Rams Rise to the Occasion to Capture Third Place at Conference Championships

The Rams’ Swim Team took third-place honors at the 2026 Swimming Coast Conference Championships, staying the course on what has been a solid slate of meets for City College.

This season’s third-place finish marked the ninth time the swim program has placed in the top three at conference championships over its 15-season history (excluding the canceled 2020 season and COVID-shortened 2021 season).

The team shared many highlights throughout the weekend. However, none may have been as monumental as Maria Hyrc’s freestyle time. 

With a time of 19:51.76, Hyrc broke the school record in the 1650 freestyle, previously held by Cathryn Gibson (20:22.70) in 2011. Hyrc attributed her success to the support of her teammates and the coaching staff.

“Preparation-wise, we have a great coaching team, a lot of resources here, so like all the coaches. Mike Lee was a volunteer coach who was helping me a lot with the distance-freestyle stuff, and then obviously Coach Phong and Coach Mike Tyler, and then our weights coach, Jeannette, all work really hard to give us good training,” Hyrc said.

“What was going through my head throughout the race was just trying to push myself, like I didn’t want to finish the race and feel like I could’ve gone harder once it was over. My teammates were cheering for me really hard the entire time, which is a lot for a 20-minute race, so that was really beautiful to see.” 

Sophomore Samantha Ng placed third in all three of her individual events: the 100 backstroke, 100 fly and 200 backstroke. She also commended the coaching staff for their commitment to the team.

“They’re always here, no matter if there’s one person in the pool, two people at practice.” Ng said, “No matter how many people [are there], they’re still here to support us. [They] come in during spring break, on their day off.”

“Preparation-wise, we have a great coaching team, a lot of resources here, so like all the coaches. Mike Lee was a volunteer coach who was helping me a lot with the distance-freestyle stuff, and then obviously Coach Phong and Coach Mike Tyler, and then our weights coach, Jeannette, all work really hard to give us good training,” Hyrc said.

“What was going through my head throughout the race was just trying to push myself, like I didn’t want to finish the race and feel like I could’ve gone harder once it was over. My teammates were cheering for me really hard the entire time, which is a lot for a 20-minute race, so that was really beautiful to see.” 

Sophomore Samantha Ng placed third in all three of her individual events: the 100 backstroke, 100 fly and 200 backstroke. She also commended the coaching staff for their commitment to the team.

“They’re always here, no matter if there’s one person in the pool, two people at practice.” Ng said, “No matter how many people [are there], they’re still here to support us. [They] come in during spring break, on their day off.” 

“I’m super happy with the way my career is ending with swimming and how our team performed this year. All of our performances were so good; everybody dropped time at the end of the season… It’s very hard in swimming because [every millisecond] is a lot,” Ng added.

Reflecting on the season, assistant coach Michael Tyler said, “Our team rose to the occasion. We experienced consistent improvement throughout the season, and our final events at the Coast Conference Championship really reflected the work and effort our team has been putting in these last several months.”

“I’m very proud of everything our team has accomplished, and I believe our team represented our school very well, and we’re always looking to grow as a team and as individuals,” Tyler said. 

The Rams’ third-place finish capped off another successful season, and one in which the group of many fresh faces surpassed expectations. Fans can expect the Rams to be back in competition at next spring’s annual San Francisco Invitational, training hard in the meantime.  

Swimmers interested in joining the water polo or swim team next season can contact Head Coach Phong Pham at ppham@ccsf.edu.