Feminine swimmers sue over Title IX violation after Hanover cuts group

Four members of the Hanover College girls’s swim group are suing over sex-based discrimination and Title IX violations after the faculty lower their program.

Hanover discontinued the men’s and women’s swim teams in March, citing issues over prices, roster dimension and lack of amenities.

On Aug. 25, the 4 girls introduced that they had filed a category motion lawsuit in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana. According to the grievance, the athletes consider Hanover doesn’t present girls equal alternatives to take part in varsity sports activities, and cuts to the swim group made the issue worse. The girls’s group had eight athletes for the 2025-26 season, and the group would have grown to 14 athletes within the upcoming season, the grievance stated.

Lucy Schoenlein, girls’s swim group captain and a plaintiff, stated in a information launch that Hanover has disadvantaged girls of equal alternatives for many years.

“So, we’re going to fight for our team, our teammates, and all of the women at Hanover,” Schoenlein said in the release. “This sex discrimination has to stop.”

Three different swimmers –Tallulah Frazier, Shelby Geraghty and Anna Williams – joined Schoenlein within the lawsuit. The athletes are represented by Arthur Bryant, a California-based lawyer who focuses on civil rights. In addition to Bryant, the Justice Law Collaborative, Sniderman Law and Nevius Legal are co-counsel for the ladies.

Hanover spokesperson Peter Ashley stated in an emailed assertion that ladies’s sports activities are and can proceed to be a valued side of campus life.

“Hanover College’s recent decision to eliminate the men’s and women’s swimming programs due to low participation and financial unsustainability is now the subject of a legal challenge,” Ashley stated. “Hanover College takes its obligations under federal law seriously and will demonstrate the College’s commitment to comply with Title IX.”

The attorneys contacted Hanover President Lake Lambert in May, warning that the faculty’s actions had been “a clear violation of Title IX.” The letter stated that based mostly on the faculty’s demographics, Hanover wanted so as to add to its girls’s varsity applications, not make cuts.

“After the cut, based on the most recent publicly available numbers, Hanover will need to add approximately 170 opportunities for women to reach gender equity under Title IX,” the letter stated.

This story has been up to date to incorporate an announcement from Hanover College.

Aubrey Wright is a breaking information reporter for the Indy Star. She could be reached at amwright@indystar.com.

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