GNAC Women's Swimming & Diving Athlete of the Week Report #5
Swimmer Of The Week
Carli Quinlan, Simmons (Sr.)
Senior Carli Quinlan finished first in the 200 yard freestyle at a 2:00.79 time at Smith College and had a second-place finish in the 100 yard butterfly, touching the wall at 1:01.21.
Diver Of The Week
Reilly Laitala, Norwich (Sr.)
Senior Reilly Laitala remained dominant on the boards in Norwich's 143-76 victory over Maine Maritime on Saturday, winning the six-dive optional round with a season-best score of 229.25. The senior's performance marked her sixth consecutive sweep of the 1-meter competition this fall and extended her unbeaten streak in diving through the first month of the season. Laitala outpaced the field by more than 70 points.
Rookie Of The Week
Sophia Caruso, Regis (Fr.)
Freshman Sophia Caruso led the way with a top finish in the 200 freestyle, clocking in at 2:05.03. Caruso later claimed first in the 500 freestyle, setting a team season-best time of 5:59.22.
WEEKLY HONOR ROLL
Delaney Allen, Norwich - Powered Norwich to a dominant dual meet victory over Maine Maritime, tallying two individual wins and swimming the third leg of the Cadets' opening relay win. The freshman opened the day by helping her team take the 400-yard medley relay (4:39.81) before sweeping the 200-yard freestyle (2:07.31) and 100-yard freestyle (58.28). Her three-win performance highlighted another balanced effort for Norwich, helping the Cadets close out a perfect 3-0 homestand.
Anna Gosselin, Norwich - Turned in a pair of decisive distance victories in Norwich's 143-76 win over Maine Maritime on Saturday. The junior cruised to first place in both the 1000-yard freestyle (12:22.99) and 500-yard freestyle (5:57.90), winning each by commanding margins to help the Cadets complete a perfect three-meet homestand. Gosselin also swam the second leg of the second-place 400-yard freestyle relay (4:08.57) to round out another consistent all-around performance.
Sophia Caruso, Regis - In the Pride's victory over Plymouth State on Halloween night Caruso paced the Pride with three first-place finishes, highlighted by multiple top-10 program marks. She won the 200 freestyle in 2:02.60, moving her to fifth all-time in program history, then took the 50 freestyle in 25.09, tying her for sixth all-time. Caruso closed her individual events with another win in the 100 freestyle, clocking 55.09 to move into fifth all-time.
Ellie Soucy, Saint Joseph's (Maine) - Won the 100-Back (1:10.00), 200-Back (2:38.21) and 200-IM (2:48.51) events and swam a leg for the Monks' winning 400-Free Relay (4:30.97) team in the team's 2025-26 home-opener versus Regis College on Friday night.
Kira Geiger, University of Saint Joseph (Conn.) - Won the 1-meter diving event against Roger Williams and Bridgeport, recording a score of 154.05 points.
ABOUT THE GREAT NORTHEAST ATHLETIC CONFERENCE
The Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) is an NCAA Division III association made up of 14 member institutions and over 4000 student-athletes across the New England region. Founded in 1995, the GNAC annually sponsors and administers 20 championships, while balancing academic integrity, athletic opportunity and community involvement in an effort to enhance the student-athlete experience.
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