Northwestern returned to Norris Aquatics Center on Saturday for its first meet of the season, sweeping Southern Illinois and Miami (Ohio) 218-76 and 224-76 on the ladies’s facet and 242-58 and 203-97 on the lads’s facet.
NU opened its season in opposition to Miami for the second consecutive season. In final yr’s twin meet, NU’s women and men every beat Miami 203-97.
After receiving 4 votes within the first College Swimming and Diving Coaches Association of America ballot, the ladies began the yr off with dominant performances. Sophomore Zoe Nordmann, a 2025 NCAA qualifier, led the way in which with two particular person victories within the 600-yard freestyle and 300-yard freestyle.
The ’Cats kicked off the meet with wins within the girls’s and males’s 200-meter medley relays. Those wins set the tone for the remainder of the day, as the lads had first-place finishers in 11 of 14 particular person occasions whereas the ladies gained 8 of 14. The ’Cats’ A and B relay groups completed in first and second place in all 4 relays.
Junior Sydney Smith, senior Hana Shimizu-Bowers, senior Lindsay Ervin, senior Shauntel Lim, graduate scholar Ekaterina Nikonova and sophomore Grey Davis additionally picked up particular person victories. Nikonova, who was named to the Big Ten Swimmers and Divers to Watch List, gained the 100-yard freestyle in her NU debut after redshirting final season. She transferred in 2024 after three seasons at Florida, the place she was a six-time All-American.
In the ladies’s three-meter dive, the ’Cats had the highest 5 finishers. Lim gained the occasion with a rating of 261.45 and likewise completed in second place within the one-meter dive earlier within the day.
On the lads’s facet, NU had six completely different athletes win a person occasion. Junior Stuart Seymour, junior David Gerchik and sophomore Joshua Staples — all NCAA qualifiers final winter — gained two particular person occasions every. Seymour gained the 200-yard freestyle and 100-yard freestyle, setting a pool file and private better of 42.66 seconds. He beat the runner-up by almost two seconds, as SIU senior Alex Cimera completed in 44.42 seconds.
Junior Connor Schuster additionally set a pool file within the 50-yard freestyle, profitable the occasion in 19.64 seconds.
Junior Adam Cohen and senior Ryan Augustine gained the three-meter dive and one-meter dive, respectively. In the three-meter occasion, Cohen, Augustine and sophomore Kyle Ly swept the rostrum for the ’Cats.
Schuster, first-year Gipson Crye and junior Diego Nosack rounded out NU’s particular person winners. In his collegiate debut, Crye gained the 600-yard freestyle with a time of 5:27.16, edging out Miami freshman Luke Pugh, who positioned second in 5:30.47.
After opening the season at dwelling, the ’Cats hit the highway to compete subsequent in two weeks, touring to Notre Dame on Oct. 24 and to Michigan on Oct. 25.
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