Three Earn Major Sun Belt Swim & Dive Awards, 14 Named All-Sun Belt

NEW ORLEANS – The 2025 Sun Belt Conference Champion James Madison took home three major awards and 14 were named All-Sun Belt as the league announced on Wednesday afternoon its 2024-25 Swimming & Diving Yearly Awards and All-Conference Teams.

Head Coach Dane Pedersen was named Coach of the Year for a second consecutive season, as senior Alexa Holloway also repeated as a major award winner by taking home Diving Performer of the Year. Sophomore Sarah Pauley was tabbed Newcomer of the Year, the second straight season a Duke has won or shared the award.

Holloway earned All-Sun Belt honors in addition to Grace Bousum, Riley Bridgman, Jamie Cornwell, Jess Pryne, Angela Ritchie, Alex Volk, and Madison Wimmer.

Four Dukes earned All-Sun Belt Second Team recognition in Ann Chappell Ellington, Katelyn Fitzgerald, Emma LaFountain and Pauley.

Abby Maguire and Kate Vitolo were the pair of Dukes to be named All-Sun Belt Third Team.

Pedersen guided the Dukes to their second straight Sun Belt title and seventh conference title in the past eight seasons. In his 11^th season at the helm, he won his sixth career coach of the year honor. JMU scored 1,067.5 points at the Sun Belt Championship, the second time in Sun Belt history that a team has eclipsed 1,000 points. The first time for a team to do it was last year's JMU squad. Under Pedersen's tutelage, the Dukes won 27 medals at the Championship spread across 13 gold medals, 10 silvers and four bronzes. In addition, JMU took home the top scoring diver award and a share of the top scoring swimmer award.

Holloway earned her second consecutive diver of the year award, as she was named the top scoring diver at the Championship after winning gold on the 3-meter board and the platform and a silver on the 1-meter board. She is the first Duke to repeat as a conference diver of the year since Olivia Lehman (2016-17) and third third overall, joining Lehman and Taryn McLaughlin (2014-15). It marks the third straight season that the Spring, Texas native has won gold on the 3-meter board at a conference championship meet. She secured the gold this season with a Sun Belt Championship record of 350.35, while also setting a Championship record in platform diving with a score of 267.15. She qualified for all three boards at the NCAA Zone Diving Championships, placing highest out of all Sun Belt divers and was a finalist on the 1-meter.

Transferring from Campbell, Pauley was named newcomer of the year after scoring 25 points at the Championship by being a two-time A finalist. She was also named to the All-Sun Belt Second Team, leading off the silver-medal-winning 200 and 400 Medley Relay teams. Both relay times were second for the respected events in program history. Individually, Pauley swam a time of 56.27 in the 100 Back final and 2:03.41 in the 200 Back final.

Named an All-Sun Belt First Team selection for a second year in a row, Bousum repeated as the 200 Free Sun Belt Champion with her time of 1:47.54 the fifth fastest in program history. She also won gold as a member of the 200 and 800 Free Relays that broke school records. In addition to her gold medals, she won two silver medals. One individually in the 100 Free and another in the 400 Medley Relay. Her split in the 400 Free Relay put her fourth in the program's 100 Free Top 10.

Last season's Co-Rookie of the Year, Bridgman was recognized as a First Team All-Sun Belt selection for a second straight season. After earning silvers in both breaststroke events at last year's Championship, Bridgman avenged herself by winning gold medals and recording NCAA "B" Standard times in both events this year. She swam a time of 1:01.11 in the 100 Breast to break the Sun Belt Championship record, before swimming a time of 2:12.73 in the 200 Breast. Both times were top-three times in the program's top 10 for each event. She additionally won a bronze in the 200 IM with a time of 2:00.95. A pair of silver medals were also won by Bridgman, as she swam as part of the 200 and 400 Medley Relays.

A two-time All-Sun Belt First Teamer now, Cornwell won four gold medals and a silver medal at the Championship. Repeating as the 50 and 100 Free champion, she recorded NCAA "B" Standard times of 22.54 and 48.91, respectively. Both times set Sun Belt Championship records, as her 50 Free time also set a JMU record. She earned a pair of gold medals in relays, setting the Sun Belt Championship record in the 200 Free Relay while also setting JMU records in that event and the 800 Free Relay. Cornwell also won a silver medal in the 400 Medley Relay.

Pryne repeated as the 200 and 400 IM champions on her way to earning an All-Sun Belt First Team nod. It marks the fourth consecutive season that Pryne has won the 400 IM in a conference championship meet. She won the 200 IM with a time of 2:00.35 and the 400 IM with an NCAA "B" Standard time of 4:14.25. Pryne also won a gold medal in the 800 Free Relay. The Co-Top Scoring Swimmer added a silver medal in the 200 Back with a time of 1:59.11 which goes down as eighth fastest in the event in program history.

Earning All-Sun Belt recognition for the second straight season, Ritchie was named to the first time this year after winning the 500 Free with a time of 4:52.14. Her time was tied for the seventh fastest in program history. In addition, she claimed a silver in the 200 Fly with a time of 2:00.07, the third fastest time in program history.

Leading off in the gold-medal-winning 200 Free Relay, Volk earned All-Sun Belt First Team honors as the time of 1:30.59 set JMU and Sun Belt Championship records. She also won a silver in the 200 Medley Relay and placed in the top eight of two of her individual events.

Getting the nod to the All-Sun Belt First Team in her freshman campaign, Wimmer won gold in the 200 Free Relay and led off the gold-medal-winning 800 Free Relay that set a JMU record with a time of 7:13.16. In addition, she won a bronze in the 500 Free with a time of 4:54.58. She finished in the top five of her other two individual events (200 Free and 1650 Free).

Ellington was named to the All-Sun Belt Second Team, earning a silver medal in the 200 Medley Relay. She also finished in the top eight in all three of her individual events (100 Fly, 200 Breast, 200 IM).

For a second straight year, Fitzgerald was named to the All-Sun Belt Second Team. She earned a trio of silver medals, finishing second in the 200 Free, 500 Free and 1650 Free. The sophomore swam times of 1:48.01 in the 200 Free and 4:53.35 in the 500 Free, respectively moving into seventh in program history and 10^th.

In the inaugural platform diving event at the Sun Belt Championship, LaFountain recorded a score of 257.25 to win the silver and earn an All-Sun Belt Second Team nod. The score was an NCAA Zone qualifying score.

Maguire earned her second career All-Sun Belt Third Team laurel, winning the bronze with a time of 16:56.93 in the 1650 Free. She also finished top-eight in the 500 Free and 200 Fly.

Earning an All-Sun Belt Third Team nod for the second time in as many seasons, Vitolo won the bronze on the 3-meter board. She scored a 321.20, putting her 10^th in the event in program history. She also placed fourth on the 1-meter board with a score of 281.00, with both of her scores being NCAA Zone qualifying scores.

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