Coach Katie Robinson’s first season at the helm for Northwestern was record-breaking and bold.

Year after year, the men’s team usually finds itself at the bottom of the Big Ten conference, but after a fifth-place finish in the 2019-20 season, the following year looked promising. The Cats placed sixth in the conference championships, achieving a program record of 722 points. They also sent three swimmers — graduate athlete Connor LaMastra and juniors Marcus Mok and Kevin Houseman — to the NCAA Championship.

LaMastra, Mok and Houseman will return for the upcoming season. By solidifying itself as an average team in the conference the past two years, the team shows a promising future.

Typically situated in the middle of the pack, the women’s team continues to move up in the conference’s standings. After an impressive fourth-place finish in the 2019-20 season, not only did the group snag fourth again this year, but the Cats also set a program record of 992 points during the Big Ten championship, delivering their best NCAA championship performance in two decades.

Though she did not compete last season, the team took a loss with swimmer Calypso Sheridan, who transferred to the University of Southern California. Fortunately, graduate swimmers and All-Americans Sophie Angus and Maddie Smith will return for one more season. With other honorable All-Americans of all years on the roster, NU is ready for battle.

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