ONEONTA, N.Y. – The Hartwick College women's swimming and diving team opened its 2026-27 season with a strong performance at the 20th Annual Hartwick Relays on Saturday, finishing first with 178 points, defeating SUNY Oneonta, who placed second with 116 points, and Mount Holyoke College, who finished third with 98 points.

The Hawks established themselves early, winning the opening 400-yard medley relay in 4:25.84. Hartwick's A team featured Kate Gucciardi (Cicero, N.Y./Cicero North Syracuse), Danielle DeCarlo (Whitesboro, N.Y./Whitesboro), Min-Syun Chen (Saratoga Springs, N.Y./Saratoga Springs) and Cate Russo (San Pedro, Calif./San Pedro).

Hartwick continued its success in the backstroke relays, with the A team taking first in the 300-yard backstroke relay in 3:15.06. Savannah Evans (Livermore, Calif./Granada), Nora Spangler and Gucciardi combined to finish ahead of Oneonta and Mount Holyoke.

The Hawks added another victory in the 300-yard breaststroke relay, touching the wall in 3:46.93. Hartwick also captured the 300-yard butterfly relay in 3:21.78, finishing ahead of Mount Holyoke and Oneonta.

Hartwick maintained its momentum in the longer relay events, winning the 850-yard crescendo relay in 9:30.28. The Hawks also claimed the 200-yard freestyle relay in 1:51.06, the 600-yard individual medley relay in 7:20.91, the 400-yard freestyle relay in 4:05.35 and the 800-yard medley relay in 9:51.10.

Oneonta edged Hartwick in the 200-yard medley relay, with the Hawks' A team finishing just behind the Red Dragons in 2:00.76.

In the mixed 200-yard medley relay, Hartwick's A team posted a time of 1:49.04 to finish ahead of Oneonta's A team, which recorded a 1:52.80.

The Hawks will look to carry their opening-meet success into next weekend when they travel to Ithaca, N.Y., on Saturday, October 17, for a meet hosted by Ithaca College against Ithaca and the University of Scranton.