NEWSLETTER // JANUARY 21, 2026

TEAM UPDATES

GREAT WORK AT SCARLET TYR INVITE!

Congratulations to our athletes who raced at the Scarlet Aquatics TYR Invitational at Rutgers University in Piscataway, NJ! Our swimmers raced in long course meters to kick off 2026, setting personal best times, new qualification standards and more.

AGUA brought home thirteen event wins with efforts from Aitana Almandoz (100 Free), Atticus Fogarty (100 Fly & 400 Free), Chloe Fu (50 Breast & 100 Free), Veronica McCall (100 & 200 Breast), Sabrina Shafer (400 Free, 200 IM & 400 IM), Rose South (100 & 200 Breast) and Lena Watts (200 Free).

We also saw the 13-14 Girls 100-Meter Butterfly AGUA Team Record fall courtesy of Chloe Yang. Chloe broke the record in prelims with a 1:03.94 and then lowered it again in finals with a 1:03.48. This is Chloe's first AGUA Team Record and breaks the previous mark set in 2025.

The AGUA coaches also thank Max Paltridge and Sabrina Shafer for standing out as R.A.D. teammates over the weekend. These AGUA team members exemplified our team values of respect, accountability and discipline.

Congratulations to our top-eight finishers:

Aitana Almandoz - 100 and 200 Breaststroke; 50, 100, 200 and 400 Freestyle
Alex Argeros - 100 Butterfly; 100 and 200 Backstroke; 200 IM
Spyros Argeros - 100 and 200 Breaststroke
Milly Birch - 200 Butterfly; 200 Backstroke; 400, 800 and 1500 Freestyle
Naila Broening-Chai - 200 Breaststroke
Eddy Chen - 100 and 200 Breaststroke
Atticus Fogarty - 100 Butterfly; 400 Freestyle
Chloe Fu - 50, 100 and 200 Breaststroke; 50, 100, 200 and 400 Freestyle
Eva Johnson - 100 Backstroke
Mayrah Johnson - 100 Butterfly; 200 IM
Jake Kim - 50 and 100 Butterfly; 200 Backstroke; 200 IM
Olivia Kim - 50 Backstroke; 50 Breaststroke
Veronica McCall - 100 and 200 Breaststroke; 200 IM
Rohan Mehra - 200 IM
Skyler Miskin - 200 Butterfly; 200 Freestyle
Tsubasa Ogata - 50 and 100 Breaststroke; 200 Freestyle
Max Paltridge - 100 Backstroke; 400 Freestyle; 200 IM
Elonu Rodrigues - 100 and 200 Backstroke
Mikel Ruiz-Massieu - 50 Backstroke; 50, 200 and 400 Freestyle
Sabrina Shafer - 100 and 200 Backstroke; 200 and 400 Freestyle; 200 and 400 IM
Brady Shiferman - 100 and 200 Freestyle
Rose South - 200 Backstroke; 100 and 200 Breaststroke; 200 and 400 IM
Alegra Teixidor-Salerno - 100 and 200 Breaststroke
Lena Watts - 50, 100, 200 and 400 Freestyle; 200 IM
Chloe Yang - 100 and 200 Butterfly
Allison Zhu - 100 Backstroke

UPCOMING SWIM MEETS

LIE LAST CHANCE MEET

Final Entries

Who // AG1, AG2, AG3, Senior Prep and Senior I
When // Friday, January 30 through Sunday, February 1, 2026
Where // Hofstra University
Tentative Swimmer Call Times //
- Friday Distance Session 1 - 3:30pm
- Friday Distance Session 2 - TBA
- Saturday and Sunday 11- to 14-year-olds - 7:30am
- Saturday and Sunday 10 & under and Open - 1:30pm

2026 TYR SENIOR METROPOLITAN CHAMPIONSHIPS

Preliminary Entries; Correction deadline: Friday, January 30

Who // All Qualifiers
When // Thursday, February 12 through Sunday, February 15, 2026
Where // Nassau County Aquatic Center
Job Sign-Up // Now Available
- All unfilled slots will be assigned by the AGUA coaching staff to complete our team requirement

METRO 8 & UNDER CHAMPIONSHIPS

Register Here; Deadline: Friday, January 23

Who // All swimmers ages 8 and younger
When // Saturday, March 7 and Sunday, March 8, 2026
Where // Felix Festa Middle School

AGUA LAST CHANCE MEET

Register Here; Deadline: Friday, February 6

Who // All swimmers ages 9 and older
When // Saturday, March 7 and Sunday, March 8, 2026
Where // Asphalt Green, Upper East Side

JUNIOR METROPOLITAN CHAMPIONSHIPS

Register Here; Deadline: Friday, January 30

Who // All qualifiers
When // Friday, March 13 through Sunday, March 15, 2026
Where // Nassau County Aquatic Center

AGE GROUP TEAM CHALLENGE

Register Here; Deadline: Friday, January 30

Who // All qualifiers (minimum and maximum time standards)
When // Friday, March 13 through Sunday, March 15, 2026
Where // Nassau County Aquatic Center

EASTERN ZONE SENIOR SECTIONALS

Who // All Qualifiers
When // Thursday, March 26 through Sunday, March 29, 2026
Where // Ithaca, NY
Hotel Blocks //
- Hotel Ithaca
  - Start Date: Thursday, March 26, 2026
  - End Date: Sunday, March 29, 2026
  - Reservation Deadline: Monday February 23, 2026
  - Room Rate: $159/night before tax
- Courtyard by Marriott Ithaca Airport/University
  - Start Date: Thursday, March 26, 2026
  - End Date: Sunday, March 29, 2026
  - Reservation Deadline: Saturday, January 31, 2026
  - Room Rate: $209/night before tax

EASTERN ZONE AGE GROUP CHAMPIONSHIPS

Who // All qualifiers
When // Wednesday April 1, through Saturday, April 4, 2026
Where // Buffalo, NY

UPCOMING BIRTHDAYS

January 22

Hadley Paraoan

January 23

Alex Argeros

January 24

Preston Zarnegar

January 27

Emily Chan

Jackson Luding

ANNOUNCEMENTS

MARK YOUR CALENDARS!

Add our upcoming winter and spring 2026 events to your calendar:

Thursday, February 19: Digital Dive In #3
- Long Course Season and Group Placements
- Register Here

Monday, April 13: Long course group placements begin (details available in the coming weeks)

GET INVOLVED: BECOME AN OFFICIAL

AGUA is still looking for more Admin Officials and stroke-and-turn judges! Becoming an official is a great way to get involved in your swimmer's life and sport. You will learn the rules of competitive swimming and how meets work.

Click here to learn more and reach out to Charles Asch and Ashley Chan with any questions.

REMINDERS

LOCKER ROOM REMINDERS

As we continue the 2025-2026 AGUA season, we want to remind our athletes of locker room policies and best practices:

Locker rooms are shared spaces at both Asphalt Green's Battery Park City and Upper East Side campuses. All AGUA swimmers should speak and behave in alignment with our team values of respect, accountability and discipline.
There are absolutely no photos or videos permitted inside locker rooms, both on campus and during travel meets.
Swimmers should lock their belongings in a locker during practice.
Only swimmers who are Asphalt Green members are permitted to use the member locker rooms at Asphalt Green. There are no exceptions.

REQUIRED ID CARDS

All swimmers must use their ID cards to access our facilities. Swimmers are not permitted to enter the facilities without their ID cards.

ACCESS AGUA'S SWIMOUTLET PORTAL

You can shop for team gear and the entire SwimOutlet catalog at our AGUA team store using the link below:

Click here for the link to the new AGUA Team Store.

You may use your normal SwimOutlet account login. No additional instructions or details are required.

AGUA TEAM TYR DISCOUNT CODE

Looking for additional TYR gear? Make sure you use our AGUA Team Discount Code: TYRSWIM6NV directly on the TYR website.

COACH COMMUNICATIONS

To streamline communication, please do not reply to this newsletter. Instead, please use the following email addresses for all questions:

Andy Ross // UES AG1 + Private Lesson Booking Assistance

Jeff Chen // UES AG1 + UES AG2

Evan Banciella // BPC AG1 + AG2

Hailey Hewitt // UES AG3

John Alaimo // Senior Prep

Youngho Kim // Senior I

Diana Ross // Senior II

David Rodriguez // National

FOLLOW US ON INSTA

Follow us @aguaswim for announcements, shoutouts, and more!

PRACTICE

SCHEDULE UPDATES

Friday, January 30, 2026

Canceled // Senior I; AG1 dryland; AG2 Green dryland; AG3 Gold dryland; Senior Prep Gold dryland

Saturday, January 31, 2026

Canceled // Senior I, AG3 Green and Gold; UES and BPC AG2 Green and Gold; UES and BPC AG1

Sunday, February 1, 2026

Canceled // Senior Prep Green and Gold

Thursday, February 5, 2026

Canceled // Senior II, Senior I, Senior Prep Gold, AG3 Gold

Friday, April 3 through Sunday, April 5, 2026

Canceled // All BPC & UES Practices

Thursday, April 9 through Sunday, April 12, 2026

Canceled // All BPC & UES Practices

SPORTS, FITNESS, AND PLAY FOR ALL

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