Swimcloud

Michigan Captures 16th Big Ten Women's Title

Michigan Press Release

The No. 6-ranked University of Michigan women's swimming and diving team won its 16th conference title on Saturday (Feb. 18) inside the Boilermaker Aquatic Center, giving the program back-to-back titles for the first time since 1997-98. The Wolverines finished the four-day meet with 1,287 points, pulling away from Indiana (1,125, Minnesota (1,101.5) and Wisconsin (1,086) on the final day to win the crown.
 
The Wolverines held just a 14.5-point lead coming into the day, but expanded on it thanks to scoring performances from 26 of the team's 28 student-athletes on the championship roster. Junior G Ryan became the first Michigan swimmer in nine years to win the 1,650-yard freestyle (15:44.93), while three student-athletes -- junior Clara Smiddy in the 200-yard backstroke (1:51.39, an NCAA A cut), sophomore Siobhán Haughey in the 100-yard freestyle (47.70) and freshman Vanessa Krause in the 200-yard butterfly (1:55.74, a new school record) -- picked up runner-up finishes. The 400-yard freestyle relay of sophomore Catie DeLoof, Haughey, sophomore Becca Postoll and junior Gabby DeLoof also finished runner-up with a school-record time (3:13.59).
 
Ryan picked up their second individual title of the weekend, setting new Michigan and Big Ten Championships records in the 1,650-yard freestyle. They took control around the 300-yard mark and didn't look back, beating Wisconsin's Cierra Runge by nearly seven seconds. The old school record-holder, sophomore Yirong Bi, finished in eighth (16:07.31). Two others scored points from earlier heats, including senior Celia Keany (14th, 16:23.80) and sophomore Katie Duggan (19th, 16:36.91).
 
For the second day in a row, all seven breaststrokers returned for finals, combining for 88 points. Junior Emily Kopas led the charge once again, finishing fifth (2:09.09). Several swimmers stepped up considerably, including freshman Annalisa Perez, who finished 22nd (2:14.30) after entering the morning as the only swimmer in the field without a seed time. Also of note was sophomore Jamie Yeung, who snuck into the evening's C final in 24th place only to drop nearly two-and-a-half seconds to win it from lane eight, officially finishing 17th (2:12.83).
 
All five divers scored on platform to provide some insurance in the form of 61 points, four of whom made the consolation final with NCAA Zone Diving scores. Sophomore Dani VanderZwaag led the way, improving 22 places over last year to finish 11th with a career-best and NCAA Zone Diving qualifying score of 264.45. Seniors Allie Murphy (12th, 261.25) and Keegan McCaffrey (13th, 261.00) and freshman Kristen Hayden (16th, 249.35) rounded out the consolation final. Freshman Lucy Roberts added five points with a 20th-place finish (218.10).
 
Gabby DeLoof joined Smiddy in the 200-yard backstroke, finishing fourth (1:52.86), while freshman Jacqui Schafer (13th, 1:55.78) and Postoll (15th, 1:57.14) swam in the consolation. Gabby's younger sister, Catie, swam with Haughey in the final of the 100-yard freestyle, taking sixth (48.89). A pair of seniors in their final Big Ten Championships also scored in that event -- Julia Fiks Salem in 14th (49.87) and Maddy Frost, who came in as the 39th seed, in 21st (50.20).
 
Also of note on Saturday was sophomore Astrid Swensen, who finished third behind Krause in 1:56.02, the second-fastest time in school history.
 
A select number of swimmers will attempt to improve on their NCAA qualifying times next Sunday (Feb. 26) at the OSU Last Chance Meet in Columbus, Ohio. The official psych sheet for the NCAA Championships will be released on Wednesday, March 1.

Indiana Press Release

The Indiana University women’s swimming and diving team finished the 2017 Big Ten Championships on a high note, winning four conference titles at the Boilermaker Aquatic Center in West Lafayette, Ind.
 
The Hoosiers had a terrific final night, winning four gold medals. Over the course of the meet, IU won a total of nine medals – eight gold and one silver.
 
Indiana finished in second place at the Big Ten Championships with a total score of 1125 points. Michigan won the team title with a score of 1287, while Wisconsin placed third with a total of 1101.
 
IU has placed first or second at the Big Ten Championships in each of the last nine years, winning the title three-straight times from 2009 to 2011. The Hoosiers have finished second the last six seasons.
 
Lilly King was named Swimmer of the Championships after winning three individual Big Ten titles, as well as a gold medal with the 400 medley relay and a silver medal with the 200 medley relay. King is the fifth Hoosier to be named Swimmer of the Championships and the first since Allysa Varva in 2012.
 
Joining King on the All-Big Ten First-Team were Gia Dalesandro, Kennedy Goss, Ali Rockett, Holly Spears and Jessica Parratto.
 
Dalesandro ended her Big Ten career with another crown in the 200 butterfly, as the senior won the event for the fourth-straight year with a school, Big Ten and Big Ten meet record time of 1:53.67. The senior’s time is also a NCAA A cut mark.
 
The Naperville, Ill. native becomes just the 15th woman in Big Ten history to win an individual event four times and is the first Hoosier to accomplish the feat. Prior to Dalesandro, no other women’s swimmer in Big Ten history has ever won a 200 fly title more than two straight years.
 
In addition, Dalesandro became just the fifth woman in conference history to win both the 100 and 200 fly titles during the same year.
 
Also for the Hoosiers in the Championship Final of the 200 fly, Bailey Pressey took eighth place with a NCAA B cut time of 1:58.54. Reagan Cook placed 16th overall with a NCAA B cut mark of 1:59.80, while Olivia Barker placed 21st with a NCAA B cut time of 1:59.36.
 
In the 200 breaststroke Championship Final, King came through with a clutch swim, defending her NCAA and Big Ten title from a year ago with a NCAA A cut time of 2:04.03.
 
King broke the Big Ten meet and Boilermaker Aquatic Center pool record with her swim, which also ranks second all-time in the history of the event – second only to King’s NCAA winning time of 2:03.59 from last season.
 
With her victory in the event, King has won five individual Big Ten titles in just two seasons.
 
After taking an Olympic redshirt year in 2016, Jessica Parratto came back and reclaimed her 2015 Big Ten platform dive crown on Saturday night, winning with a NCAA qualifying score of 378.60.
 
Parratto had an incredible list, scoring over 70.00 points on four of her five dives. Parratto seized control of the event in the third round, posting an impressive score of 81.00. Parratto’s total of 378.60 is the fourth-best in Indiana diving history.
 
For the week, Parratto made the Championship Finals in all three diving events, finishing fifth in both the 1-meter and 3-meter dives.
 
Kennedy Goss earned her third career Big Ten title on Saturday night, winning the 200 backstroke with a Big Ten meet record and NCAA A cut time of 1:50.95. Goss’ time is the sixth-best in the history of IU swimming. The Toronto, Ontario native also won the Big Ten crowns in the 200 freestyle and 500 freestyle in 2015.
 
In the B Final, Rachel Matsumura placed fourth to take 12th overall with a NCAA B cut time of 1:55.72. Shelly Drozda won the C Final to place 17th overall with a personal-best and NCAA B cut time of 1:56.59. Her time ranks her as the 16th-best performer in the event in IU history. Also in the C Final, Ali Rockett touched fifth to place 21st overall with a NCAA B cut of 1:57.52.
 
Freshman Cassie Jernberg led the Hoosiers in the 1,650 freestyle, placing seventh overall with a personal-best and NCAA B cut time of 16:04.33. With her great mark, Jernberg now ranks as the sixth-best miler in IU history.
 
Stephanie Marchuk placed 12th overall with a NCAA B cut time of 16:11.40, while Hannah Sakaluk took 38th with a time of 17:25.63.
 
Freshman Maria Paula Heitmann capped her great week at the Big Ten Championships by leading the Hoosiers in the 100 freestyle, placing 11th with a personal-best and NCAA B cut time of 49.70. With her mark, Heitmann ranks as the 14th-best swimmer at IU in the event.
 
Holly Spears finished 13th in the 100 free with a NCAA B cut of 49.81, while Shelby Koontz placed 24th with a time of 50.27.
 
In the final event of the conference championships, the IU 400 freestyle relay team of Goss, Dalesandro, Heitmann and Spears placed fifth overall with a time of 3:17.69.
 
Over the course of the Big Ten Championships, the Hoosiers posted some impressive accolades. The Hoosiers broke four school records, four Big Ten records, six Big Ten meet records, six Boilermaker Aquatic Center pool records, one NCAA record and one American record. IU also amassed nine NCAA A cut times and had 42 personal-best swims.

Iowa Press Release

The University of Iowa women's swimming and diving team closed out the 2017 Big Ten Championships with its fourth school record during Saturday's finals session at the Boilermaker Aquatics Center.
 
The 400-freestyle relay consisting of freshman Hannah Burvill, senior Emma Sougstad, freshman Allyssa Fluitt, and senior Serena Wanasek finished with a school-record time of 3:18.83 to finish ninth overall.  The previous record of 3:20.58 was set in 2015.
 
The Hawkeyes also got a pair of seventh-place individual finishes. Sougstad finished with a time of 2:11.09 to place seventh in the 200 breast.  It came following a record-breaking performance in Saturday's prelims when she swam a 2:10.62.
 
Senior Calli Head placed seventh on the platform with an NCAA Zone Diving qualifying mark of 292.20.  Freshman Thelma Strandberg also scored, placing 21st with 215.90 points.
 
Junior Shea Hoyt also scored in the 200 breast, finishing second in the "C" final and 18th overall with an NCAA "B" qualifying time of 2:13.80.
 
Wanasek was Iowa's Big Ten Sportsmanship recipient.  The distinction is presented to student-athletes who display sportsmanship and ethical behavior, are in good academic standing, and demonstrate good citizenship outside of athletics.
 
The Hawkeyes finished 11th in the team standings with 357 points.  Michigan claimed the team title with 1,287 points, while Indiana (1,125) and Wisconsin (1,101.5) were second and third, respectively.
 
Iowa's divers will be back in action March 6, competing at the NCAA Zone D Diving Championships in Columbia, Missouri.  The UI men's team will compete at the Big Ten Championships next week in Columbus, Ohio.

Minnesota Press Release

After Minnesota finished fourth at the 2017 Big Ten Women’s Swimming and Diving Championships, Golden Gophers were named recipients of two major conference awards. Yu Zhou earned her third consecutive Big Ten Diver of the Championships accolade, and Tevyn Waddell became Minnesota’s third Big Ten Freshman of the Year.

The Gophers added four medals on Saturday night to bring their meet total to 13. They scored 1086 total points in West Lafayette, Ind., to finish behind Michigan, Indiana and Wisconsin. The Wolverines compiled 1287 points for the win.

"If you told me we would swim and dive like that I would have thought we would challenge for the title," Minnesota head coach Kelly Kremer said. "The fact that we were in a tight battle and ended up in fourth speaks to the quality of this conference. Everyone really showed up this year. It was fun! I would like to give a huge thank you to our student-athletes, parents and fans. You gave everything you had and made this a very memorable and fun week."

Zoe Avestruz, Lindsey Horejsi and Danielle Nack joined Zhou and Waddell on the All-Big Ten First Team. Kierra Smith received a nod to the Second Team, and Breanne Siwicki was Minnesota’s Sportsmanship Award honoree.

In a showdown between the 2015 and 2016 NCAA champions, Smith broke her own Minnesota record and won silver in the 200-yard breaststroke in 2:04.37. She and Indiana’s Lilly King, both 2016 Olympians, beat the existing Big Ten record as King won in 2:04.03. Smith caught up to King going into the final 25 yards but was edged out at the end.

Lindsey Horejsi set a personal record in the same final, finishing fourth in 2:08.89. Rachel Munson notched a ninth-place finish in 2:11.46, with Kaela Marcus coming in 14th in 2:12.94.

"Kierra Smith and Lindsey Horejsi were awesome tonight," Kremer said. "Most coaches would love to coach one athlete like them in a career. I'm lucky."

Yu Zhou won her ninth career Big Ten medal in as many attempts when she took third in platform diving with a score of 362.25. Lexi Tenenbaum closed out her last Big Ten meet with a 338.60 for fifth place. Morgan Justus (224.10), Mariam Khamis (213.15) and Beth Etterman (212.25) also scored on the platform, finishing in 19th, 22nd and 23rd, respectively. Zhou won both springboard events earlier in the meet.

"Yu Zhou and the rest of our divers are unreal," Kremer said. "I'm proud we have a true swimming and diving team."

Avestruz earned her first individual Big Ten medal with a third-place finish in the 100 freestyle. She set a personal record with a 48.33 in prelims, and posted a 48.37 in the final.

The Gophers’ 400 freestyle relay claimed third place in an NCAA “B” qualifying time of 3:15.91. Danielle Nack, Avestruz, Chantal Nack and Tevyn Waddell swam the final event of the championship meet.

"This quartet of swimmers was awesome this week," Kremer said. "The next stop is NCAAs."

Danielle Nack placed fifth in the 200 butterfly in 1:57.02. It was her third individual “A” final of the meet.

Waddell, the 100 backstroke champion, finished sixth in the 200 back in a personal-record 1:54.40. Chantal Nack finished just behind her teammate in 1:55.15, also a PR. Waddell earned four relay medals in addition to Friday’s individual gold.

"Tevyn is just getting started," Kremer said. "She should be proud of how she carries herself. She has earned the success."

Penn State Press Release

A silver medalist Friday, Penn State sophomore Ally McHugh (Philadelphia, Pa.) was named to the All-Big Ten second team as the Nittany Lions concluded competition at the 2017 Big Ten Championships Saturday in the Boilermaker Aquatic Center on the campus of Purdue University.
 
Penn State finished eighth as a team with 453 points, edging Rutgers, which finished with 446. Michigan won its second-straight Big Ten title with 1,287 points.
 
“They’ve really emphasized a theme the past month or so about sticking together and they did a good job with that,” said Murphy. “I asked them to make their presence felt, both on the deck and, more importantly, in the water, and they did that.”
 
Senior Katelyn Sowinski (Severna Park, Md.) led Penn State on the final day, placing sixth in the 200 butterfly in 1:57.08 after swimming a season-best 1:56.78 in the prelims.
 
McHugh was not done scoring points for the Nittany Lions, as she continued her string of personal bests by leading the team in the 1,650 free, finishing it in 16:07.69 to place ninth and become the third-fastest performer all-time at Penn State in the event. Not far behind was Casey Francis (East Meadow, N.Y.) placing 10th in 16:10.35, while Amber Glenn (Ventnor, N.J.) also scored with a 23rd place finish (16:45.74).
 
The 200 breaststroke yielded a pair of scorers as well, as Annalee Johnson posted a person best and B-cut time of 2:13.67 to place 20th and Emily Harris (Downington, Pa.) placed 24th in 2:16.49.
 
Also scoring individually on the evening were Siena Salvaggio (Allentown, Pa.) in the 100 free (19th, 49.82) and Niki Price (Manchester, Pa.), in the 200 back (24th, 1:59.52).
 
The Lions battled back into eighth place with an eighth-place finish in the 400 free relay to close the meet. Katie Saloky (Bloomsburg, Pa.), Price, Tommie Dillione (Newtown, Pa.) and Salvaggio combined to finish in 3:18.35.
 
“It was a nice way to finish it off, getting on the podium for the relay,” said Murphy.
 
On Friday, McHugh set a new Penn State 400 IM record by touching in 4:06.27. The previous record was 4:06.85 set by Gabrielle Shishkoff in 2014. McHugh nearly eclipsed the record in the preliminaries, also ranking second at 4:06.91. Ohio State’s Lindsey Clary won gold in the event in an NCAA A-cut 4:04.09. Francis placed 14th in 4:15.44 the same event, while Megan Wujciak (Livingston, N.J.) was 20th in 4:17.84. Both times were B-cuts.
 
Also drawing recognition on the evening was senior Mackenzie Hornibrook (West Chester, Pa.), who was recognized as a Big Ten Sportsmanship winner prior to the start of the finals.
 
The Nittany Lions also had individual finalists in the 200 freestyle and 100 butterfly.
 
Five Lions reached the 200 free finals, led by Dillione and Salvaggio in the B final. Dillione swam identical personal-best and NCAA B-cut times of 1:46.93 in both the prelims and finals to place 14th. Salvaggio was 16th in 1:48.08 after setting a personal best and B-cut of 1:46.90 in the prelims.
 
Price and Saloky both reached the B final in the 100 fly. Price was 13th in a season-best 53.82, while Saloky was 14th in 53.98 after swimming a season best 53.43 in the preliminaries. Price and Saloky’s times were both NCAA B-cuts.
 
Saloky, Price, Hannah Zurmuhl (Perkasie, Pa.) and Salvaggio teamed up for a sixth-place finish in the 200 free relay in a season-best 1:31.01 to close out the evening.
 
Mackenzie Cornell (Germantown, Md.) placed 22nd in the 3-meter dive with a score of 269.00.
 
On Thursday, Penn State had four representatives advance to the finals of the 500 freestyle and Saloky reached the A final of the 50 free to lead the team. Saloky touched eighth in her first Big Ten A-finals appearance in 22.60 seconds. She became the third-fastest Penn State performer in the event all-time in the preliminaries with a personal-best of 22.39 that ranked her fourth entering the finals.
 
Francis and Salvaggio led a quartet of 500 free finalists in the ‘B’ final. Francis placed 12th in a season-best 4:42.59, and Salvaggio placed 14th in a personal-best 4:44.28. McHugh and Sowinski both reached the C-final. McHugh was the 24th and final preliminary qualifier, but she improved by more than five seconds in the finals to touch in 4:41.70, less than one second off of the Penn State record to now rank as the second fastest performer all-time in the event for the Lions. The time was good for second in the heat, which placed her 18th overall. Sowinski placed 24th (4:51.85).
 
The Big Ten Network will also televise Saturday's finals Sunday, Feb. 19 at 10:30 a.m. ET.
 
The Penn State women will next compete at the Ohio State Last Chance Meet next weekend, while the men will begin competition at their Big Ten Championship meet at Ohio State Wednesday.
 
“We had a little bit of everything at this meet,” said Murphy. “A lot to be proud of, some lessons learned – both in the good way and the hard way – and we’re a better team across the board from when the meet started, and that’s one of the things we wanted to get accomplished.
 
“So this one is in the books, we’ll find out who has qualified for NCAA’s, maybe pick up a few more at the last chance meet next weekend, and we’ll do it all over again Wednesday with the men.”

Wisconsin Press Release

A second relay championship propelled Wisconsin to its best Big Ten finish in more than a decade.
 
Buoyed by a win in the meet’s final event, the 400-yard freestyle relay, the 12th-ranked Badgers secured a third-place finish in a tight team race as the 2017 Big Ten Championships came to a close on Saturday at the Boilermaker Aquatic Center.
 
The foursome of Chase Kinney, Emmy Sehmann, Marissa Berg and Cierra Runge wrapped up the Badgers’ second crown of the championships by beating Michigan to the wall in a time of 3:13.33. The Wolverines finished in 3:13.59.
 
That runner-up showing helped the Wolverines secure the conference team title with 1,287 points. Indiana took second with a score of 1,125, while the Badgers tallied 1,101.5 points to claim third ahead of rival and fourth-place finisher Minnesota (1,086).
 
The finish marks Wisconsin’s best showing at the Big Ten meet since taking third place in 2005.
 
“That’s a long meet and there’s a lot of ups and downs,” UW head coach Whitney Hite said. “It wasn’t perfect, and it didn’t have to be, but they just really did a nice job and I couldn’t be more proud of this group of women.
 
“It’s just really impressive.”
 
Kinney got the Badgers out to a strong lead with an opening swim of 48.55 seconds, but Michigan managed to mount a charge and took a slight advantage at the race’s halfway point thanks to 200 free champion Siobhan Haughey’s fast split of 47.53. Berg put the Badgers back out front on the third leg before turning UW’s fate over to Runge on the anchor.
 
Runge – a four-time runner-up finisher in her first Big Ten meet, including Saturday’s 1,650-yard freestyle -- grabbed gold for the Badgers in a back-and-forth final 100 by closing with a fantastic anchor swim of 47.72.
 
“I just really wanted to get my hand on the wall first for these girls and for the team, and I knew that the points were going to be close going with Minnesota for third and fourth,” Runge said. “Just being able to get that win was incredible, and I couldn't be more proud of those girls.”
 
Kinney, Sehmann, Berg and Runge joined Jess Unicomb, who contributed to UW’s title in the 200 free relay, as first-team All-Big Ten honorees. Berg, Kinney and Sehmann were part of both winning relays.
 
Saturday’s performance in the 400 free relay also has the Badgers automatically qualified for next month’s NCAA championships. Wisconsin now owns “A” qualifying marks in all five relay events.
 
“It was the perfect way to end the meet,” Hite said. “Just scratching and clawing and doing everything we could to get our hand on the wall.”
 
Individually, Runge’s school-record swim of 15:51.72 in the 1,650 free was part of a major point-scoring finish that saw her take second place and senior teammate Danielle Valley grab third in a personal-best 15:53.16.
 
“It’s about as good as it gets,” Hite said. “Cierra not being fully rested, swam tough all the way through and I couldn’t ask for more out of any of them. It’s nice to see Danielle happy. She’s doing lifetime-best times that she has been chasing for four, five years. So it just shows the type of person she is.”
 
The 100 freestyle was also key to the Badgers’ point total with Kinney clocking in at 48.52 to take fourth, Sehmann claiming sixth in 48.89 and Berg taking eighth in 49.07. Abby Jagdfeld also scored out of the “B” final, taking 12th in 49.77. All four Badgers recorded personal-best swims during the morning prelims session.
 
Freshman Beata Nelson and senior Maria Carlson both claimed third-place finishes. Nelson took third in the 200 backstroke after recording a personal-best 1:52.31 in the prelims.
 
Carlson continued her late-season surge by logging a lifetime-best 2:08.15 to grab third in the 200 breaststroke.
 
“She was the spark that ignited the whole thing,” Hite said of Carlson. “Her swim on Thursday morning in the 200 IM, it’s just unbelievable. No one works harder and no one is more deserving.”
 
Dana Grindall (10th, 1:56.49), Megan Doty (12th, 1:58.13) and Grace Wold (14th, 1:58.97) were point-scorers in the 200 butterfly, and senior Ashley Peterson led the way in diving by taking 10th place on the 10-meter platform with a score of 265.40.

Northwestern Press Release

Four Wildcats broke school records and the Northwestern women's swimming and diving team finished seventh in the team standings with 534 points to wrap up the 2017 Big Ten Women's Swimming and Diving Championships Saturday night. 

The Wildcats have made strides in the first two years under head coach Abby Steketee, moving up from their eighth-place finish a year ago and 10th-place finish in the season before her arrival. 

Sophomore Olivia Rosendahl picked up her second silver medal of the Big Ten Championships with a school record 368.05 in the platform, missing the gold by just nine points. Rosendahl claimed a silver medal in the 1-meter competition on Thursday, earning her Second-Team All-Big Ten Honors.

Freshman Valerie Gruest Slowing got things going for the Wildcats in the final session, finishing fifth in the 1,650 free. Slowing came in seeded seventh, but moved up two spots to score 25 key points. The first-year Wildcats' 1,000 free split during the race broke her own school record set earlier this season.

Senior Annika Winsnes picked up the Wildcats' another top-five finish with when she finished fifth in the 100 free final in 48.82. Winsnes also led off the 400 free relay team featuring junior Mary Warren, freshman Malorie Han and senior Melissa Postoll that finished seventh to earn the 'Cats 46 team points.

Junior Mary Warren finished second in her bonus final to finish 18th in the 100 free, touching the wall with a NCAA 'B' cut time of 49.72.

Senior Melissa Postoll capped her impressive showing at the Big Ten Championships with a school record in the 200 back. Postoll broke her record in the prelims earlier in the day, but once again set a new standard in the consolation final with a 1:55.09 to finish 10th in the event. Senior Lacey Locke finished 22nd in the event in a NCAA 'B' cut time of 1:57.83.

After a 16th-place finish in the 200 breaststroke by Peyton Greenberg earned the Wildcats 11 team points, senior Ellen Stello capped the night with another school-record breaking performance. 

Stello finished 11th in the 200 fly, setting a new school record and marking a NCAA 'B' cut with a 1:57.82. Gruest Slowing also picked up points in the 200 fly with a time of 2:01.91 to finish 23rd.

Ohio State Press Release

 Liz Li won her second Big Ten title of the weekend when she finished first in the 100 freestyle, helping close out Ohio State’s trip to Big Ten Championships on a high note. The Buckeyes finished in fifth place, the seventh time since 2010 they have finished in the Top 5 at their conference meet.
 
Big Ten Champions
50 Freestyle- Liz Li (21.48, tied school record)
100 Freestyle- Liz Li (47.50, new school record)
400IM- Lindsey Clary (4:04.09)
 
First Team All-Big Ten
Lindsey Clary
Liz Li
 
Second Team All-Big Ten
Maria Coy
Macie McNichols
Cheyenne Meek
 
Sportsmanship Award
Elizabeth Auckley
 
Li’s win in the 100 freestyle was her third career individual Big Ten Championship. Coming into the event she was the second seed according to the psych sheets, and she ended up dropping 0.7 seconds off her seed time to win the event. Li is the first Ohio State swimmer to win the 100 free at Big Tens since Megan Detro in 2011.
 
The final day of the meet started off well for the Buckeyes, with both Clary and freshman Molly Kowal putting up Top 10 times in the 1,650 freestyle finals. Clary placed fourth with her time of 15:58.29 and Kowal finished sixth at 16:02.35.
 
Both of OSU’s divers had a good day on platform. Lara Tarvit advanced to A finals and put up a score of 298.30, good for sixth place. Haley Allen’s score of 255.05 in the B finals put her at 15th overall, making Saturday the most successful day for the Buckeye divers.
 
Four swimmers appeared inside the Top 20 of the 200 backstroke. Kathrin Demler (1:55.69), Zulal Zeren (1:55.81), Mikayla Murphy (1:58.04), and Kaitlyn Ferrara (1:57.41) all helped Ohio State accomplish that feat. The Scarlet and Gray also had four swimmers compete in finals heats in the 100 freestyle. Obviously they were led by Li and her B1G title, but Macie McNichols (49.34), Chantel Wynn (49.96), and Maria Coy (50.25) all turned in great swims for their team.
 
The last individual event of the meet was the 200 butterfly. Meg Bailey finished in third place overall, her time of 1:56.73 helping her achieve that feat. Joining her in the finals heats was Amanda McNulty, who touched the wall at 1:59.35.
 
In the final event, the 400 freestyle relay, McNichols, Demler, Wynn, and Li combined for a time of 3:16.99 to finish in fourth place.
 
Michigan claimed its second consecutive conference championship led by 14 Top 3 finishes from its swimmers and divers.
 
Next up for the Buckeyes are NCAA Zone Diving meets and the NCAA Championships. More information will follow on both of these events.

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