Swimming & Diving Announces Team Awards

Director of Swim & Dive Dan Lloyd awards 17 letterwinners

5/20/2026 9:00:00 AM

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. - The Illinois Wesleyan University men's and women's swimming & diving team announced its annual team awards, while director of swim & dive Dan Lloyd awarded 17 letterwinners following his first season at the helm.

Senior Natalie Porter (Danville, Ill.-Danville) and freshman Abby Schnittker (Lombard, Ill.-Willowbrook) shared top honors on the women's side, as they were named Co-Most Valuable Performers. Sophomore Tate Thomas (Joliet, Ill.-Joliet West) earned the MVP honor on the men's team. Freshman Libby Hamer (Macomb, Ill.-Macomb) and senior Jay Jenkins (Aurora, Ill.-West Aurora) reeled in the Most Improved award. Jenkins and fellow senior Julianna Boyle (Carol Stream, Ill.-Glenbard North) earned the inaugural Fight to the Finish award. Also a new award, handed out to a student-athlete boasting the best GPA on their team, Thomas brought home the Academic Excellence award for the men's team. The women's team had a three-way tie with the trio of Schnittker, freshman Ellen Hoover (Naperville, Ill.-Naperville Central), and sophomore Caroline Stenger (Westlake, Ohio-Westlake) all recording a perfect 4.0 GPA. Schnittker also hauled in the team's first Commitment to Titan Excellence award.

Porter finished a decorated career for the Green and White as a four-time College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin medalist and a five-time All-CCIW honoree. This season, she won her third straight title in the 1650-yard freestyle behind a career-best time of 17:31.53, the fourth-best time in program history. Throughout the season, she also posted career-best times in the 50-yard freestyle (26.81), 200-yard freestyle (1:57.33), 500-yard freestyle (5:06.03), 50-yard breaststroke (35.01), 100-yard breaststroke (1:14.01), and the 100-yard backstroke (1:05.32). This year saw Porter take home six wins this season in the 500 Free, five in the 200 Free, two in the 1650 Free, one in the 200 Breast, one in the 200-yard individual medley, one in the 50 Breast, three as part of the 400-yard freestyle relay, one as part of the 200-yard freestyle relay, and one as part of the 300-yard backstroke relay.

Schnittker earned Co-MVP honors after a stellar freshman campaign for the Titans. In her CCIW Championship debut, the Lombard, Ill. native earned two All-CCIW honors, as she finished second in both the 100 Free and 100-yard butterfly. Her time of 53.64 in the 100 Free ranks tied for ninth all-time, while her 59.90 in the 100 Fly is the 10th-fastest ever recorded by a Titan. Throughout the year, Schnittker notched four wins this season in the 100 Free, three in the 100 Fly, one in the 50 Free, one in the 200 Free, three as part of the 200-yard medley relay, three as part of the 400 free relay, one as part of the 300-yard butterfly relay, and one as part of the 200 free relay.

Thomas rounds out the top honors, as he collected the MVP award after a breakthrough sophomore season. With a career-best time of 16:19.87, Thomas picked up the first All-CCIW honor in his career with a runner-up performance. His time ranks him fourth in program history, while he also sits inside the top-10 in the 200 Free (fourth, 1:42.98) and in the 500 Free (seventh, 4:44.05). Thomas took home four wins this season in the 200 Free, three in the 500 Free, two in the 100 Free, three as part of the 200 medley relay, and one as part of the 400 medley relay. Along with his top-10 times in the 200 Free, 500 Free, and 1650 Free, Thomas recorded career-best times in the 50 Free (23.34), 100 Free (48.34), 1000 Free (10:30.27), 100 Fly (58.65), and 50 Back (26.98) throughout the course of the season.

Of Lloyd's 17 letterwinners, 13 are set to return for the 2026-27 season.

First Year
Abby Schnittker
Ellen Hoover
Libby Hamer

Second Year
Ben Huk
Tate Thomas
Jacob Nacional
Jay Jenkins
Caroline Stenger
Isabella Cano
Emilee Spicer
Julia Jozwiak
Sarah Worsley

Third Year
Sam Borre
Claire Paule

Fourth Year
Kayleigh Kuschewski
Julianna Boyle
Natalie Porter

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