Senior distance freestyle specialist Sydney Bergstrom’s final season with the Quakers has been nothing short of impressive.
Bergstrom started her senior season on the back of her first appearance at the NCAA Championships at the end of her junior season, where she finished 36th in the 1,650-yard freestyle and 57th in the 500-yard freestyle. She started her senior season with the same spirit, contributing valuable points for Penn at every meet. Over the course of the season, she racked up the most points for the Red and Blue.
At the 2026 Ivy League championships, Bergstrom triumphed and claimed her first Ivy League title in the mile with a personal-best time of 16:02.63, the third-fastest in Penn's record books. Bergstrom also nabbed a bronze in the 500. Those points were crucial to Penn’s second place at the championships — the highest finish in program history. The Swarthmore, Pa., native also helped continue a long-standing tradition of dominance in the women’s 1,650 at the Ivies, as Penn has had either two swimmers on the podium or swept the event for the past four iterations.
With the championship title, Bergstrom automatically qualified for her second career NCAA Championships berth. On the national stage, she greatly improved from 36th last year to a 12th-place finish in the mile with a time of 16:04.9, earning All-American honors — an accomplishment achieved by only three other swimmers in program history, including fellow senior captain Anna Moehn. Bergstrom closed her senior season with her first career selection to the All-Ivy First Team.
Honorable mentions: senior freestyle specialist Anna Moehn (women’s swimming and diving); senior throws specialist Angeludi Asaah (women’s track and field)
Check out the rest of the end-of-year awards for the 2025-26 season here.
