For brother and sister swim duo, Aiden and Molly Kennedy, competition is not just something that happens in the pool: it is part of who they are.
Both are members of the university’s swim team and have turned a shared childhood hobby into a collegiate commitment blending rivalry, teamwork and family pride.
Molly, a junior majoring in health science, first took up swimming at her mother’s encouragement.
“Our mom swam in middle and high school,” she says. “We tried different sports growing up, but nothing stuck. One day I told her I wanted to swim. And signed up with Aiden [and younger sister, Sarah Kennedy].”
For Aiden, a sophomore majoring in physics secondary education, swimming offered both physical and personal benefits.
“I have asthma, so swimming was a great way to strengthen my lungs,” he says. “I’ve stuck with it ever since.”
Both Aiden and Molly Kennedy attended Woodland Regional High School in Beacon Falls, where they also swam for their middle school and high school teams.
The jump from high school to college competition was a major adjustment for the siblings. Molly remembers the shock of her new training schedule.
Before college, she swam about 12
hours a week; now, she is in the water for up to 20.
“It’s a big jump,” she says. “It was overwhelming at first, but I’ve come to love the challenge.”
Aiden says the shift was eye-opening, with tougher practices, longer travel and faster competition.
“In high school, I was kind of a big fish in a small pond,” he says. “In college, everyone’s fast, so it really pushes you.”
SCSU head coach Tim Quill says he has seen many sibling pairs come through the program, including the Kennedys. Even though they are family, he treats them as individuals.
“Each athlete has their own goals and strengths,” Quill says. “But when you see them swim side by side, you definitely notice the similarities.”
Molly says her brother is constantly analyzing swim stats and tracking progress.
“He’s always sending me screenshots of times and yardage,” she says. “I’ll be relaxing, and he’s talking about someone’s split from another meet.”
The rivalry between them is good-natured. They say they push each other, even if they do not always take each other’s advice.
“I’ve tried to give him feedback,” Molly says. “He never listens until another coach tells him the same thing.”
Aiden says that for Molly, the reverse is true. “If I critique her stroke, she ignores me, too. That’s just how siblings work,” he says.
Still, their mutual support shows through in subtle ways. Molly remembers when Aiden recorded one of her races during her freshman year, and yelled from the deck so loudly, she could hear him underwater.
“It was hilarious, but also really special,” she says. “He also hugs me after races sometimes, and that’s rare for us.”
Aiden says seeing her cheer for him during his long-distance events keeps him going.
“Not many people get excited about [long-distance] races,” he says. “But she’s always there.”
The Kennedys’ friendly rivalry shows whenever racing. Molly says Aiden usually wins the longer events, but she’s confident she could beat him in a sprint. Aiden disagrees, saying he would never let her win.
As a freshman in 2023, Aiden quickly established himself as one of the team’s most reliable distance freestyle swimmers, earning top 10 finishes across his grueling events at the Northeast-10 Championships. He placed fifth in the 1650 freestyle, eighth in the 1000, and ninth in the 200.
At the 2024 NE10 Championships, he once again cracked the top tier, finishing fifth in the 1650 and sixth in both the 1000 and 500 freestyle.
While Aiden thrives in distance, Molly serves her team as a sprint freestyle swimmer. Molly made
an immediate splash in her freshman season in 2024, storming onto the scene as the Northeast-10 Co-Swimming & Diving Rookie of the Year.
In her debut, she dominated the short-distance freestyle events, collecting seven gold medals and helping power her team to multiple relay victories at the NE10 Conference Championships. Outside of swimming, the Kennedys’ relationship is a mix of friendship and sibling banter.
“We were in the same friend group in high school,” Molly says. “Sometimes it feels like we’re just friends, until we butt heads, and then it’s definitely a sibling thing.”
Aiden jokes that his sister mainly visits him to see his cat, named Juno.
Coach Quill believes the family dynamic adds something special to the team atmosphere.
“We train as one program, both men and women together,” he says. “We divide practices by stroke specialty, not gender or family. But when siblings are in the mix, there’s a natural energy that spreads to the rest of the team.”
He describes the demanding schedule: split afternoon practices based on stroke type, morning weight sessions and up to 20 hours of training each week.
“The coaches are here far more than that,” he says. “But that’s what it takes. We’re all working toward one goal: to compete at our best and defend our conference title.”
The university’s swimming and diving teams continued their dominance in the Northeast-10 Conference, sweeping the 2025 championships for the 14th time since 2003.
The women’s team captured its fifth straight NE10 title, marking another year of commanding performances and depth across all events. On the men’s side, the Owls claimed their fourth consecutive and 17th overall championship, extending the program’s legacy as one of the most successful in conference history.
Under Quill’s guidance, both teams’ consistency and teamwork once again set the standard for excellence within the conference.
Having multiple family members on a team is not new for the program, and Quill says it is always a welcome situation.
“It’s great when families believe in what we do,” he says. “If an older sibling comes here and has a good experience, it’s rewarding to see the younger one want to follow. It shows trust in the program.”
