Swimming and Diving

Northwestern capped off the season’s home meets Saturday with a win over Iowa, beating its Big Ten adversary 163.5-134.5. There was some “extra firepower” fueling the win, with the Wildcats hoping for redemption after last season’s final-hour loss against the Hawkeyes.

NU touched first in nine of 14 swimming events and won both diving events, honoring the seniors’ final races at home while showcasing those who will return next year.

On the diving side, junior Olivia Rosendahl placed first in both the 1-meter and 3-meter events with scores of 291.45 and 298.05, respectively. The Cats placed third in both events as well, with junior Eryn Scannell scoring 253.95 points in the 1-meter and senior Monique Demaisip scoring 242.70 points in the 3-meter.

The divers had not competed since the TYR Invitational in November, where Rosendahl took first place in the 3-meter and the platform and Scannell won the 1-meter. Rosendahl said Saturday’s mindset was to “have fun getting back into it” with the seniors while working on consistency.

“We love diving with the Iowa team. They’re one of our favorite Big Ten teams to dive against,” Rosendahl said. “We all just want to have a good time.”

In swimming, freshmen Calypso Sheridan, Sophie Angus and Ilektra Lebl joined senior co-captain Mary Warren to win the 200-yard medley relay. Senior Sydney Modeas continued the momentum, winning the 1000 free in 10:17.93, before Warren won the 50 free in 22.92 seconds.

Later, Warren and senior Anna Keane touched less than 0.2 seconds apart for second and third in the 100 free. Warren swam “all out, no regrets,” and she said it was great to compete with her sprint group, including Keane, at home one last time.

“I’ve been swimming since I was five, so it’s been a long haul,” Warren said. “Having a team that’s also been swimming since they were really young and understanding that it’s such a big deal to be finishing on such a high note at such a great pool is really cool.”

The meet highlighted NU’s freshmen, who won six individual events. Sheridan won both backstroke events and Angus won both breaststroke events, while Lebl took the 200-yard butterfly. The trio also finished 1-2-3 in the 200-yard individual medley, with Sheridan in first in 2:04.66, Lebl in second in 2:06.31 and Angus in third in 2:10.19.

Freshman Rachel Tseng also swam a strong meet, finishing second in the 500 and 1000 frees. It was her first full meet of the season, having spent time recovering from an injury and slowly returning to competition.

Coach Abby Steketee was really happy with their performance, and was glad to see them alongside the “red hot” seniors throughout the meet, she said, adding the freshmen will bring a lot to the program throughout their time as Cats.

“They raced their hearts out today,” Steketee said. “It’s really, really exciting, and not just for their excitement as talented swimmers, but their excitement as passionate people, as good leaders and as people who are dedicated to school and swimming.”

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