Northwestern Dominates in Weekend Showdown: A Splash-Tastic Victory Against Southern Indiana, UChicago, and Penn State!

Over the weekend, the Northwestern swimming and diving teams competed for the first time in 2025. Initially, both the men’s and women’s squads achieved a sweep against Southern Indiana on Friday before outperforming both Penn State and UChicago in a Saturday tri-meet. These events were part of Senior Weekend.

Jan. 10 vs. Southern Indiana

The Wildcats secured victories in every event against the Screaming Eagles, with both teams, men and women, winning decisively 199-42.

On the women’s side, all participants contributed, with no individual winning more than a single event. Grey Davis, Sophie Martin, Nikki Venema, and Lindsay Ervin began with a win in the 200 medley relay (1:38.82). Following that, Claire Mehok achieved victory and a personal best in the 200-yard freestyle (1:50.39), narrowly touching out her teammate Hana Shimizu-Bowers by just 0.14 seconds. Maggie Papanicholas then clinched the 200 individual medley by nearly a second (2:06.21), and Amy Pan secured the win in the 50 freestyle (23.40).

Caroline Li triumphed in the initial diving event of the competition, amassing 280.43 points in the one-meter contest. This was succeeded by Martin’s 52.53 in the 100 butterfly, which was arguably the most remarkable achievement of the meet, marking NU’s fastest 100 fly time since March 2023. Additionally, Maggie Belbot, who won the 100 freestyle, reached a career milestone, clocking in at 49.99, marking her swiftest time since 2019.

In the 500 freestyle, Venema delivered an impressive performance (4:55.83), finishing nearly ten seconds ahead of her competitors. This win was followed by the second segment of NU’s relay dominance, with Ervin, Venema, Martin, and Pan winning the 200 free relay (1:30.69). The three-meter diving event was next, where Chloe Sharp achieved victory with a score of 274.20.

Brianna Deierlein (54.24) and Sydney Smith (1:01.79) clinched victories in the 100 back and breast, respectively. To conclude the meet for the women, the same quartet that won the 200 free relay united again to secure the 400 free relay in a time of 3:20.58.

To commence the meet for the men, Stuart Seymour, Tyler Lu, Christopher Leung, and Cade Duncan collaborated for a time of 1:26.40 to win the 200 medley relay. Lu, Joshua Staples, and Kyle Ly were all double victors on the men’s side. Lu triumphed in the 200 free (1:38.81) and the 100 fly (47.73), setting a personal best in the latter event, dipping below 48 seconds for the first time. Staples was victorious in the 100 free (45.93) and the 100 breast (54.46), achieving a personal best in the latter, while Ly won in both the one-meter (323.93) and three-meter (353.48) diving events.

Seymour claimed the 200 IM (1:46.35) by over two seconds and recorded a personal best, improving from his previous time of 1:48.95 from last year. Next, Gal Shlegel, a freshman from Israel competing in his first collegiate meet, emerged victorious in the 50 free (20.49). Additionally, Tristan Prizler (4:30.22) and Duncan (47.67) won the 500 free and 100 back, respectively, with Duncan achieving a personal best.

The men were equally as dominant as the women in relays, with Seymour, Duncan, Connor Schuster, and Lu winning the 200 free relay (1:18.99). Notably, all four swimmers recorded times under 19 seconds. Meanwhile, Duncan, Seymour, Schuster, and Malachi Cohen combined for a time of 2:57.49 to win the 400 free relay.

Jan. 11 vs. UChicago and Penn State

Northwestern’s meet on Saturday proved to be slightly more competitive, yet both teams still managed to sweep their opponents. The men triumphed over Penn State 172-127 and UChicago 231-63, while the women outpaced Penn State 207-88 and UChicago 247-50.

The women emerged victorious in all events except for the three-meter dive, 100 back, and 100 fly, the latter two being won by Penn State’s Margaret Markvardt. Double winners for the Wildcats included Zoe Nordmann and Martin. Nordmann secured the 1000 free (9:50.17) and the 500 free (4:50.88), while Martin triumphed in the 100 breast (1:01.47) and 200 IM (1:58.15). The 1000 free was a personal best for Nordmann by over 14 seconds (it was only her fourth time competing in the event), and the 200 IM represented a personal best for Martin.

Li clinched the sole women’s diving event for NU, scoring 265.65 points to narrowly secure victory in the one-meter event. Other individual winners included Smith in the 200 free (1:47.19), Mehok in the 200 fly (2:00.81), Venema in the 50 free (22.58), Ervin in the 100 free (49.95), Mehok in the 200 back (1:57.09), and Papanicholas in the 200 breast (2:13.04).

Justine Murdock, Martin, Venema, and Ervin collaborated for a time of 1:39.09 to win the 200 medley relay, while Ervin, Venema, Martin, and Yu recorded a time of 3:19.93 to clinch the 400 free relay. Yu’s 47.64 anchor leg in the 100 freestyle on the medley relay was notably the fastest in the field by over three seconds.

Penn State experienced greater success on the men’s side, winning the 200 medley relay, the 200/500 free, and the 100/200 breast. Meanwhile, Northwestern dominated the remaining events. Adam Cohen achieved a clean sweep in diving, taking first place in the three-meter (352.15) and the one-meter (341.90). Seymour secured victories in the 50 free (20.03) and 100 back (45.84), breaking 46 seconds for the first time in the latter event. This time places him among the top in the nation, being just 0.28 seconds shy of the qualification cutoff for the 2024 NCAA Championships.

Another remarkable result was from Duncan, who set a Norris Aquatic Center pool record of 42.75 in the 100 free. He also shaved off 0.05 seconds from his previous best of 42.80 from last season. David Gerchik won the 200 back convincingly, clocking a time of 1:42.61 to win by nearly five seconds. Other event winners included Diego Nosack in the 200 fly (1:44.41) and Leung (47.32), with the latter swimmer achieving a personal best.

Northwestern’s only men’s relay triumph occurred in the 400 free relay, where Duncan, Seymour, Schuster, and Cohen combined for a time of 2:54.50.

Next, the Wildcats will compete against Wisconsin in Madison on Jan. 18 at 12 p.m. CST.