INDIANA, Pa. -- The IUP women's swimming team earned two PSAC postseason major awards after producing strong showings at both the 2025 PSAC Championships along with at the NCAA DII Championships.

Gem Crittenden was named the PSAC Women's Swimming Freshman of the Year and Sophomore Kasha Stokes was named the Athlete of the Year. For back-to-back years, IUP has claimed the PSAC women's swimming freshman of the year title, with Stokes receiving the honors last season.

Crittenden was awarded with most outstanding swimmer after she posted two individual titles and two more first place finishes that came a part of relays. She also noted two fifth and one sixth place finish throughout the week. Crittenden made her NCAA debut in the 400 IM trials and placed 28th with a time of 4:31.39. She competed in her second event, the 200 fly, narrowly missing a finals spot with a 17th-place finish in 2:03.52.

Stokes earned four first place finishes at the PSAC Championships which included two first place finishes in relays, as well as in the 100 and 200 backstroke. At nationals, she placed 10th in the 100 back trials with a time of 54.70 to advance to the finals. In the finals, Stokes placed 14th and swam a 54.90 time. On the final day of the championships, Stokes broke both the IUP school record and the conference's all time record in the 200 back, breaking her record with a time of 1:58.70 by nearly six seconds! She placed 10th in both the 200 back trials and finals, earning her All-American Honorable Mention. In the finals she matched her record-breaking time from earlier in the day. 

Follow 
For coverage of the IUP men's and women's swimming programs, follow the Crimson Hawks on X (Twitter) and Instagram @IUPswimming and online at IUPAthletics.com.