By Ty Sanges
Last season, standout performances defined Springfield College’s swimming and diving teams. Individuals shattered school records, athletes competed at Division III Nationals and both teams achieved their best NEWMAC Championships finishes in over a decade. The Springfield College Art Linkletter Natatorium housed some of the campus’ top athletes.
However, this season, the Pride will look to build on last year’s success, attempting to top the benchmark they set for themselves coming into the 2025-2026 season.
“We always want to be competitive,” swimming head coach Howard Hinds said. “We want to work hard, but the main goal is to have fun and see improvements, get better, and be supportive of one another, and I think from that we will see great results.”
The men’s swimming and diving team is coming off a third-place finish at NEWMACs last year, the best placement the team has seen in 12 years. The women’s swimming and diving team also saw an excellent finish in the conference, placing fourth overall out of 10 teams competing. While the teams as a whole found major success, multiple individuals made their marks above and beyond the conference meet.
Junior diver Christian Butler stood out last year for the Pride, making his mark on the national stage. Competing at the NCAA Division III Swimming and Diving National Championships in both the 1-meter and 3-meter, the breakout star looks to continue his dominance coming into the season.
Butler finished 21st overall off the 3-meter board, and 22nd on the 1-meter board. Additionally, Butler was named the NEWMAC Diver of the Year following his victory at the conference meet off of the 3-meter board.
Additionally, swimmer Nina Lamb qualified for the Division III Championships in the 100-breast and 200-breast, placing seventh in the 100-breast to claim her All-American title in the pool. Four divers from the women’s team additionally qualified for the NCAA Division III Northeast-North Diving Regional.
Despite the immense success of both teams, the men’s and women’s teams both graduated multiple of their top swimmers and divers, leaving both programs with a young group going into their 2025-2026 campaigns. Hinds views this as a positive however, and sees great opportunities for the upperclassmen to take a larger leadership role.
“Last year, we had a very strong class that was very good at leading,” Hinds noted. “We’re on the younger side this season, so I think that establishing the culture for the future seasons is very important. I’m challenging the upperclassmen to be a bit more vocal and bring the energy, and lead the younger athletes more than just through actions.”
Entering his 41st season as the head coach for the diving team, Peter Avdulous knows what it takes to build a successful program. This season is no different, as the Hall of Fame coach is fully focused on preparing his divers for a successful season ahead.
Last season, Avdulous was named the NEWMAC Men’s Diving Coach of the Year, earning the title for the 19th time in his storied career at Springfield College, including winning his fifth in a row. Avdulous, however, never looks for individual awards for himself, and instead focuses on having his divers be ready and prepared for the first meet of the season.
“The divers have been working really hard and doing really well, and I think they’re very eager to compete,” Avdulous said. “They want to see where they’re at, get the scores from the first meet, and work from there. All we want is progress and to reap the rewards of all of the students’ hard work.”
The Pride will face a tough challenge immediately. Their first meet of the season on Nov. 1 matches Springfield at home against conference foe MIT. Ranked seventh nationally for the men and fourth nationally for the women, MIT is coming off of both the men’s and women’s programs winning the NEWMAC Championships in the 2024-2025 season, and will give the Pride a challenge in their first competition of the season.
Springfield follows the home matchup by hosting a tri-meet with Wheaton and nationally ranked Coast Guard on Nov. 8. The Pride then travel to Williams College in another tri-meet with Wesleyan on Nov. 15. Following the series of tri-meets, Springfield travels to the Gompei Invitational, hosted by WPI, and the LGR Dive Invitation, hosted by RPI, on the weekend of Dec. 6 in a split-squad effort.
Following a short break, Springfield will travel to Hartwick with Union on Jan. 10. Following a home meet on Jan. 17 against Middlebury, the Pride go on the road again, facing Amherst on Jan. 23. The women’s team travels to Smith College with Wellesley the following day. Both the men’s and women’s teams wrap up the season at home, facing Babson on Feb. 7.
Springfield will then prepare for the NEWMAC meet, hosted at MIT, from Feb. 19-22, seeking an even better placement than last year.While placing well at the NEWMAC Championships is always the main goal, Avdulous knows that the journey to have such success for the divers is just as exciting.
“To me, a successful season is feeling good about what the divers did, but most importantly, enjoying the process of it all,” Avdulous said. “Obviously, we want everyone to compete and compete well at NEWMACs, but I think the improvements throughout the season are great in their own way.”
As the swimmers and divers commence their last bit of training before Nov. 1 arrives, Hinds is ready for the season to begin.
“I look forward to that first meet,” Hinds said. “It’s gonna be a tough one, but I’m ready for the challenge, and I’m excited to see where our team is at. It’s going to be a great year.”
(Photo courtesy of Springfield College Athletics)