Women's Swimming & Diving | Oct 18, 2025

ST. PAUL, Minn. - Omaha Men's and Women's Swimming and Diving competed Friday, Oct. 17 and Saturday Oct. 18 in St. Paul, Minn., against host St. Thomas at Anderson Pool. Both the men's and women's teams captured wins over the Tommies.

The men's team secured 236 points over St. Thomas, which tallied 77. Freshman swimmer Jadeon Carter (Lincoln, Neb.) opened the meet with a stellar performance in the men's 1000 free, breaking the program record with a score of 9:37.27, followed by a victory in the 500 free.

Freshman diver Nathan Frette (Lake Buena Vista, Fla.), who opened his collegiate career in a major way against South Dakota State on Oct. 3 and Rockhurst on Oct. 4, breaking back-to-back records in the 1-meter diving event, came out on top again in the 3-meter diving sweeping both boards.

The Mavericks won the men's 200 medley relay with freshman swimmers Brady Wainionpaa (Hudson, Wis.), Mason Zadina (Omaha, Neb.), sophomore Aidin Kolb (Pickrell, Neb.), and senior Grant Shaeffer (Minot, N.D.) recording a time of 1:31.02. 

Individually, Wainionpaa (200 IM, 200 breast), Zadina (50 free), and Kolb (100 free) each earned first-place finishes in their respective events.

Also earning individual victories were freshman Carson Agnew in the 100 breast, Benjamin Bryzelak in the 200 fly, junior Kyle Kulow (Sugar Land, Texas) in the 200 free and 400 free relay, and seniors Stefan Varga (Stockholm, Sweden) in the 100 and 200 back, Jace Walker (Houston, Texas) in the 100 fly and Michael Johnson (Chandler, Ariz.) in the 400 free relay.

The women's team defeated St. Thomas with a score of 191 to 122. Sophomore swimmers Danica Brunk (McPherson, Kan.), Ella Drewes (Eden Prairie, Minn.), Catalina Kahan (Los Angeles, Calif.), and junior Leah Spencer (McCook, Neb.) dominated in the women's 200 medley relay, earning the victory with a time of 1:43.39. 
The Summit League's week one Kwik Star Peak Swimmer and freshman Addisyn Storms (Omaha, Neb.) shined taking first in the 200 IM with a time of 2:05.83 along with winning the 100 and 200 breast.

Also taking first were freshman Kira Jacobs (Olathe, Kan.) in the 200 free; sophomores Kahan in the 100 fly and Kate Novinski (Grand Island, Neb.) in the 200 back; and junior Julia Thomas (Colorado Springs, Colo.) in the 200 fly.
In the 400 free relay, the Mavericks added three more first-place finishes behind Thomas, Jacobs, Brunk, and senior Rachel Shelstad (Minnetonka, Minn.).

On the boards, senior Holly Bernardin (Rosemount, Minn.) earned her second victory of the 2025-26 campaign, winning the 1-meter event with a score of 253.65.
 
This weekend's victories over St. Thomas marked the men's and women's fourth consecutive wins. The men remain undefeated this season.

"We had a number of impressive swims over the past two days while at St. Thomas," said head coach Jessica Hessel. "I'm proud of the swimmers for pushing through their swims after four days of tough practices and not letting that get into their heads. The training has been great, but the mental focus of this team so far has exceeded my expectations at this point in season. Extra congrats to all those earning best times and Jadeon for his school record in the 1,000."

"The divers showed up prepared and performed well over the last two days," said diving coach Eric Sprague. "Bella Price performed with great determination today on 3-meter after a tough outing on 1-meter yesterday. Congratulations to Holly Bernardin picking up the win on 1-meter. Our men swept both boards the last two days and I like the composure I see from them during competition. Congrats to Nathan Frette on winning both boards.  Our depth showed this week with both the men and women earning the diving team event wins.  We'll get back to work prepping for Missouri State coming."
 
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