BU’s men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams cheering on teammates on the opening day of the Terrier Invite, November  22, 2024. The Terriers are competing in the 2025 Patriot League Swimming and Diving Championships February 19 to 22 at Bucknell University. Photo by Matt Woolverton

Athletics

BU Swimming and Diving Teams Head to Patriot League Championships at Bucknell

Terriers eager for the biggest meet of the year

BU senior Keegan Duffy circled the 2025 Patriot League Swimming and Diving Championships—being held this week—on his calendar months ago. 

“This meet really is everything I’ve worked for. It’s what I spend my entire season shooting for,” says men’s team cocaptain Duffy (Sargent’25), who competes in the 50 freestyle, 100 backstroke, and 200 backstroke.

Earlier this week, the BU teams traveled to Lewisburg, Pa., for the February 19 to 22 meet at Bucknell University’s Kinney Natatorium.

Terrier head coach James Sica says he feels very good about both the women’s and the men’s teams’ seasons heading into the league competition. Now in his second year as head coach, Sica says this season has been all about improving. 

“We have challenged our teams in a lot of new and different ways, and they have embraced it,” he says. “We have an amazing coaching staff who buy into doing self-reflection and continuing to learn and grow as coaches, and it has been a lot of fun working with them to strategize how we can continue to move our program forward and build off our successes from last season.”

Men’s swimming and diving

This season, the men’s team has taken a leap, with a 7-2 record in dual meets—the most wins since the 2018-19 season. 

“Our men’s team has been very self-directed with their goals for this season,” Sica says. “That kind of attitude is contagious, and combined with some strong leadership and high standards from our upperclassmen, it has created a motivating environment for our entire team.”

The BU team placed fifth at the Patriot League meet last season out of the 10 teams in the conference. Duffy isn’t shy about saying team members have their sights set on moving up to fourth, which would be their best finish in the meet in six seasons.

The Terriers raced against Bucknell—the team that’s usually in fourth place—earlier this season in a dual meet October 19. BU won the meet by a slim 157.5 to 140.5 margin.

“We’ve been gunning for it,” Duffy says. “We’ve been really consistent and solid throughout, lots of contributions from upperclassmen and underclassmen evenly and everyone really stepping up to the plate and working hard as a team.”

He notes that the team is swimming “as fast as we ever have” under Sica, crediting the coach’s prioritization of quality training and quality experience over quantity. But, he says, this week’s meet is about more than competing. 

“At the end of the day, while [meet] times come and go and you’ll forget records, what stays are the memories that you make with the guys in the room and the people on the team,” Duffy says. “Every year, this meet is just a super opportunity for everyone to have fun and perform at their highest level.”

“My philosophy is to create a positive competitive environment for our student-athletes that develops the whole person, not just the swimmer or the diver,” Sica says. “At the end of the day, swimming and diving is a game, just like any other sport. A big part of our job is to remind them that there can be, and should be, fun in chasing big goals.”

Women’s swimming and diving 

The BU women’s swimming and diving team enters this year’s championship on the heels of a third-place finish at last season’s Patriot League Championship—the team’s best finish in eight years. Sica says that the goal is always to strive to improve.

“We’ve all worked superhard,” says women’s cocaptain Sasha Ramey (CAS’25), who competes in the 800 free relay, 200 individual medley, 100 butterfly, and 800 freestyle. “I’m going to focus more on being with my teammates and being a leader, rather than my personal performance. Then I honestly think that my times and performance will come easily with that.”

The team lost 11 seniors last season and gained 8 freshmen, nearly a third of the team. Sica says he’s enjoyed seeing the freshman class develop throughout the season and discover their strengths.

“The transition to college is always a big one, but having a team there to support you speeds up that transition and helps you get your feet under you a little quicker,” the coach says. “It’s been fun watching the first-years see the positive impact they can bring, both in practice and competition, as the season’s progressed, and get more confidence from that.”

For seniors like cocaptain Sophia Souza (Sargent’25), this week’s championship brings mixed emotions. “I definitely am feeling a lot of pressure,” Souza acknowledges. “It’s bittersweet going into it knowing that I’m going to be done soon, and so I just want to go out and have fun.” 

The Patriot League Men’s and Women’s Swimming and Diving Championships began Wednesday, February 19, and conclude Saturday, February 22, at Bucknell University’s Kinney Natatorium in Lewisburg, Pa. Live coverage of the tournament will be streamed via ESPN+. BU fans can find more information on goterriers.com and follow along on Twitter at @TerrierSwimDive and @BUGameDay.