2023 Ivy League Women’s Championships: Day 2 Finals Live Recap

2023 Women’s Ivy League Swimming & Diving Championships

• Wednesday, February 15 – Saturday, February 18, 2022
• Prelims 11:00 AM / Finals 6:00 PM
• DeNunzio Pool, Princeton, New Jersey
• Defending Champions: Harvard University
• Live Results
• Live Video (ESPN+)
• Championship Central
• Fan Guide

THURSDAY EVENING HEAT SHEETS

After beginning the 2023 Ivy League Championships with the 200 medley and 800 free relays on Day 1, Day 2 will see our first individual event winners crowned during tonight’s finals session.

Penn is expected to pick up 140 points in the 500 free alone, with Anna Kalandadze, Catherine Buroker, and Anna Moehn seeded 1-2-3 in the final. Columbia and Princeton will have two swimmers each, while Yale earned one spot in the A final.

Princeton will occupy lanes 4 and 5 of the 200 IM with Margaux McDonald (1:59.26) and Eliza Brown (1:59.59). Teammate Meg Wheeler qualified fourth. Defending champion Samantha Shelton (1:59.87) and the #1 seed, Anya Mostek, of Harvard, third and fifth this morning, are threats as well.

Princeton is poised to pick up points in the 50 free, where they qualified all five of their swimmers into the A final. Columbia’s Emily MacDonald swam the top time of the morning (22.49) and will have #1 seed Samantha Scott (22.51) and Princeton’s Amelia Liu (22.51) on either side of her in the final.

Women’s 500 Freestyle – Finals

• Ivy League Record: 4:34.06 – Lia Thomas, Penn (2021)
• Ivy Championships Record: 4:36.37 – Ellie Marquardt, Princeton (2020)
• Princeton Pool Record: 4:40.26 – Miki Dahlke, Harvard (2019)
• NCAA A Standard: 4:35.76
• 2022 NCAA Invite Time: 4:43.08

Podium:

1. Anna Kalandadze, Penn – 4:38.86
2. Catherine Buroker, Penn – 4:43.68
3. Anna Moehn, Penn – 4:45.48
4. Emily Appleton, Princeton – 4:45.64
5. Olivia Jubin, Columbia – 4:46.45
6. Aziza Ganihanova, Columbia – 4:47.74
7. Ellie Marquardt, Princeton – 4:47.91
8. Lilly Derivaux, Yale – 4:450.47

Penn swept the gold, silver and bronze medals in the 500 free, with Anna Kalandadze breaking the DeNunzio Pool record at 4:38.86. Kalandadze jumped out to a quick start and built her lead over the field with each 50. Teammate Catherine Buroker was alone in second place from start to finish; she came to the wall with 4:43.68, 1.2 seconds faster than her second-place finish last year.

Anna Moehn of Penn and Olivia Jubin from Columbia traded places in the third spot throughout the 20 laps, but Moehn pulled away at the end. Emily Appleton from Princeton roared to the finish, splitting 27.8 over the final 50 yards, nine-tenths faster than Jubin and seven-tenths faster than Moehn. She nearly caught Moehn (4:45.48) but settled for fourth place with 4:45.64.

Women’s 200 Individual Medley – Finals

• Ivy League Record: 1:55.09 – Katie Meili, Columbia (2013)
• Ivy Championships Record: 1:55.09 – Katie Meili, Columbia (2013)
• Princeton Pool Record: 1:55.09 – Katie Meili, Columbia (2013)
• NCAA A Standard: 1:53.66
• 2022 NCAA Invite Time: 1:56.85

Podium:

1. Eliza Brown, Princeton – 1:58.68
2. Margaux McDonald, Princeton – 1:59.32
3. Samantha Shelton, Harvard – 1:59.43
4. Karen Liu, Columbia – 1:59.44
5. Meg Wheeler, Princeton – 1:59.45
6. Anya Mostek, Harvard – 1:59.65
7. Alex Massey, Yale – 2:00.34
8. Anna Podurgiel, Brown – 2:01.42

Princeton swept the top two spots in the 200 IM with Eliza Brown (1:58.68) and Margaux McDonald (1:59.32), both getting to the wall in front of defending champion Samantha Shelton of Harvard. Brown was out first with a 25.2 butterfly leg but Harvard’s Anna Mostek took over the lead on the backstroke, with teammate Shelton and Karen Liu of Columbia just behind.

Brown and McDonald passed the field on the breaststroke leg, splitting 33.9 and 34.5, respectively.

Brown motored home in 29.0 to get the win with a lifetime best of 1:58.68, while McDonald just held off Shelton, who came home in a blazing 27.4 to pass Liu and pick up the third-place medal.

Shelton, Liu, and Princeton’s Meg Wheeler were separated by only .02 with 1:59.43, 1:59.44, and 1:59.45.

Women’s 50 Freestyle – Finals

• Ivy League Record: 21.83 – Bella Hindley (2019)
• Ivy Championships Record: 21.83 – Bella Hindley (2019)
• Princeton Pool Record: 21.83 – Bella Hindley (2019)
• NCAA A Standard: 21.66
• 2022 NCAA Invite Time: 22.16

Podium:

1. Nikki Venema, Princeton – 22.23
2. Amelia Liu, Princeton – 22.41
3. Emily MacDonald, Columbia – 22.43
4. Elzbieta Noble, Princeton – 22.45
5. Sabrina Johnston, Princeton – 22.54
6. Samantha Scott, Brown – 22.55
7. Isabelle Arevalo, Columbia – 22.70
8. Heidi Smithwick, Princeton – 22.87

Swimming out of lane 6, Princeton’s Nikki Venema won the 50 free for the second time in her career. After a 2020 victory, she placed second in 2022, then bounced back to claim the 2023 title with 22.23. Ela Noble of Princeton, Samantha Scott of Brown, and Columbia’s Emily MacDonald came off the 25 wall slightly ahead of the crowd but Venema accelerated over the second half of the race, putting it into another gear from the flags to the wall and coming away with the win.

Teammate Amelia Liu got her hand to the wall just ahead of MacDonald (22.43) and Noble (22.45). Another Tiger, Sabrina Johnston, touched out Scott by .01 to come in fifth with 22.54.

Women’s 1-Meter Diving – Finals

• Ivy League Record: 314.20 – Mikaela Thompson, Harvard (2016)
• Ivy Championships Record: 314.20 – Mikaela Thompson, Harvard (2016)
• Princeton Pool Record: 314.20 – Mikaela Thompson, Harvard (2016)
• NCAA A Standard: 265.00

Podium:

1. Charlotte Martinkus, Princeton – 302.70
2. Remi Edvalson, Harvard – 278.75
3. Nina Janmyr, Harvard – 267.10
4. Elizabeth Miclau, Harvard – 257.00
5. Amy Wotovich, Harvard – 249.90
6. Elise Jendritz, Cornell – 249.35
7. Paige Lai, Yale – 248.55
8. Genevieve Thibodeau, Yale – 233.05

Princeton freshman Charlotte Martinkus, with a 60-point dive in round 4, won the 1-meter diving with a dominant 302.70 points. Martinkus, who led the preliminary round this morning, was the most consistent performer in the final, averaging 50.4 points over the six rounds. Her highest-scoring dive was a reverse 2.5 somersault tuck in round 4 that garnered 60.0 points.

Harvard scored 106 points with the next four places. Remi Edvalson, who placed fourth last year, was second with 278.75 points. She averaged 45 points through the first five rounds, then finished with a big 52.80-point dive on the last round, nailing her inward 1.5 somersault pike. Teammates Nina Janmyr, Elizabeth Miclau, and Amy Wotovich were steady performers as well, and all four finished strong to move Cornell’s Elise Jendritz, Yale’s Paige Lai, and Yale’s Genevieve Thibodeau, down to sixth through eighth.

Women’s 200 Freestyle Relay – Timed Final

• Ivy League Record: 1:29.66 – Yale (2022)
• Ivy Championships Record: 1:29.66 – Yale (2022)
• Princeton Pool Record: 1:29.76 – Yale (2019)
• NCAA A Standard: 1:28.43

Podium:

1. Princeton – 1:29.22
2. Yale – 1:30.32
3. Columbia – 1:30.91
4. Cornell – 1:31.19
5. Harvard – 1:31.52
6. Brown – 1:31.60
7. Penn – 1:32.43

Four of the five Princeton A-finalist in the 50 free combined to win the 200 free relay with a new Ivy League, Championship, pool, and school record of 1:29.22. Venema led off in 22.64, four-tenths slower than her winning time in the individual final but still the fastest lead-off in the field. Johnston followed with 21.94 to put the Tigers up by more than half a body length at the 100. It was her second sub-22 of the meet; she anchored the winning 200 medley relay on Wednesday night in 21.93. Liu took over on the third leg and split 22.32, keeping Princeton eight-tenths in front of second-place Yale. Noble anchored in 22.32, outsplitting the field and giving the Tigers a full body-length margin at the wall.

Harvard’s Mostek (22.72) and Columbia’s MacDonald (22.78) were just a tenth behind Venema on the lead-off, but it was Yale who gave Princeton chase from the second leg onward. After Ophelia Pilkinton’s 23.06 leadoff, Yale’s Lindsey Wagner (22.34), Caroline McCurdy (22.34), and Li (22.58) combined for 1:30.32 to finish second.

Columbia came in third with a school record of 1:30.91 from MacDonald (22.78), Arevalo (22.45), Georgia Young (23.02), and Sally Ma (22.66).

Cornell came from behind to beat Harvard with 1:31.19, with efforts from Priscilla Wongso (23.14), Emilie Boisrenoult (23.60), Anna Gruvberger (22.02), and Melissa Parker (22.43).

The Dartmouth relay was disqualified.

Team Scores After Day 2

1. Princeton – 573
2. Harvard – 422
3. Yale – 419
4. Columbia – 359
5. Penn – 312
6. Brown – 248.5
7. Cornell – 212
8. Dartmouth – 100.5