touching first for the Gold caps.
In the early stages of the meet, Emory rattled off three consecutive wins with sophomore Colin Zexter starting the run with a first-place effort in the 100 Backstroke (49.57) before senior Henri Bonnault claimed the 100 Breaststroke at 56.72 and newcomer Carson Kalish earned the top spot in the 200 Fly with a time of 1:51.69.
Later in the meet, fellow freshman Anthony Simmons Jr. garnered his first event win as he led a trio of Eagles inside the top three with his winning mark of 4:41.53 as he battled senior Crow Thorsen (4:42.40) for the win. Thorsen, who made his triumphant return to the pool on Saturday, turned in a pair of second place finishes for the Eagles as he also came in the silver position in the 200 Freestyle at 1:43.40.
Junior McKee Thorsen rounded out the Emory winners on the day as he topped the field in the 100 Fly with his time of 49.27.
In addition to the five event wins and the elder Thorsen's second place finishes, the Emory men saw second place efforts from sophomore Ben Pritchard in the 1000 Freestyle (9:51.03), sophomore Zachary Spicer in both the 100 Backstroke (50.21) and 200 Backstroke (1:51.82), Simmons Jr. in the 200 Fly (1:33.16) and Kalish in the 200 IM (1:53.48).
The team of Spicer, Bonnault, Kalish and junior Hayden Tupper highlighted the Eagles' relay teams on Saturday as the quartet finished second in the 400 Medley Relay at 3:20.39.
The Eagles will be back at the Madeleine Jude Brown Aquatic Center next Saturday for another dual meet against Georgia Tech starting at 11:00 AM.
