A Year Ago  

2024 Record: 3-5 Dual Meet Record 

Result: Claimed 2nd in the PSAC Championship Meet (seven All-PSAC performances) 

All-PSAC Races: 800 Freestyle Relay, 200 Freestyle Relay, 400 Medley Relay, 100 Butterfly (Kuba Loboda (Lublin, Poland)), 200 Butterfly (Will Retsch (Allison Park, Pa./Hampton)), 200 Medley Relay, 200 Breaststoke (Aidar Sataev (Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan/Forest Hill)) 

This Season  

Student-Athletes Departing: 8 

Incoming Freshmen: 3  

Key Returning Student-Athletes: Malachi Boyle (Knoxville, Tenn./Home Life Academy) (SR, breaststroke/IM), Aidar Sataev (Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan/Forest Hill) (GR, breaststroke), Will Retsch (Allison Park, Pa./Hampton) (SR, IM/fly), Bengimin & Nickolas Ambrosiani (Seward, Alaska/Seward) (SO, spring free/backstroke), Emmanuel Cisneros (Chicago, Ill./Whitney Young Magnet) (SO, distance free), Kuba Loboda (Lublin, Poland) (JR, sprint free/fly) 

Key Dates  

Season Opener: Friday, October 17th vs. Clarion – 5:00 pm (Erie, Pa. / Carneval Athletic Pavilion Pool) 

Home Opener: Friday, October 17th vs. Clarion – 5:00 pm (Erie, Pa. / Carneval Athletic Pavilion Pool) 

PSAC Championships: 2/18-2/21 - York, PA / Graham Aquatic Center 

What To Expect  

In his first season as Gannon head coach, Milan Medo guided the Golden Knights to a tie for their best program finish at PSAC Championships, earning second. There were seven All-PSAC performances that week as well. And, with GU returning a bevy of the top racers from a season ago, Gannon will look to chase a conference title, along with an opportunity to compete at NCAA National Championships 

1: The Cupboard Is Stacked – Of the seven All-PSAC relays/individuals from a year ago, at least two members from each relay team and everyone with an individual conference accolade comes back in 2025-26. Aidar Sataev (Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan/Forest Hill) is amongst the top returners; the now grad student owns the school record in the 100-yard breaststroke and will be the focal point of the team this year. Other returners, including Will Retsch (Allison Park, Pa./Hampton) (SR, IM/fly) and Kuba Loboda (Lublin, Poland) (JR, sprint free/fly) also were all conference performers from 2024-25. Also a key notable return is Malachi Boyle (Knoxville, Tenn./Home Life Academy), who is back in the pool after an injury derailed his 2024-25 campaign. He currently owns three program records (500 Free, 4:29.10, 1,000 Free, 9:23.58, 200 Breast, 1:59.47).

Medo: "We have an incredible group of returners from a year ago. The experience they got at PSAC Championships is importannt to starting off the season well. I believe this team can accomplish great things."

2: New Faces – There will be three incoming freshmen to help bolster the Gannon lineup this season. GU will add Kaidan Helmeczi () (dist. free/fly), Marcos Rodriguez (), and Tyler Turgeon () to the program this year. 

Medo: "We want to maximize all the talent that all of our student-athletes have at their disposal. I believe we recruited several high quality freshmen that will help to contribute to our team this season."

3: The Season Begins With A Bang – Perhaps a rivalry is budding in the PSAC, and it isn't because of the (somewhat) close proximity between the programs: Gannon and Clarion had an intense battle for second at PSAC Championships a year ago, and they'll face off in a dual meet on Friday, 10/17 at the Carneval Athletic Pavilion Pool to start the season. Ultimately, the Golden Knights held off the Golden Eagles in points during the final race, edging them 561.5-559.5 to claim second place in the tournament. Gannon did fall to Clarion on the road last regular season in the opener for GU. 

Medo: "I am excited to get the season rolling at home. We have such great competition coming into our building on opening night. We have a tremendous amount of respects for Clarion's program and think this will be a great test for us to begin the year."

4: Busy Fall – October 17th is just the start of what will be a fast-paced month and a half before Thanksgiving. Gannon will have four meets prior to the winter break, including PSAC tilts against Clarion and IUP in back-to-back weeks. GU will then travel to Case Western Reserve on November 8th, before taking part in the three-day Malone Invitational on Nov. 20-22nd. 

5: School Record in the Cards? – An interesting stat that will fascinate Golden Knight fans: at least one school record has been broken in four of the last six men's swimming seasons, with 2021-22 being the only one in which this did not take place. Sataev (100 breaststroke, 55.36), Malachi Boyle (Knoxville, Tenn./Home Life Academy) (500 Free, 4:29.10, 1,000 Free, 9:23.58, 200 Breast, 1:59.47) and Retsch (200 IM, 1:50.08), are the two current student-athletes that own individual marks.  

Full 2025-26 Schedule 

10/17 - vs Clarion (Carneval Athletic Pavilion Pool) - 5:00 pm 

10/25 - @ IUP (Indiana, PA) - 1:00 pm 

11/8 - @ Case Western Reserve (Cleveland, OH) – 1:00 pm 

11/20-22 - @ Malone Invitational (Canton, OH) - All Day 

1/17 - vs Oberlin & Malone (Carneval Athletic Pavilion Pool) - 1:00 pm 

1/23 - @ Edinboro (Edinboro, PA) - 6:00 pm 

1/31 - @ Penn State Behrend (Erie, PA) - 1:00 pm 

2/18-2/21 - PSAC Championships (York, PA / Graham Aquatic Center) - All Day 

3/10-3/14 - NCAA DII National Championships (Evansville, IN) - All Day