Badger Women Dive to Victory: A Thrilling Dual Meet Split with Northwestern in Wisconsin

Wisconsin vs. Northwestern

• January 18, 2025
• Soderholm Family Aquatic Center, Madison, WI
• SCY (25 yards)
• Results
• Meet Results — women: #11 Wisconsin 205.5 – unranked Northwestern 93.5; men: unranked Northwestern 163.5 – unranked Wisconsin 136.5

The women from Wisconsin celebrated a thorough sweep in aquatic competitions versus Northwestern, while the male Badgers were defeated by the Wildcats.

Women’s Meet Summary

Two-time Olympian Phoebe Bacon excelled in both of her events, clinching victory in the 100 back by more than three seconds (51.04) and in the 200 IM by over six seconds (1:55.86). She also assisted the Badgers in dominating the 400 medley relay with a stunning 50.97 butterfly split (final time 3:29.84).

Also part of the relay was Hazal Ozkan, the other individual double-winner of the meet. Ozkan finished first in both breaststroke races (1:00.15/2:09.79).

The relay included two other members, the Wisconsin-born Wanezek sisters, who each won one individual event. Maggie secured victory in the 200 backstroke (1:53.69) immediately after her older sister took the 100 free (48.84).

Northwestern’s most significant points came from the 1m springboard, where sophomore Caroline Li and junior Shauntel Lim finished 1-2, preventing Wisconsin from achieving a complete sweep. Another highlight for Northwestern was sophomore Lauren Papanicholas, who achieved a new personal best in the 200 breaststroke with a time of 2:11.56.

Men’s Meet Summary

In the men’s category of the competition, the Northwestern Wildcats maintained their undefeated streak at 6-0 with a triumph over the Badgers.

The multi-talented Diego Nosack was the Wildcat’s only double-winner. Nosack secured first place in both the 500 and 200 fly (4:22.62/1:43.75).

Northwestern senior Tyler Lu won the 100 breaststroke (53.75), while sprinting sensation Cade Duncan grabbed victory in the 100 free (42.55). The Wildcats also dominated the backstroke races, thanks to Stuart Seymore in the 100 (45.93) and David Gerchik (1:42.40).

The Badgers also enjoyed their share of victories, including Dominik Torok, who outperformed his rivals in both the 200 breaststroke (1:56.20) and 200 IM (1:45.08). Torok also achieved a close second in the 200 fly behind Nosack (1:43.80).

Wisconsin secured 1-2 finishes in both the shortest and longest events of the competition. Yigit Aslan triumphed in the 1000 free (9:01.81) just ahead of teammate Zach Ward (9:04.16). In the splash-and-dash event, Cooper Scharff and Ben Wiegand dominated, finishing first and second (21.67 and 21.77).

Up next for the Wildcats is a triangular meet in Minneapolis against Minnesota and Purdue next week. Meanwhile, the Badgers will travel to Indiana for Notre Dame’s Tim Welsh Classic. The men’s team now holds a record of 3-2, while the women’s team is at 4-0.