Fresh off a conference championship last season, University of the Pacific’s men’s swimming and diving program enters preseason practices determined to make bigger waves this year.

“What we were able to achieve together as a team has set a different tone and mindset for the start of this year,” said Katelyne Herrington, head coach and the league’s reigning Coach of the Year winner. “This year’s belief and capability of what we can do seems so much more possible. They are hungry and have a drive and sense of unity because we feel that we are capable of much more.”

Last season, the Tigers secured their fourth men’s conference title in program history, the first since the 2004-05 season, capturing the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation title by 41 points over second-place University of the Incarnate Word.

The Tigers have the largest roster in Herrington’s seven years of leadership, including 11 freshmen.

“This is by far our biggest freshman class,” Herrington said. “There’s still a lot of learning with this group, but we have a bunch of ‘training beasts’ on this year’s team that are going to make their mark right away. We’ve got some grinders this year, so seeing their hard work from practices pay off will be so rewarding.” 

The newcomers will benefit from the strong leadership of several veteran teammates, like Mattia Giurgevich ’26, a business finance major, who is looking to take on a bigger role as one of the returning standout swimmers.

“We are very excited to get back into the pool, especially because we have a good mix of returners and new faces ready to go,” Giurgevich said. “I think our competition level has increased with the new teams in our conference joining this year. Our practices right now are really focused on our goals, and we’re pumped up to swim even faster.”

Last season, Giurgevich captured gold and a silver at the National Invitational Championship in Ocala, Florida. The native of Limbiate, Italy recorded a personal best with a time of 24.39 in the 50 breast for the gold and followed that with a second-place nod in the 100 breast, clocking a time of 53.45 in that event. Giurgevich is hungrier for more, knowing that school records are within reach.

“I want to go all in and try to win conference again and break some records in the process,” Giurgevich said. “There’s a good energy in the early going here and everyone has set their goals in order to be as successful as possible this year.”

The Tigers open their 2025-26 schedule against Fresno Pacific at the Douglass M. Eberhardt Aquatics Center on September 27. One week later, the Tigers will host the PAC Invite, marking the event’s return for the first time since 2019. See the complete schedule.

“We’re really excited to be hosting the PAC Invite this year,” Herrington said. “We’ve got some great competition coming out. Teams want to come here and swim in our facility. We have the right environment, the right energy and the right place to make the magic happen.”