Ithaca College Women's Swimming

Paula Miller completed her 36th year as head coach of the Bombers' women's swimming & diving program in the 2019-20 season. Miller has guided the Bombers to 12 top-10 finishes at the NCAA Division III Championship, 29 NYSWCAA/UNYSCSA titles and 30 conference championships (17 Empire 8). She is a two-time NCAA Division III Coach of the Year, winning that award in 1987 and 1999. In 2018, diver Nickie Griesemer won the program's first individual national championships in diving, taking the crown in both the one- and three-meter dives. Griesemer totaled 467.60 on the one-meter springboard and 516.30 on the three-meter board. In 1988-89, Amy Robinson claimed the program's first national title in the 100-yard backstroke, and in 1998-99, Renee Helbok secured the 500 freestyle championship. Miller, a 13-time NYSWCAA and UNYSCSA Coach of the Year, has guided the Bombers to two fourth-place finishes at the NCAA meet (1987 and 1989). She came to Ithaca in 1984 as head coach for the men's and women's teams. Miller won 29 of 34 dual meets while coaching the men's team before she began to concentrate solely on the women's program.  Over her 36 years at the helm, Miller has overseen 11 undefeated dual seasons, including a string of four straight years (2010-14 – 48 meets) without a loss. Miller coached 78 student-athletes to 496 All-America honors and nine members from her teams are in the Ithaca College Athletic Hall of Fame. Under the guidance of Miller, 18 student-athletes achieved more than 10 All-America honors, including five who eclipsed more than 20. Maria Ampula notched an impressive total of 28 All-America nods from 1991-94, while Renee Helbok (1996-99), Dawn Schmalzriedt (1991-94) and Nancy Stapp (1985-89) all amassed 25 All-American selections. Julie Smith (1992-95) reached the podium 21 times during her career. A 1973 graduate of Bridgewater State, Miller was inducted into her alma mater's athletic hall of fame in 1990. She earned her master's degree and was an assistant coach at Indiana State University. Miller's previous head coaching experience includes stints at Arkansas-Fayetteville and California-Sacramento. 3/20/20

Christopher Griffin completed his 11th season as the head diving coach and aquatics coordinator at Ithaca College following the 2025-26 season. A three-time NCAA Division III Women’s Diving Coach of the Year (2018, 2024 and 2025), Chris guided Nickie Griesemer (17’ Undergrad, ’19 DPT) to a pair of national championships, winning both the 1-meter and 3-meter dive in 2018. Nickie Griesmer was Ithaca's first-ever diving national champion and the fourth female in swimming & diving program histroy. During that 2017-18 season, Griffin qualified four additional divers to the NCAA Championships (Anna Belson, Katie Helly, Linsey Suddaby, and Alyssa Wishart), marking the first time in the NCAA DIII Championship history that a program had sent five divers of a single sex. During the 2021-22 season, Griffin guided Ava Lowell (’21 Undergrad, ’23 DPT) to a National Title on the 3-meter. The team additionally sent 6 divers to the NCAA Region 4 Championship meet, and once again matched the 2018 team, qualifying 5 women (Rachel Lange, Ava Lowell, Abby Marraccino, Karalyn Pawcio, and Eliana Wallock) to the NCAA DIII Championships. The 2022-23 season saw the Bombers qualify four divers for the NCAA Division III Championships (Karalyn Pawcio, Abby Marraccino, Leah Levin and Rachel Lange). During the first day of competition at NCAA's, Ithaca saw a pair of divers crowned First Team All-Americans as Karalyn Pawcio finished second and Rachel Lange was eighth in 3-meter diving. Those performances were followed up by Leah Levin finishing third overall on the 1-meter diving boards as she was just over four points behind the winner Sydney Blestein (431.40), as the sophomore scored a 427.65. Finishing in fifth-place and also earning First Team All-America honors was Karalyn Pawcio. Most recently, Griffin coached Kailee Payne to national titles on both the 1-meter and 3-meter boards during the 2023–24 season. She went on to repeat as national champion in the 2024–25 season. Payne became the program’s sixth-ever individual national champion, winning the 3-meter event with a finals score of 509.50 and capturing the 1-meter title with a score of 515.15. Overall, the Bombers sent three divers—Kailee Payne, Abby Marraccino, and Angela Burke—to the national championships, with Marraccino earning a pair of Honorable Mention All-American honors. At the 2025 NCAA Division III National Championships, Griffin was named CSCAA Women’s Diving Coach of the Year for the second consecutive season. He guided Payne to another 1-meter title with a finals score of 486.30. Payne capped off her collegiate career with a sensational 11-dive preliminary round on the 3-meter board, breaking the NCAA record with a score of 530.95. She continued her dominance in the finals, securing her fourth career national title with a score of 522.80. The Bombers qualified four divers for nationals—Payne, Angela Burke, Ethan Godfrey and Jenell Slesser—with Burke earning All-American honors for her 11th-place finish in the 3-meter consolation final as well as Ethan Godfrey who finished in 14th-place in the 1-meter consolation final. Ithaca College Coaching Highlights        3 National Champion (7 Performances) 1 National Record (Women's 3-meter) 16 divers earned NCAA All-America honors a total of 50 titles 15 NCAA Qualifiers (25 Total Performances) 28 NCAA Region 4 Qualifiers (71 Performances) 8 Liberty League Champions (18 Performances) 26 Liberty League Finalists (119 Performances) 8 Liberty League Diver of the Meet award winners 3 Liberty League Diver of the Year award winners (Award began in 2023) 1 UNYSCA Diver of the Meet award winner 3 Time NCAA Women’s Diving Coach of the Year 2018, 2024 and 2025 2 Time UNYSCA Diving Coach of the year *The award ended in 2017 Women (2) - 2016, 2017   Griffin began coaching in 2005, and has been the Head Diving Coach at Mexico, Vestal, Maine Endwell, Evolution Diving Club, and the Ithaca Diving Clinic. Under his tutelage, these teams have produced: 31 - NYS HS Championship Qualifiers 13 - NYS HS Championship Finalists 1 - NYS HS Champion Griffin earned his bachelor’s degree in physical education from Cortland in 2005, was a two-time SUNYAC finalist in both 1- and 3-meter diving as a Red Dragon. As a senior he served as a team captain and was the recipient of Cortland’s prestigious George Breen Award.  7/29/2026