University of Richmond Women's Swimming & Diving

Atlantic 10 Champions: 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2021, 2026 Atlantic 10 Coach of the Year: 2006, 2007, 2008, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2021, 2025, 2026 The University of Richmond women’s swimming and diving program has sustained excellence in both the pool and the classroom under the leadership of head coach Matt Barany. Since 2020, the program has maintained a team GPA of 3.65 or higher, earning University of Richmond Scholar Team of the Year honors in 2023, 2024 and 2025. Nationally, Richmond has been recognized as a College Swimming and Diving Coaches Association of America Scholar All-America Team for 12 consecutive years. Individually, 11 Spiders have earned Academic All-America honors. In 2012, Mali Kobelja became the first Spider — and the first swimmer in Atlantic 10 history — to be named Atlantic 10 Scholar-Athlete of the Year. In the pool, the Spiders have captured 13 Atlantic 10 Swimming and Diving championships under Barany’s direction, including the program’s 17th conference title in 2026. Following that championship season, Barany earned his 11th Atlantic 10 Coach of the Year award (2025-26). Richmond’s success extends beyond the conference level. Barany has coached six NCAA qualifiers — Melissa Nwakalor, Hannah Gouger, Jessica Witt, Lauren Beaudreau, Katie Sieben and Lauren Hines — and two All-Americans (Witt in 2006 and 2007; Hines in 2012). Spider swimmers have qualified for Olympic Team Trials, with seven Olympic T

Freya Rayner joined the Richmond women’s swimming and diving program in June of 2024 as an assistant swim coach. Rayner enters her career with the Spiders after spending a year at Dartmouth as an assistant coach for both the men's and women's programs. “We’re excited to welcome Freya to Richmond. Our women will benefit from her experiences as an athlete and a coach. I think she’s going to enjoy being part of our nerdy, motivated, fun-loving program. I am most impressed with her vision of marketing our program to the brightest students and the fastest swimmers. I look forward to having her energy and expertise for the up-coming season. We’ve been waiting for this hire!”, said head coach Matt Barany. Rayner previously spent the 2021-22 and 2022-23 seasons at Akron as an assistant coach and graduate assistant for the women's swimming and diving program, where she helped lead the Zips to back-to-back MAC titles. Akron athletes collected a long list of accolades during Rayner's two years on the staff, including two All-America honors, eight program records, three conference records, 12 individual conference champions and 10 conference relay champions. The Zips earned the MAC Swimmer of the Year twice, along with consecutive MAC Coach of the Year honors for head coach Brian Peresie, during Rayner's time at her alma mater. A 2021 graduate of Ohio State, Rayner was a nine-time CSCAA All-American, including four All-America honors in the 200 free relay, during her decorated four years