Northwestern was again within the pool Saturday morning to face the University of Chicago, and the ’Cats had no bother dismantling their crosstown rivals in Hyde Park. After attending midseason invitational meets (see recap) in mid-November, Northwestern hunkered down for over a month of winter coaching, taking a coaching journey to Puerto Rico in mid-December. Back in motion yesterday,Northwestern’s No. 25 ranked males’s group beat UChicago 222-76, whereas the No. 21 ranked ladies’s group dominated 247-45.
An annual early-January custom, the Northwestern/UChicago twin meet serves as a tune-up meet for each groups coming into convention competitors in January and February. With UChicago competing as a Division III group, the meet isn’t aggressive from a head-to-head group perspective, contemplating Northwestern is an elite Division I program. However, with each groups coming off tropical December coaching weeks and over a month of exhausting winter coaching, each the ‘Cats and Maroons use this unshaven meet as a tune-up for the conference meets to come in just a weeks.
Results for the UChicago meet can be found on the app Meet Mobile or on Swimcloud’s meet web page for the occasion.
If all in favour of studying about how group and excessive level scoring works for dual-meets, please reference the part “Explanation of Dual-Meet Scoring System” on the backside of the recap of the Miami (OH)/Southern Illinois twin meet.
The Northwestern males’s group cruised to its 222-76 victory over the Maroons, taking gold in 13 of the meet’s 16 occasions. The ‘Cats lost just three events: the 100-yard butterfly, 200-yard butterfly and 400-yard freestyle relay.
The ‘Cats split the relays with UChicago, with a Seymour-Staples-Schuster-Kos team taking gold in the 200-yard medley relay with a time of 1:25.15. However, the Schuster-Seymour-Duncan-Kos A-relay team for the 400 freestyle relay designated their swim as exhibition (not counted in event standings), allowing for the Maroons to claim gold in the event.
17 Northwestern swimmers finished in the top 20 of the meet’s excessive level standings. Joshua Staples earned particular person victories within the 200-yard breaststroke and the 200-yard particular person medley, whereas additionally controlling the breaststroke leg within the ‘Cats’ first place 200-yard medley relay. UChicago’s prime performer was Cooper Costello, a three-time Division III nationwide champion and the all-time Division III file holder within the 100-yard butterfly. Costello positioned second on the meet, sweeping the butterfly occasions and main off the Maroons’ first place 400-yard freestyle relay. Cade Duncan, winner of the 50-yard freestyle and 100-yard freestyle, rounded out the rostrum, taking third place for the ‘Cats.
The Northwestern women’s group have been much more dominant than the boys, taking down the Maroons 247-45 and successful all 16 of the meet’s occasions. The ‘Cats had each of the meet’s prime 16 excessive level finishers, illustrating the hole in expertise between the D1 Wildcats and D3 Maroons.
The ladies swept each of the meet’s relay occasions. The Davis-Nikolova-Nikonova-Ervin relay posted a primary place 1:38.59 within the 200-yard medley relay, and the Chow-Deierlein-Smith-Davis relay received the 400-yard freestyle relay with a time of three:23.50.
Of Northwestern’s prime 16 excessive level finishers, it was Kat Nikonova who took the highest spot with gold medal performances within the 50-yard freestyle, 100-yard freestyle and 200-yard medley relay. Sophomores Zoe Nordmann, winner of the 500-yard freestyle and 200-yard butterfly, and Brianna Deierlein, winner of the 200-yard freestyle and 400-yard freestyle relay, took second and third, respectively. UChicago’s prime finisher was Alexandra Milisavljevic, who claimed seventeenth within the excessive level standings after putting third within the 500-yard freestyle, fourth within the 200-yard butterfly and fifth within the 200-yard particular person medley.
Rachel Stratton-Mills Interview
I used to be in-person for protection of the Northwestern/UChicago twin meet at Myers-McLoraine Pool. After the meet’s conclusion, I used to be lucky to have the ability to meet up with third-year head coach Rachel Stratton-Mills about this meet, the group’s standing heading in the direction of championship meets, recruiting and extra:
Adam: Rachel, beginning right here, clearly nice meet, getting again in motion after the coaching journey in Puerto Rico. What’s a swim that stood out to you at present… particular person performances or simply normal group efforts?
Rachel: Yeah, nicely, I feel a whole lot of our relays have been very shut or proper on the instances we had finished at midseason invitations, and to do this, very fatigued, coming off a coaching camp, and placing in two extra nice weeks of labor… we have been simply actually completely happy throughout to see how briskly folks have been swimming understanding that they’re actually drained, their legs are drained. So a number of the relay swims actually good out to us for the way nice these have been.
Adam: Quite a lot of groups, just about all groups — UChicago went on one in all these as nicely — are doing these coaching journeys. I swam in highschool and know winter coaching is a giant deal, and that turns into an excellent larger deal in school. What does the coaching journey do for the tea transferring into the second half of the season?
Rachel: Well, actually, it’s simply to get a change of atmosphere. They’re are actually such a tough working, centered group, and simply to have the ability to get out of Evanston and go some place a bit of hotter, I feel it simply helps them focus much more and possibly it makes it so it doesn’t really feel as stale, proper? And the coaching offers them only a totally different place to do nice issues, and in order that’s actually what we get out of it. It’s a continuation of fantastic work they’ve already finished, however I feel throughout that break with the climate, it’s simply good to go someplace heat and sunny and have the ability to proceed to do the good work they’ve been doing.
Adam: So Josh Staples was 1:54 at present… that was one other private greatest for him within the 200 breaststroke. For folks following the group, I feel it’s been type of stunning to see his emergence as a breaststroker this yr. And so I assume my query’s type of twofold: what have you ever seen in him type of creating that stroke this yr, after which additionally, what does that imply for the relays? Tyler Lu left final yr, however Staples… he’s so good in freestyle as nicely.
Rachel: I’m desirous about it on a regular basis. I feel coming into this season, we have been uncertain of like, the place our breaststroker was going to come back from. We produce other nice breaststrokers, however not fairly at that stage of with the ability to go 50 or 51 on our relay. So to have him have the ability to begin filling that position has been nice. And I feel the large factor for Josh is that there are numerous occasions he can do and do nicely, and he’s actually excited concerning the improvement of breaststroke and dealing on it. I imply, he’s a world class 400 IMer, so we all the time knew there was breaststroke there. So to see the pace include it’s what we’re enthusiastic about.
Adam: And then one closing query, I do know that this type of zooming out a bit of bit, however lately on the finish of 2024, you bought these two huge commitments from the ladies’ aspect: Lucy Velte, No. 11 within the class of 2027, and Annabeth Town, No. 39 within the class of 2027. So these are two prime 40 commitments… I really feel just like the numbers simply hold getting larger by way of recruiting because you’ve been right here. What does that course of appear like for you? How have you ever guys been in a position to seemingly get higher annually?
Rachel: Well, I feel everyone knows that Northwestern is a completely wonderful place to be. And so what we’re beginning to do with these nice athletes is say, right here is that this nice college and an incredible location, that basically helps its college students, and now we’re pairing that with elite stage coaching, the place w have athletes who wish to be on the highest of the world stage and be on the Olympics and be on the podium of NCAAs. So we’re actually offering this nice alternative for these recruits who see all of the wonderful issues Northwestern has to supply as a tutorial establishment and now they’re seeing the swimming come up to the mark in a spot the place they are saying: Oh, I may also attain all my targets there within the pool. I’m actually keen about what an incredible place Northwestern is so it’s actually nice to really feel just like the recruits are seeing what they wish to see within the water that may have them attain all their targets.
Adam: Thank you a lot on your time.
Rachel: Thank you, respect it.
After an excellent displaying in Hyde Park, Northwestern will look to harness its momentum heading into the ultimate few meets of the common season. The ‘Cats shall be dwelling for the remainder of January, internet hosting three Big Ten convention opponents on the Norris Aquatics Center; Northwestern faces Wisconsin on Jan. 17, earlier than a tri-meet with Minnesota and Purdue spanning January 30-Thirty first. In late February, the ‘Cats will head to the Big Ten Championships in Madison, Wisconsin.