ITHACA, N.Y. – The Cornell women's swimming and diving team is excited for its 2023-24 season to commence. And that begins this weekend, when the Big Red welcomes Binghamton (Friday) and St. Bonaventure (Saturday) to Teagle Pool.

LOOKING TO BUILD OFF SUCCESSFUL 2022-23 CAMPAIGN
The Big Red had a successful 2022-23 season, finishing 5-4 overall and 3-4 in Ivy League action. It was the first time Cornell finished the season over .500 and won three league meets since its 2014-15 campaign.

GALLAGHER BACK FOR YEAR EIGHT 
Patrick Gallagher, the Philip H. Bartels '71 Head Coach of Women's Swimming, returns for his eighth season on East Hill. Since taking over as head coach in 2015, Gallagher has guided Cornell swimmers to 16 individual and 10 relay records, alongside 140 individual and 46 relay top-10 times in school history. 

Eileen Bringman also returns to the Big Red for her third year as assistant coach. Bringman will look to help take Cornell's talented roster to the next level after coaching Team USA in the 2023 FISU World Games in Chengdu, China.

Jesus Santos will commence his second year as the Richard W. Gilbert Diving Coach after helping Elise Jendritz '23 to a 17th-place finish in the 3-Meter dive at NCAA Zones a year ago. The Big Red also adds a volunteer assistant in Mia Cote, who joins the squad after serving as a student assistant at East Carolina University last season.  

"We are trying to make the athletes the focus and making sure the support structure is their long-term, and we got that going," Gallagher said. "It is not just [Eileen and Jesus] where we are firing on all cylinders, and it is going to be good for our athletes."

STRONG RETURNING GROUP LOOK TO SET TONE
Cornell brings back 22 swimmers from its 2022-23 roster, headlined by senior Emile Boisrenoult, who returns to East Hill after setting a new individual record time in the 100-Yard Butterfly (53.87) at the 2023 Ivy League Championships. Boisrenoult was also a member of three relay records alongside fellow senior Priscilla Wongso, as the pair helped set new program marks in the 200-Yard Freestyle (1:31.00), 400-Yard Freestyle (3:21.02), and 400-Yard Medley (3:42.92).

Marie Williams also returns for the Big Red after setting a new Cornell record in the 200 Yard Backstroke at the 2023 Ivy League Championships (1:58.90) and was a member of the 400 Yard Freestyle record-breaking time at the Ivy Championships alongside Boisrenoult, Audrey Holden, and Wongso.

All four bring leadership and competition to the squad, but Gallagher says the entire senior class will set the tone.

"They were the group brought back as freshmen and promised a robust year, only to be sitting in their rooms and swimming eight at a time. [The group] has such a solid foundation, and they set the tone."

CLASS OF 2027 BRINGS TALENT, VARIETY TO ROSTER

Nine new swimmers join the Big Red this fall/winter, including Chloe Addiego, Brooke Andrews, Erin DeHollander, Bahar Demirkiran, Joey Misailidis, Morgan Ogata, Ming Xu, Katherine Yee, Hojung Yoon. Both coasts of the United States are well-represented, with five (west) and three (east) making up the bulk of the new additions, alongside one international student.

Gallagher says the group has adjusted well to balancing their schedules and can turn some heads come competition time. 

"There is a boatload of talent and personality in the class, and it will be fun to see them come in their own. Freshman year is like drinking out of a firehouse until we get them on the road and away from campus, but in terms of training and talent, the sky is the limit for that group," he said. 

Eight sophomores round out the underclassmen representation for Cornell (Madeline Ferreira, Audrey Holden, Kate Li, Ella Martinez, Elina Natarajan, Quinn Rinkus, Claire Vroom, and Jungmin Yoon).

OHR, SUTTER, WONGSO NAMED 2023-24 CAPTAINS
Three seniors will share the captain distinction for the team this season in Joelle Ohr, Olivia Sutter, and Priscilla Wongso. Gallagher says all three bring something different to the team. 

"They have very different personalities and balance each other out. When I say everything, it is not just one captain, as they have spent a lot of time helping the freshmen get through the first month of the school year," he said. "It is a hard job, and a lot of energy goes to other people, but they are just going to get better."

SOLID IVY DUAL RECORD, IVY CHAMPIONSHIP SUCCESS TABBED AS GOALS

Despite setting eight school records a year ago, the Big Red want more in 2023-24. And Gallagher has set some pillars for the team to hit this season, including a winning record in Ivy dual meets. 

But his long-term goal will hopefully come to fruition on Feb 21-24 in Providence, R.I.

"As good as we were last year, I would like to be better at our championship meet. What that looks like remains to be seen, but I think that is the kind of talent we have," Gallagher said.

SERIES VS BINGHAMTON
The Big Red hold a perfect 17-0 record over the Bearcats dating back to the 1999-2000 season. Cornell and Binghamton faced off in Vestal last season (11/04/2022), with the red and white taking home a convincing 146-97 victory. The team earned a multi-podium finish in nine different events at the meet.

SERIES VS ST. BONAVENTURE
Cornell is 7-3 against St. Bonaventure, dating back to their first meeting in the 1996-97 season. Last season (11/05/22), the Big Red took a convincing 144-90 victory over the Bonnies in Olean, N.Y. The red and white had nine first-place finishers that afternoon, including three 1-2-3 finishers in the 1000-Yard Freestyle, 500-Yard Freestyle, and 200-Yard Breaststroke.

UP NEXT
After its meets against Binghamton and St. Bonaventure, the Big Red will hit the road to open Ivy League action in a dual meet against Dartmouth and Harvard on Saturday, Nov. 11, in Cambridge, Mass. All three teams squared off last year in Hanover, N.H., with Cornell defeating the host Big Green (189.50-109.50) but losing to the Crimson (121.0-179.0).