CARMEL, Ind. – The Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference has released the 2025 Women's Swimming and Diving Preseason Poll. The Fightin' Engineers finished second in the poll, where they recorded 29 points with one first-place vote.
 
Rose-Hulman is coming off a third-place finish at the HCAC Championships, and they return four All-Conference honorees in juniors Catherine Bath and Elizabeth Nolte, and sophomores Ritu Bharamaraddi and Avery Witt.
 
Reigning HCAC Champions, Franklin placed first overall in the Preseason Poll, where they secured 36 points and all six first-place votes they were eligible for. Reigning HCAC Runners-Up Transylvania rounded out the top three with a total of 28 points.
 
Head Coach Keith Crawford returns for his 18th season at the Helm, and he is coming off four consecutive top-three finishes. Catherine Bath will look to add to her decorated resume at Rose-Hulman, and she is coming off two Individual HCAC Championships. Bath won the 500 Freestyle with a time of 5:10.09 and added a first-place finish in the 1650 Freestyle with a time of 17:59.20. She currently holds three school records in the 500 Freestyle (5:07.29), 1000 Freestyle (10:44.05), and 1650 Freestyle (17:47.56).
 
Bath, alongside Ritu Bharamaraddi, Avery Witt, and recent graduate Cate Stauffer, added three first-place finishes in relay events at the 2024 HCAC Championships. The team set a school record in the 800 Freestyle Relay as they achieved a time of 7:55.42. They added the second-best time in school history of 4:03.15 in the 400 Medley Relay, and the third-best time in school history in the 200 Medley Relay, with a time of 1:50.88.
 
Rose-Hulman has competed in four meets this season, and they are coming off back-to-back third-place finishes at the Indiana DIII Championships and Illinois Wesleyan Fall Invitational.
 
The Fightin' Engineers will play in back-to-back home meets on Friday, November 7 against Anderson and Friday, November 21, against Wittenberg at 6 PM on both days. They will also host Manchester in their home finale on Friday, January 16 at a time that is yet to be determined.
 
HCAC PRESEASON POLL RESULTS:
1) Franklin – 36 (6)
2) Rose-Hulman – 29 (1)
3) Transylvania – 28
4) Anderson – 21
5) Hanover – 14
6) Bluffton – 10
7) Manchester – 9