EVANSTON, Ill. – Northwestern swimming and diving is set to return to action on Friday and Saturday for the squad’s first contests of 2025 and their concluding home event of the year. The program will also honor the seven seniors on the team who will graduate this year. Those athletes include
Graysen Bernard,
Kenisha Gupta,
Alex Ispas,
Tyler Lu,
Justine Murdock,
Ashley Strouse and
Nikki Venema.
The Wildcats will play host to the University of Southern Indiana Screaming Eagles on Friday, January 10 at 5:00 p.m. CT. On Saturday, Northwestern will welcome the University of Chicago Maroons and Penn State Nittany Lions for a tri-meet at 11:00 a.m. CT. Both events will occur at Norris Aquatics Center. Spectators are encouraged to attend both days to cheer on the ‘Cats.
Live updates will be provided on the MeetMobile app, and near real-time results will be posted on X via the team’s
@NUSwimDive account.
The ‘Cats have recorded a strong beginning to their season with the men’s team standing at 3-0 and the women’s team at 2-1.
“Our matchup against the University of Southern Indiana presents a fantastic opportunity to concentrate on some of our shorter events, along with our relay races,” remarked director of swimming and diving
Rachel Stratton-Mills. “This Friday evening meet also marks the commencement of senior weekend, and we are thrilled to recognize our seven seniors who will be graduating this year.
“On Saturday, we will compete against both the University of Chicago and Penn State University. This marks the first tri-meet of the latter half of the season for us and initiates a series of upcoming competitions leading us right into the conference championship. I am eager to see the team compete against both a local rival and a Big Ten conference foe. It should be a thrilling contest and another occasion to celebrate our graduating seniors.”
Southern Indiana The Friday evening meet represents the maiden head-to-head encounter between the two squads. USI’s men’s team has partaken in six events thus far this season. They have secured victories against IU Indy, Northern Kentucky, and Valparaiso. However, they have been defeated by Bellarmine University and the University of Evansville. The team placed 4
th among 8 teams at the Indiana Intercollegiate and 5
th among 6 teams at the A3 Performance Invitational.
USI’s women’s team has also engaged in six competitions this season. They have triumphed over IU Indy, Northern Kentucky, Valpo, and Evansville. Their only defeat came against Bellarmine. The team finished 5
th out of 9 teams at the Indiana Intercollegiate and 4
th out of 7 squads at the A3 Performance Invitational.
University of Chicago The ‘Cats last encountered UChicago away – meaning across the city – on January 13, 2023. Both NU teams won decisively, 221-73 (men’s) and 221-69 (women’s). The Maroons’ men’s and women’s teams possess the same records this season. Both teams are starting strong at 3-0, boasting wins over Lewis University, WashU, and Carthage College. Both squads also took home victory at the D3 Shootout – a home event – and finished 2
nd out of 7 teams at the Phoenix Fall Classic.
Penn State NU last went head-to-head against Penn State in Evanston on January 23, 2021. Both of NU’s teams won comfortably, with the men’s team earning a score of 247-53 and the women’s team winning 242-58. Presently, the Nittany Lions’ men’s team holds a 2-1 record with wins at Navy and against Pitt, alongside a loss to rival Ohio State. The women’s team stands at 1-2, with a win at Navy, and losses at Pitt and Ohio State. Recently, Penn State sent 13 team members to compete in the TYR Pro Series – Toyota U.S. Open (December 4-7 in Greensboro, N.C.). The Nittany Lions are coming off the Ohio State Invitational, where they faced multiple teams including OSU, Indiana, and UCLA. The men’s squad finished fifth overall, while the women placed seventh. Notably, Alex Karahalis set a school record in the 200 IM during preliminaries with a time of 1:44.60.
NEXT UP: The swimming and diving squads are set to hit the road for the remainder of the season. Next weekend, the team travels to Madison, Wisconsin to challenge the Badgers on Saturday, January 18 at Noon CT. The complete 2024-25 schedule can be found here and here.