STOCKTON, Calif. – The Pacific swim and dive program opens up the 2025-26 campaign with the women on the road against Cal State East Bay at noon on Friday at Pioneer Pool, followed by a combined meet against Fresno Pacific at noon on Saturday at the Eberhardt Aquatics Center.

Under the seventh-year leadership of Pacific head coach Katelyne Herrington, the Tigers look to build upon a conference championship on the men's side while retooling both squads with revamped and recharged rosters.

"We're really excited to open up our season with two meets this week," Herrington said. "The team has been in a strong block of training, and this is a great opportunity to see where we're at and identify areas we can continue to build on as the season progresses. With so many first-year athletes, it's going to be especially valuable in helping us learn more about them in a competitive setting."

The Tigers will be making a splash with diving for the first time in program history as they will earn diving points toward their team score against the Sun Birds and not against the Pioneers. Junior Lexxi Chavez represents Pacific's only diver currently as she looks to make her mark in her first appearance on the boards in orange and black. Chavez spent the last two years diving at CSU Bakersfield.

On the swimming side of things, junior Kate Geiger and senior Lilliana Noriega look to lead the women's team after strong performances during their 2024-25 campaigns. 11 new women's swimmers will take the pool for the first time as Tigers, including a trio of international ones in freshman Michela Portelli, freshman Ava Harlos and redshirt junior Laureen Roussel. The group will be anchored by the veteran presences of senior Annelise Thomas and junior Amanda Schweichler.

One returning Tiger to keep an eye on is sophomore Christina Agiomamitou, who was named Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Women's Freshman Swimmer of the Year last season. The native of Nicosia, Cyprus tallied 53 individual points at the 2025 MPSF Championships, fourth-most in the entire meet and more than any other first-year competitor. She also helped the Tigers win several races for large amounts of points throughout last season.

The men will be led by captains Ethan Cole and Dante Dentino, as well as the return of senior Mattia Giurgevich. The three all were a key part of Pacific's first-ever MPSF conference championship last season, taking down Incarnate Word by a 331-290 margin.

Giurgevich will look to spearhead the men's efforts after earning a gold and a silver medal at the National Invitational Championships last year. The native of Limbiate, Italy recorded a personal best with a time of 24.39 in the 50 breast on the opening day and also notched second place in the 100 breast, clocking a time of 53.45.

Like the women, the men will see many new faces hit the water on Saturday against Fresno Pacific. A dozen fresh men's swimmers are expected to make their Pacific debuts when they host FPU in Stockton.

Before the home opener, the Tigers will make the short drive to Hayward, California where they will meet the Pioneers for the sixth time since 2019. Pacific owns a 4-1 record in that span over CSUEB, including last year's 195-66 home victory.

Pacific and Fresno Pacific see each other for the fifth meeting and fourth straight season since the 2019-2020 campaign. The Tigers have won every head-to-head meet on both the men's and women's sides against the Sun Birds. On Sept. 28, 2024, the men earned a dominant 209-52 win while the women forged a 205-50 victory.

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