NEWSLETTER // NOVEMBER 4, 2025

TEAM UPDATES

AGUA EARNS 2026 CLUB EXCELLENCE!

Congratulations AGUA swimmers, coaches, and families for earning 2026 USA Swimming Club Excellence status. Earning this achievement is a full-team effort and a reflection on our entire program. This year, we more than doubled our points from last year and moved up 65 spots on the overall rankings!

Shoutout to our Club Excellence point scorers:

Jonathan Packles - 100 and 200 backstroke
Kayla Bolster - 100 and 200 freestyle
David Gutin - 100 and 200 backstroke; 200 IM
Milly Birch - 200 backstroke; 400 freestyle
Penny Wheaton - 800 freestyle
Elonu Rodrigues - 200 backstroke
Veronica McCall - 100 and 200 breaststroke
Spyros Argeros - 200 breaststroke
Aiden Rhee - 200 breaststroke

Our efforts earned us the title of Bronze Medal Club for the next calendar year. USA Swimming's Club Excellence program recognizes the top 200 teams in the nation, giving extra recognition to the highest-performing clubs in developing athletes ages 18 and younger.

Look out for our new bronze medal banner in the AquaCenter soon!

UPCOMING SWIM MEETS

LIE FALL CLASSIC

Final entries: Changes will no longer be made.

Who // AG1, AG2, AG3, Senior Prep and Senior I
When // Friday, November 7 through Sunday, November 9, 2025
Where // Hofstra University
Swimmer Uniform //
- Friday - Black AGUA Shirt
- Saturday - Dark Gray AGUA Shirt
- Sunday - Light Gray AGUA Shirt
- All Days - AGUA Team Cap; All outerwear must adhere to the Apparel Policy; All Tech suits must adhere to the Swimwear Policy
Tentative Swimmer Call Times //
- Friday Session 1 - 3:30pm
  - 200 Free, 400 IM, 200 IM
- Friday Session 2 - TBA
  - 500 Free
- Saturday and Sunday Morning Session - 7:30am
  - 11- to 14-year-olds
- Saturday and Sunday Afternoon Session - 1:30pm
  - 10 & Unders and 15 & Overs

JW THANKSGIVING CLASSIC

Final entries

Who // Senior II and National
When // Saturday, November 15 and Sunday, November 16, 2025
Where // Gloucester County Institute of Technology
Friday Schedule //
- 6pm - Girls Swim Out
- 6:30pm - Boys Swim Out
- 7:30pm - Departure

CPAC WINTER INVITATIONAL

Preliminary entries are now available; Please submit any changes or corrections to Coach Diana by Friday, November 14.

Who // Senior I and Senior II
When // Friday, December 5 through Sunday, December 7, 2025
Where // Chelsea Piers, Stamford, CT
Hotel Info // Courtyard Marriott Stamford Downtown
- Start Date: Friday, December 5, 2025
- End Date: Sunday, December 7, 2025
- Reservation Deadline: Thursday, November 20, 2025
- Room Rate: $209/night before tax
- Book your group rate for CPAC December Prelim Final

NYS HOLIDAY CLASSIC

Preliminary entries are now available; Please submit any changes or corrections to your lead group coach by Friday, November 14.

Who // AG1, AG2, AG3 and Senior Prep Swimmers not racing at the Katie Ledecky Invitational
When // Friday, December 5 through Sunday, December 7, 2025
Where // Lehman College
Hotel Info // Residence Inn by Marriott New York The Bronx at Metro Center Atrium
- Start Date: Friday, December 5, 2025
- End Date: Sunday, December 7, 2025
- Reservation Deadline: Tuesday, November 11, 2025
- Room Rate: $299/night before tax
- Book your group rate for Asphalt Green

KATIE LEDECKY INVITATIONAL

Who // Invited Athletes
When // Thursday, December 11 through Sunday, December 14, 2025
Where // University of Maryland
Apparel Pre-Order //
- Available Here
- Deadline: November 10
- KLI apparel is for commemorative purposes only; All apparel on deck must adhere to the AGUA Apparel Policy.
Hotel Info // Holiday Inn Express Suites
- Start Date: Thursday, December 11, 2025
- End Date: Sunday, December 14, 2025
- Reservation Deadline: Tuesday, November 11, 2025
- Room Rate: $149/night before tax
- Book your group rate for Asphalt Green

Click here to view the full 2025-2026 short course meet calendar.

UPCOMING BIRTHDAYS

November 5

Grayson Macnamara

November 8

Chengmei Xin

November 9

Oscar Bernard

November 10

George Laconte

Christian Oh

Will Rankin

ANNOUNCEMENTS

NUTRITION UPDATES & EVENTS

Don't miss out on valuable upcoming educational opportunities with our nutrition partner, Beine Wellness:

15 & Over Swimmers and Families- Thursday, November 6, 8pm
- - Register Here

Additionally, be sure to check out these fueling and immunity tips as we enter the winter season!

YOU'RE INVITED: OPTIMIZING THE ATHLETE'S EDGE

Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) and Asphalt Green invite you to a panel discussion on Optimizing the Athlete's Edge: The Balance Between Rest, Recovery, and Play to Prevent Burnout! We are excited to have you join us for this informative event.

Who // This event is 21+
When // Tuesday, November 18 at 6:30pm
Where // Asphalt Green AquaCenter, Third Floor

In this exclusive event, speakers from CHOP and Asphalt Green will explore the critical role that recovery and sleep play in athletes’ mental well-being in competitive sports and different stages of life. Our featured speakers include:

Christopher Cielo, DO

Medical Director of the Division of Pulmonary and Sleep Medicine at CHOP

Nicole Lee

Certified Nutrition Coach, Master Trainer, and Director of Fitness at Asphalt Green

David Rodriguez

AGUA Head Coach and Senior Director of Aquatics at Asphalt Green

Moderated by: Kelly Ann Livingstone

Asphalt Green employee, former professional soccer player with Gotham FC, Seattle Reign FC, and Fortuna Hjorring

RSVP HERE

REMINDERS

LOCKER ROOM REMINDERS

As we kick off 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 BPC & UES. 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 to be taken inside the locker rooms, both on campus and during travel meets.
Swimmers should lock their belongings in a locker during practice.
Only swimmers who are members of Asphalt Green 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.

COACH COMMUNICATIONS

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

Jeff Chen // UES AG1 + 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

Andy Ross // Admin + Private Lessons

FOLLOW US ON INSTA

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

PRACTICE

SCHEDULE UPDATES

The Winter Practice Schedules have begun (BPC & UES)

Friday, November 7, 2025

UES AG2 Green and Gold // 5pm-6pm swim (UES campus)
- Green dryland canceled
AG3 Green and Gold // 5:30pm-6:30pm swim (UES campus)
- Gold dryland canceled
Senior Prep Green and Gold // 6:30pm-7:30pm swim (UES campus)
- Gold dryland canceled
Senior II // 6pm-8pm swim (UES campus)
- Dryland 4:45pm-5:45pm
Canceled // Senior I; UES AG1 Dryland Practice (Swimming as regularly scheduled)