The postseason has arrived for Northwestern women’s swimming and diving, who have travelled north to the Jean K. Freeman Aquatic Center for the Big Ten Women’s Swimming and Diving Championships. With competition ranging from Feb. 18-21, the ‘Cats will compete against some of the nation’s fastest programs, such as No. 4 Michigan, No. 6 Indiana and No. 11 Ohio State.
For a building Northwestern program, the meet represents a chance to make a statement against a deep, nationally competitive field. This
unranked Wildcat squad will be largely uncompetitive at NCAA Division I Championships, making this meet the most important of the season for Rachel Stratton-Mills’ squad. For four days in Minnesota, the fate of the season will be on the line for the ‘Cats.
Meet information
- Location/Date
The meet will be taking place Feb. 18-21 at the Jean K. Freeman Aquatics Center at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis. The meet is a 25-yard short-course meet.
- Event schedule
Wednesday finals (Feb. 18, 4 p.m.): 200-yard medley relay, 800-yard freestyle relay
Thursday finals (Feb. 19, 5:30 p.m.): 100-yard butterfly, 400-yard individual medley, 200-yard freestyle, 100-yard breaststroke, 1-meter diving
Friday finals (Feb. 20, 5:30 p.m.): 100-yard backstroke, 200-yard breaststroke, 500-yard freestyle, 50-yard freestyle, 3-meter diving, 400-yard medley relay
Saturday finals (Feb. 21, 5:30 p.m.): 200-yard individual medley, 1650-yard freestyle, 100-yard freestyle, 200-yard butterfly, 200-yard backstroke, platform diving, 400-yard freestyle relay
** Note: All individual swimming and diving events will have prelims the morning of the finals session for the event.
- Broadcast information
The meet will be broadcast on Big Ten Plus for all four days of competition.
- Big Ten schools in the national rankings
No. 4 Michigan Wolverines
No. 6 Indiana Hoosiers
No. 11 Ohio State Buckeyes
No. 12 USC Trojans
No. 15 Wisconsin Badgers
No. 22 UCLA Bruins
No. 25 Minnesota Golden Gophers
Also receiving votes: Northwestern Wildcats (10)
Not receiving votes: Purdue, Nebraska, Penn State, Iowa, Illinois and Rutgers
The College Swimming & Diving Coaches Association of America (CSCAA) full top-25 February rankings can be found HERE.
- 2025 results
1. Ohio State (1338.5 points)
2. Indiana (1255.5 points)
3. Michigan (1149.5 points)
4. Wisconsin (849 points)
5. USC (835 points)
- Additional information
More in-depth meet information can be found on the Minnesota Golden Gophers’ website page for the meet. Live results can be found on the Meet Mobile app or http://sidearmstats.com/minnesota/swim/index.htm. Additionally, SwimSwam, the world’s leader in specialized swimming coverage, will be releasing live results, analysis and storylines from the meet at their central page for the competition.
Event previews
Note: Individual swimmers are only allowed to swim a maximum of three individual events at Big Ten Championships. Meet entries aren’t due until the end of the day, so some assumptions were made about what events top swimmers will swim.
- 200-yard medley relay
Winner: Michigan
Michigan’s Sims-Sim-Kendall-Fack relay posted the conference’s top time of 1:33.26 in November. The Wolverines’ top time stands a second ahead of any other relay team this season. Though, Indiana’s DeWitt-Laegreid-Grana-Paegle will make sure the race isn’t a landslide Wolverines victory, Michigan should take gold.
- 800-yard freestyle relay
Winner: USC
USC is the heavy-favorite in the 800-yd freestyle relay, with its top conference time of 6:53.17 a full two seconds faster than second place Indiana. After placing third last year in the event, USC returned its fastest two legs Claire Tuggle and Minna Abraham to the relay this year. With a breakout season from Justina Kazan and the addition of graduate Miami-transfer Nicole Maier, this group is poised for gold.
- 100-yard butterfly
Winner: Alex Shackell (Indiana)
Top Northwestern finisher: Kat Nikonova
Olympian Alex Shackell’s career-best 49.49 will be hard to beat. Miranda Grana and Michigan’s Brady Kendall went one-two in the event last year, separated by 0.80. This year, both Grana and Kendall have both gotten close to a second faster, with Grana maintaining close to a second of separation on Kendall. Shackell, the favorite, should win, but I think the Hoosiers will go one-two, with Grana grabbing silver.
For Northwestern, Nikonova could final with a good swim. Her 52.50 was the 12th fastest time in the conference this season. Assuming not all eleven above her will swim the event, a low 52 swim in prelims will likely place her top eight.
- 400-yard individual medley
Winner: Bella Sims (Michigan)
Top Northwestern finisher: Hana Shimizu-Bowers
Sims is the heavy-favorite to win not only at Big Ten Championships, but at NCAA Division I Championships in a few weeks. Sims currently holds the top time in the country, posting a blistering 3:58.02 in November, seven seconds faster than any other Big Ten competitor.
- 200-yard freestyle
Winner: Minna Abraham (Indiana)
Top Northwestern finisher: Sydney Smith
Indiana’s Abraham placed second in the event last year, and has gotten seven tenths of a second faster this year, posting a 1:40.47 at the Texas Hall of Fame Invitational. If Sims were to swim the event, she would be my pick, but I think Wolverines head coach Matt Bowe will enter Sims into the 100-yd backstroke instead.
- 100-yard breaststroke
Winner: Letitia Sim (Michigan)
Top Northwestern finisher:
Michigan’s Letitia Sim and Ohio State’s Maria Ramos Najji will duke it out for first place in this event. Separated by 0.12 thus far this season, this event is truly up for grabs. I like Sim’s experience in the event to get the job done, but it could go either way.
- 1-meter diving
Winner: Avery Worobel (Purdue)
Top Northwestern finisher: Caroline Li
Ohio State had a hold on the event last year, placing one-two, but their lead divers graduated in the off-season, paving the way for Purdue’s Avery Worobel to take the event this year. The sophomore placed fourth last year with a score of 310.00, but has already scored a conference best 327.45 in competition this year which would have placed her second in 2025.
- 200-yard freestyle relay
Winner: Indiana
I’m picking the Hoosier upset in this event. Michigan has the conference’s top time by 0.84, but the Hoosier team of Liberty Clark, Mya DeWitt, Grace Hoeper and Kristina Paegle can go lower than its November 1:26.83. Paegle especially should be significantly faster. She was 21.54 at the OSU Invitational, just 0.02 faster than her individual best time of 21.56, despite having a relay start.
- 100-yard backstroke
Winner: Maggie Wanezek (Wisconsin)
Top Northwestern finisher: Grey Davis
Indiana’s Grana and Wisconsin’s Maggie Wanezek will be the event’s top contenders as the only three Big Ten swimmers to post sub-50-second times so far this season. Grana was faster during the regular season, but I think Wanezek is due for a big sophomore championship swim. Give me the Badger.
- 200-yard breaststroke
Winner: Letitia Sim (Michigan)
Top Northwestern finisher:
Just a year ago, Sim suffered heartbreak in this event, touching third with a 2:07.28, just 0.06 seconds out of gold. This year, Sim will get redemption. She has been three-quarters of a second faster during the season, posting a 2:06.52 in November, and has a chance to be even faster this week. Ohio State’s Najji will challenge, but is better in the 100-yd event than the 200.
- 500-yard freestyle
Winner: Bella Sims (Michigan)
Top Northwestern finisher: Zoe Nordmann
If Sims is anywhere close to her career best 4:28.64, she should win the event in a landslide. Hannah Bellard will grab second for the Wolverines, while Ohio State’s Mila Nikanorov should finish third.
Northwestern’s Nordmann has a chance to final in this event. Her 4:41.11 from November slots her 10th in the conference standings. She’ll need at least a mid-1:40 to final.
- 50-yard freestyle
Winner: Brady Kendall (Michigan)
Top Northwestern finisher: Kat Nikonova
As always, the 50-yd freestyle will be a dash to the finish line, with four swimmers — two Hoosiers and two Wolverines — in contention for the title. Though Clark and Paegle will challenge the whole way, my pick is Michigan’s Brady Kendall, who should have the most speed in the event if able to replicate her 21.34 from earlier this season.
- 3-meter diving
Winner: Daryl Wright (Purdue)
Top Northwestern finisher: Isabella Chen
Wright, a senior, is one of the biggest outright event favorites in these championships, with a 370.75 top score that lapped the field by 21.75 points in the regular season. Purdue sweeps the short diving events.
- 400-yard medley relay
Winner: Michigan
Michigan’s 3:25.54 from the CSCAA Challenge is the second fastest time in the country, behind only Virginia, who has won five consecutive national titles. With a lineup including potential event winners Bella Sims, Letitia Sim, Brady Kendall and Leila Fack, the Wolverines should win this one by a couple of seconds.
- 200-yard individual medley
Winner: Rosie Murphy (UCLA)
Top Northwestern finisher: Grey Davis
Upset watch in the 200-yd IM! UCLA’s Murphy has seen incredible progression in the 200-yd IM this season, jumping from a 1:56.66 at last year’s conference championships to a 1:54.89 at the Ohio State invitational just nine months later. Michigan’s Letitia Sim is the favorite and placed second last year with a 1:54.64 last year. But, something tells me that Sim may be a bit tired on the last day of the meet, while Murphy will be fresh and ready for a big swim in her main event.
- 1650-yard freestyle
Winner: Emma Finlin (Ohio State)
Top Northwestern finisher: Zoe Nordmann
The two first-place contenders in this event are both Buckeyes, Finlin and Mila Nikanorov. Finlin was significantly faster in the regular season, however, posting a 15:55.09 that was close to three-seconds faster than Nikanorov. I’ve got Finlin.
Nordmann in this event is the ’Cats’ best chance to get on the podium this week. Nordmann swam a career best 16:04.59 earlier this season, that will seed her fourth entering the meet. Nebraska’s Gena Jorgenson, seeded third, will likely grab the bronze, but if she has a bad race, and Nordmann is able to pull off a miracle high-16:02, Northwestern could get a ‘Cat on the podium.
- 100-yard freestyle
Winner: Liberty Clark (Indiana)
Top Northwestern finisher: Kat Nikonova
Crow Canyon Club Sharks product Clark should get her first career Big Ten event win in the 100-yd freestyle. The Indiana sophomore will be seeded a full half-second faster than the rest of the field. If she swims her best, the event should be hers.
- 200-yard butterfly
Winner: Alex Shackell (Indiana)
Top Northwestern finisher: Hana Shimizu-Bowers
Interestingly, Shackell, who went to the Paris Olympics for the 200-meter butterfly, will not be the top qualifier in the event. Michigan’s Bellard’s 1:50.72 will be the top time, though Shackell is still the favorite. The Indiana freshman will have to be on her game to hold off Bellard, but at her top speed, Shackell’s career best 1:50.15 will be untouchable.
- 200-yard backstroke
Winner: Bella Sims (Michigan)
Top Northwestern finisher: Gretchen Braun
Three gold medals for Sims! Sims was no faster than 1:51.26 in the regular season this year, but her best time of 1:47.11 from NCAA Division I Championship’s last year trumps the field by over a second. Wanezek will compete, but Sims is inevitable.
- Platform diving
Winner: Ella Roselli (Indiana)
Top Northwestern finisher: Lydia Georgopoulou
Mia Prusiecki, the sophomore Buckeye, is the top qualifier, but Indiana’s Ella Roselli has much needed experience in an event where it will be crucial. Roselli, a junior, was a finalist last year placing sixth. Anchoring her experience, she should be able to surpass Prusiecki on Saturday.
Georgopoulou claims the seventh best score for the regular season for the ‘Cats. If she matches her best, she will likely be an event finalist, with a chance to elevate as high as fourth place with a breakout performance.
- 400-yard freestyle relay
Winner: Indiana
At this point, the meet should already be decided for Michigan, but if it isn’t, this event will take center stage as the Hoosiers and Wolverines are the two top qualifiers. Separated by just 0.49 in the regular season, I like the Hoosiers to dip below 3:08, led by powerful swims from Clark and Shackell.
Team predictions
- Podium: 1. Michigan, 2. Indiana, 3. USC
In reality, this meet is between Michigan and Indiana, with the two top six powerhouse programs projected to win roughly 75% of the meet’s events. There are many races, such as the 200-yd medley relay, 400-yd freestyle relay and 50-yd freestyle that are up for extremely close contention between the Wolverines and the Hoosiers. The way that these critical events flip will decide the meet, though I think Michigan has just a little bit more star power at the top. Matt Bowe acquired star Florida-transfer Bella Sims in the offseason, and she has been the conference’s best swimmer, set to win three individual events and power the Wolverines to a couple of relay victories. Though Michigan is definitely the favorite because of Sims, this meet will be tightly contested all four days, so don’t count out the Hoosiers.
- Northwestern set to place seventh
If everything falls as projected, Northwestern should finish seventh, improving two places upon their ninth place finish last season. Though the ‘Cats won’t be extremely competitive for any podium finishes, potential finals appearances from Nordmann in the 500-yd and 1650-yd freestyle, Georgopoulou in platform diving and Nikonova in the 100-yd butterfly will boost Northwestern’s standing in the team competition. Michigan, Indiana, USC, Wisconsin, UCLA and Ohio State are locks to finish above the ‘Cats, but Northwestern should finish above Minnesota and Purdue, though the Boilermakers’ prowess in short-platform diving could present a challenge.
