It's championship season for the Hillsdale College women's swimming and diving team, as the Chargers head to Canton, Ohio to compete in the 2026 G-MAC/MEC Championships from Tuesday through Friday.

Over four days of action, Hillsdale will look to bring home titles as the Chargers chase three-time defending meet champion Findlay and aim for their first team crown since 2021-22. The Chargers have finished runner-up at the meet three straight seasons, and have never finished lower than second in the G-MAC/MEC Championships as a team in eight seasons since joining the conference in 2017.

With just one senior on the roster, the Chargers are a young squad, but with no shortage of talent. Hillsdale returns a G-MAC champion in sophomore Ella Schafer, who won the 200 freestyle crown in 2025, as well as two former conference award winners in 2024 G-MAC/MEC Freshman of the Meet Isabel Ondracek and 2025 G-MAC Freshman of the Year Matilyn Wilhelmsen.

Schafer has already achieved a B-cut time in her signature event this season and will look to defend her crown in the 200 freestyle while also trying to earn a qualifying berth for her first NCAA DII national championship meet appearance in March.

Schafer isn't the only Hillsdale College athlete set to contend for conference titles and national meet berths, as an impressive freshman class has already made its mark this season for the Chargers. Avery May has gotten off to a great start to her Hillsdale career with a B-cut time in the 500 freestyle, and will be among the top contenders in the meet this week in distance races, while Sasha Babenko has set program records in the 100 and 200 backstroke and has earned top finishes in meets throughout the season so far. Fellow freshmen Rylee Harris and Kate Potwardowski also enter the meet with strong seed times and could score big points for the Chargers, while veterans like junior Lauren Kamp in the breaststroke and sophomore Ella Malone in the butterfly also are in strong positions to make their mark.

Hillsdale should be competitive in all four relays as well, having swam some of the fastest times in program history this season. The Chargers set a program record in the 400 freestyle relay and the 200 medley relay this season, and are the top seed in the 800 freestyle relay entering the meet.

In the team competition, Hillsdale is an underdog to the Oilers, who are ranked in the top 25 nationally and will be difficult to overcome. The Chargers will be favored to finish second, however, and have the pieces to push the Oilers in the pool and potentially surprise if Findlay has a bad meet.

You can find more information about the championship meet, including links to watch and follow along with live results, here.