KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - The Liberty Flames turned up the heat over the final two nights of competition to hold off James Madison for the 2023 CCSA Women's Swimming and Diving crown inside the Allan Jones Aquatic Center in Knoxville, Tenn., on Saturday. The Flames earned 1,441.5 points ahead of the Dukes' 1,339.0 points. JMU finished as Championship Runner-Ups in the program's first appearance in the competition. Fellow Newcomer, Queens finished third (1,119.0). FGCU (931.0) and UNC Asheville (791.0) rounded out the top five in the team race.
Queens' Sophie Lange broke the lone meet record on the women's side with a time of 16:20.40 in the 1,650-Yard Freestyle to get Saturday night started. Other event winners on the fourth day of competition came from the Championships Most Outstanding Women's Swimmer Danielle Melilli who claimed the 100-Yard Freestyle for the Royals. Liberty's Abbie Shaw earned her second consecutive 200-Yard Backstroke victory while teammate Eva Suggs was runner-up for the second year behind Shaw.
Most Outstanding Freshman of the Event, Queens' Annika Huber claimed gold in the 200-Yard Breaststroke and Most Outstanding Diver of the Championship, Madison Yager earned the 1-Meter Dive title and helped the Dukes sweep the Championship Diving events. The Royals' 400-Yard Freestyle Relay team put an exclamation mark on the week's competition by stretching out for a time of 3:19.33 ahead of top two team finishers Liberty (3:19.37) and James Madison (3:19.94).
Flames' head coach Jake Shellenberger was named Championship Coach of the Year and JMU's KR Li earned Diving Coach of the Year honors.
Final Team Scores
| Place | Team | Points |
| 1 | Liberty | 1,441.5 |
| 2 | James Madison | 1,339.0 |
| 3 | Queens | 1,119.0 |
| 4 | FGCU | 931.0 |
| 5 | UNC Asheville | 791.0 |
| 6 | Campbell | 546.0 |
| 7 | Georgia Southern | 526.0 |
| 8 | Old Dominion | 475.0 |
| 9 | Gardner-Webb | 332.0 |
| 10 | North Florida | 293.5 |
| 11 | Bellarmine | 192.0 |
CCSA Women's Championship Meet Records Broken
Sophie Lang, Queens - 1,650-Yard Freestyle (16:20.40)
CCSA Championship Event Winners
1,650-Yard Freestyle
2023 Champion: Sophie Lang, Queens (16:20.40)
Next Two Finishers: Isabelle Gomez, Liberty (16:44.17) | Katherine Bailey, Queens (16:48.33)
Event Note: Sophie Lange became the first student-athlete to break a championship record finishing just two-tenths faster than the previous record set in 2015
100-Yard Freestyle
2023 Champion: Danielle Melilli, Queens (49.13)
Next Two Finishers: Monica Gumina, Queens (49.53) | Jamie Cornwell, Liberty (49.96)
Event Note: Melilli captured her second individual title of the championship and seventh for the Royals touching the wall just ahead of teammate Monica Gumina by 0.40 seconds
200-Yard Backstroke
2023 Champion: Abbie Shaw, Liberty (1:55.44)
Next Two Finishers: Eva Suggs, Liberty (1:56.40) | Madison Cottrell, James Madison (1:57.49)
Event Note: Shaw and Suggs finished 1-2 for the second consecutive season and captured the program's sixth straight event title
200-Yard Breaststroke
2023 Champion: Annika Huber, Queens (2:11.19)
Next Two Finishers: Genna Joyce, Liberty (2:12.66) | Heather Gardner, Liberty (2:12.94)
Event Note: Huber earned the eighth gold of the championship for the Royals' program leading all three podium finishers to NCAA 'B' cut times
1-Meter Diving
2023 Champion: Madison Yager, James Madison (313.00)
Next Two Finishers: Reese Wakefield, FGCU (305.30) | Maddie Freece, Liberty (295.25)
Event Note: Yager posted the fifth-highest score in meet history to earn her first gold medal of the week as the Dukes swept the Diving events
400-Yard Freestyle Relay
2023 Champion: Queens (3:19.33)
Next Two Finishers: (Liberty (3:19.37) | James Madison (3:19.94)
Event Note: Queens clocked the eighth-fastest time in conference championship meet history to close out the event with an exciting finish between this year's top three teams
800-Yard Freestyle Relay
2023 Champion: Liberty (7:12:00)
Next Two Finishers: Queens (7:17.00) | James Madison (7:22.30)
Event Note: Liberty reigned supreme in the event for the sixth-straight season capturing a gold-medal time of 7:12.00
100-Yard Backstroke
2023 Champion: Abbie Shaw, Liberty (53.22)
Next Two Finishers: Madison Cottrell, James Madison (54.19) | Sydney Stricklin, Liberty (54.30)
Event Note: Shaw claimed her second consecutive gold and extended the Flames' streak to seven-straight event titles
100-Yard Breaststroke
2023 Champion: Danielle Melilli, Queens (1:00.40)
Next Two Finishers: Annika Huber, Queens (1:00.54) | Heather Gardner, Liberty (1:01.03)
Event Note: All three podium finishers raced to NCAA 'B' cut qualifying times
200-Yard Butterfly
2023 Champion: Cam Kuriger, FGCU (1:59.16)
Next Two Finishers: Chloe Harris, Liberty (2:00.07) | Angela Ritchie, James Madison (2:00.39)
Event Note: Kuriger beat out defending champion Chloe Harris and broke Liberty's six-straight event wins to earn the first gold medal for FGCU at the CCSA Championship
200-Yard Freestyle Relay
2023 Champion: Queens (1:29.37)
Next Two Finishers: James Madison (1:30.72) | Liberty (1:30.97)
Event Note: The Royals opened the night with a gold medal trip around the pool, becoming the first team in the event not named Liberty or FGCU to stand on top of the podium since Davidson in 2011
3-Meter Diving
2023 Champion: Alexa Holloway, James Madison (322.86)
Next Two Finishers: Reese Wakefield, FGCU (320.00) | Lindsey Hammar, James Madison (305.50)
Event Note: Holloway edged out two-time defending champion Wakefield to earn the first CCSA gold medal in JMU history after she amassed a total of 322.86 points in eight dives
100-Yard Butterfly
2023 Champion: Madison Cottrell, James Madison (53.29)
Next Two Finishers: Cam Kuriger, FGCU (53.63) | Abbie Shaw, Liberty (53.83)
Event Note: Cottrell and Kuriger raced to NCAA 'B' standard finishes as Cottrell became the first individual CCSA Swim Champion for the Dukes and broke a program record in the process
400-Yard Individual Medley
2023 Champion: Jess Pryne, James Madison (4:15.69)
Next Two Finishers: Grace Isaacs, Liberty (4:17.96) | Genna Joyce, Liberty (4:21.20)
Event Note: Pryne claimed the Dukes' third-straight CCSA gold, finishing 2.28 seconds faster than defending champion Isaacs and hitting the NCAA 'B' cut threshold
200-Yard Freestyle
2023 Champion: Monica Gumina, Queens (1:47.15)
Next Two Finishers: Emma Suggs, Liberty (1:47.56) | Shelby Kahn, Liberty (1:47.61)
Event Note: Gumina held off Suggs for the Royals' third gold medal while denying the second-place Flame for her fourth-straight event title
400-Yard Medley Relay
2023 Champion: Queens (3:36.64)
Next Two Finishers: Liberty (3:36.85) | UNC Asheville (3:41.01)
Event Note: Queens hit the wall just ahead of Liberty (0.19 seconds) to earn the program's third Relay title of the Championships
200-Yard Medley Relay
2023 Champion: Liberty (1:38.99)
Next Two Finishers: Queens (1:39.30) | FGCU (1:39.74)
Event Note: The Flames snapped FGCU's two-year reign in the event and won the event for the fourth time in program history
500-Yard Freestyle
2023 Champion: Sophie Lange, Queens (4:47.68)
Next Two Finishers: Shelby Kahn, Liberty (4:50.45) | Katherine Bailey, Queens (4:51.09)
Event Note: Sophie Lange etched her name into the Queens' program record book as the first DI individual medalist, besting the rest of the field by almost three seconds
200-Yard Individual Medley
2023 Champion: Chloe Harris, Liberty (1:59.65)
Next Two Finishers: Tara Enneking, Old Dominion (2:00.28) | Jess Pryne, James Madison (2:01.11)
Event Note: Harris captured Liberty's fourth event crown in six seasons clocking a time of 1:59.65, just .09 seconds away from the NCAA 'B' cut
50-Yard Freestyle
2023 Champion: Delaney Carlton, UNC Asheville (22.07)
Next Two Finishers: Danielle Melilli, Queens (22.09) | Jamie Cornwell, James Madison (22.65)
Event Note: Carlton improved on her 2023 Championship runner-up finish to stand atop the podium with a time of 22.07 to lead a pack of four swimmers in reaching NCAA 'B' cut times
The Coastal Collegiate Sports Association (CCSA) is a progressive NCAA Division I conference dedicated to the enhancement of opportunities for students. The conference was founded in 2008 to provide a championship opportunity for Swimming and Diving student-athletes and extended that opportunity with the addition of Beach Volleyball in the summer of 2015. The league's footprint extends into several states: Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri, North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas and Virginia. The CCSA is dedicated to the student-athletes who compete in its championships and their success in the classroom, in the field of competition, and life after graduation.