FREDERICKSBURG, Va. - Frostburg State junior Macey Nitchie, Mary Washington freshman Claudia Keller, and UMW head coach Abby Brethauer claimed major awards to lead the 2018 All-CAC Women's Swimming team.
Nitchie repeated as CAC women's swimming Athlete of the Year after once again collecting a trio of gold-medal finishes in the sprint freestyle events. Nitchie repeated as champion in the 50, 100 and 200 freestyles to help the Bobcats to a third-place team finish - their highest-ever placing at the championship meet. She becomes the eighth swimmer in CAC history to win multiple Athlete of the Year awards.
Mary Washington, which secured its 28th straight CAC title, was led by Rookie of the Year Keller and Coach of the Year Brethauer on the All-CAC squad. Keller dominated the distance freestyle events, earning first-team All-CAC honors in the 500 and 1,650 freestyles and also teaming with Megan Murphy, Michaela Miller, and Julia Geskey for gold in the 800 freestyle relay. Keller is the 16th Eagle to secure Rookie of the Year accolades.
Brethauer was honored by her peers as CAC Coach of the Year for the sixth time in the last eight seasons. With this year's Coach of the Year honor, she has won the award more than any other coach in CAC history. Former UMW head coach Matt Kinney received the award five times in the mid-to-late 1990s.
UMW tallied 16 of the 38 available spots on the All-CAC team, with Megan Murphy earning seven All-CAC awards, including six first-team nods. Murphy capped off her CAC career with individual victories in the 100 butterfly, 200 butterfly and 100 IM. Her victory in the 200 butterfly marked her fourth-straight All-CAC award in that event, including first-team honors in both 2015 and 2016. Murhpy was also a contributor on winning relays in the 800 freestyle, 200 medley and 400 medley, and the runner-up 400 freestyle relay.
Julia Geskey, the 2017 Rookie of the Year, also picked up seven All-CAC awards for the Eagles. Individually, Geskey won the 200 IM and 400 IM and took second in the 100 IM. She was also a part of winning 800 freestyle and 400 medley relays, and second-place 200 freestyle and 400 freestyle relays.
Other first-team All-CAC performers for the Eagles included Carley Vaughn (200 medley relay & 400 medley relay), Mary Zagrobelny (200 medley relay & 400 medley relay), Grace Gartman (200 medley relay), and Miller (800 free relay).
Maddy Rymer secured a pair of All-CAC second-team finishes for the Eagles in the 100 and 200 backstrokes, Erin Whitesell placed second in the 100 butterfly, and Vaughn earned silver in the 200 butterfly. Other second-team All-CAC relay recipients for UMW were Kait Luncher (200 & 400 freestyle), Vaughn (200 freestyle), Miller (400 freestyle), and Gartman (200 freestyle).
York secured 11 spots on the All-CAC squad, led by seven awards Adrianna Ayala and five from Justine Wantz. Ayala claimed a trio of second-place finishes in the sprint freestyle events, contributed to the winning 200 and 400 freestyle relays for the Spartans, and was also a member of the silver-medal 200 and 400 medley relay teams. Wantz won the 100 and 200 backstrokes, and was a part of the winning 200 freestyle relay and runner-up 200 medley and 400 medley relay squads. Rachel Spaulding and Danielle Werner were a part of both winning freestyle relays for York, as was Andrea Sturgis.
Other All-CAC second-team performers for York included Amanda Bley in the 1,650 freestyle and 800 freestyle relay, Alyssa Coon (800 freestyle relay & 400 medley relay), Leilani Garcia (200 medley & 400 medley), and Spaulding and Sturgis in the 800 freestyle relay.
After earning second-team honors in both events last winter, Frostburg State's Maddie Weinberger elevated herself to the All-CAC first team in both the 100 and 200 breaststrokes to join Nitchie on the all-star squad.
Marymount captured four spots on the All-CAC team. Taylor Plumley repeated as a second-teamer in the 500 freestyle, while Morgan Alston secured her third-straight silver-medal finish in the 200 IM. Hayley Elizondo notched All-CAC second-team placings in the 200 breaststroke and 400 IM.
St. Mary's was represented by Hailley Baughman on the All-CAC second-team in the 100 breaststroke.
Athlete of the Year: Macey Nitchie, Frostburg State (2nd-straight)
Rookie of the Year: Claudia Keller, Mary Washington
Coach of the Year: Abby Brethauer, Mary Washington (6th time)
2018 All-CAC Women's Swimming First Team
| NAME | YEAR | EVENT | TEAM | HOMETOWN/HIGH SCHOOL | PREVIOUS ALL-CAC HONORS |
| Macey Nitchie | Sr. | 50 Free | Frostburg State | Forest Hill, Md. / Bel Air, Md. | 1st in '17 |
| Macey Nitchie | Sr. | 100 Free | Frostburg State | Forest Hill, Md. / Bel Air, Md. | 1st in '17 |
| Macey Nitchie | Sr. | 200 Free | Frostburg State | Forest Hill, Md. / Bel Air, Md. | 1st in '17 |
| Claudia Keller | Fr. | 500 Free | Mary Washington | York, Pa. / West York | |
| Claudia Keller | Fr. | 1,650 Free | Mary Washington | York, Pa. / West York | |
| Justine Wantz | So. | 100 Back | York | Walkersville, Md. / Walkersville | |
| Justine Wantz | So. | 200 Back | York | Walkersville, Md. / Walkersville | |
| Maddie Weinberger | Jr. | 100 Breast | Frostburg State | Ellicott City, Md. / Mount Hebron | 2nd in '17 |
| Maddie Weinberger | Jr. | 200 Breast | Frostburg State | Ellicott City, Md. / Mount Hebron | 2nd in '17 |
| Megan Murphy | Sr. | 100 Fly | Mary Washington | McLean, Va. / McLean | |
| Megan Murphy | Sr. | 200 Fly | Mary Washington | McLean, Va. / McLean | 2nd in '17, 1st in '16, 1st in '15 |
| Megan Murphy | Sr. | 100 IM | Mary Washington | McLean, Va. / McLean | |
| Julia Geskey | So. | 200 IM | Mary Washington | Yorktown, Va. / Tabb | |
| Julia Geskey | So. | 400 IM | Mary Washington | Yorktown, Va. / Tabb | 2nd in '17 |
| York | 200 Free R | York | Adrianna Ayala, Justine Wantz, Rachel Spaulding, Danielle Werner | ||
| York | 400 Free R | York | Adrianna Ayala, Rachel Spaulding, Andrea Sturgis, Danielle Werner | ||
| Mary Washington | 800 Free R | Mary Washington | Megan Murphy, Michaela Miller, Claudia Keller, Julia Geskey | ||
| Mary Washington | 200 Medley R | Mary Washington | Carley Vaughn, Mary Zagrobelny, Megan Murphy, Grace Gartman | ||
| Mary Washington | 400 Medley R | Mary Washington | Carley Vaughn, Mary Zagrobelny, Megan Murphy, Julia Geskey |
2018 All-CAC Women's Swimming Second Team
| NAME | YEAR | EVENT | TEAM | HOMETOWN/HIGH SCHOOL | PREVIOUS ALL-CAC HONORS |
| Adrianna Ayala | So. | 50 Free | York | York, Pa. / William Penn | |
| Adrianna Ayala | So. | 100 Free | York | York, Pa. / William Penn | |
| Adrianna Ayala | So. | 200 Free | York | York, Pa. / William Penn | |
| Taylor Plumley | Jr. | 500 Free | Marymount | Cheshire, Conn. / Cheshire | 2nd in '17 |
| Amanda Bley | Fr. | 1,650 Free | York | Tempe, Ariz. / McClintock | |
| Maddy Rymer | Sr. | 100 Back | Mary Washington | Yorktown, Va. / Grafton | 2nd in '17 |
| Maddy Rymer | Sr. | 200 Back | Mary Washington | Yorktown, Va. / Grafton | 1st in '17 |
| Hailley Baughman | Jr. | 100 Breast | St. Mary's | Lineboro, Md. / Manchester Valley | |
| Hayley Elizondo | So. | 200 Breast | Marymount | Canal Winchester, Ohio / Bishop Hartley | |
| Erin Whitesell | So. | 100 Fly | Mary Washington | Blacksburg, Va. / Blacksburg | |
| Carley Vaughn | So. | 200 Fly | Mary Washington | York, Pa. / Central York | |
| Julia Geskey | So. | 100 IM | Mary Washington | Yorktown, Va. / Tabb | |
| Morgan Alston | Sr. | 200 IM | Marymount | Chesterfield, Va. / Cosby | 2nd in '17, 2nd in '16 |
| Hayley Elizondo | So. | 400 IM | Marymount | Canal Winchester, Ohio / Bishop Hartley | |
| Mary Washington | 200 Free R | Mary Washington | Julia Geskey, Carley Vaughn, Kait Luncher, Grace Gartman | ||
| Mary Washington | 400 Free R | Mary Washington | Julia Geskey, Kait Luncher, Michaela Miller, Megan Murphy | ||
| York | 800 Free R | York | Alyssa Coon, Rachel Spaulding, Amanda Bley, Andrea Sturgis | ||
| York | 200 Medley R | York | Justine Wantz, Leilani Garcia, Jenna Hufnagle, Adrianna Ayala | ||
| York | 400 Medley R | York | Justine Wantz, Leilani Garcia, Alyssa Coon, Adrianna Ayala |