2023 NCAA Division II Women’s and Men’s Swimming and Diving Championships
- Dates: Tuesday, March 7 – Saturday, March 11, 2023
- Location: Indiana University Natatorium, Indianapolis, IN
- Times: Prelims 10:00 AM / Finals 6:00 PM
- Defending Champs: Queens women (7x) & Queens men (7x)
- Live Streaming on NCAA.com
- Live Results
- Women’s Psych Sheet
- Men’s Psych Sheet
The 2023 NCAA Division II Swimming and Diving Championships are taking place in Indianapolis and will run five days from Tuesday, March 7 through Saturday, March 11. Both the women’s meet and the men’s meet will crown new champions this year, as Queens University of Charlotte, who won the last seven titles in a row on both the women’s and men’s sides, are in the first year of a transition period from Division II to Division I.
Team Score Predictions – Women (no diving)
The top ten teams from the women’s psych sheet, including distance events and relays but not including diving, are as follows:
- Nova S’eastern – 621
- Colorado Mesa – 422
- UIndy – 363
- Drury – 320
- Tampa – 305
- Wingate – 220
- West Chester – 205
- Lynn – 204
- Carson-Newman – 148
- McKendree – 103
In the women’s meet, Nova S’eastern comes in with 11 highly-ranked swimmers whose seedings put the Sharks in strong position to claim the 2023 team title. Colorado Mesa (12 swimmers), UIndy (16), Drury (10), and Tampa (18) are expected to round out the top five.
Events to Watch
100/200 Butterfly
In the 100, last year’s winner and runner-up, Luna Mertins of Lynn (53.19) and Ann Carozza of West Chester (52.52), as well as 2021’s runner-up, Paige Mikesell from IUP (53.61), make up three of the top four seeds in the 100 fly, all of whom come in with sub-54s. The number two seed, Manon Compagner of Carson-Newman (52.92), has improved 2 seconds from last year, when she finished 15th. Carozza holds the meet record in this event with 52.06, but Mertins won with 52.19 last year, clipping Carozza by .08. It could be an even more exciting final this year with such a narrow spread at the top of the field.
Carozza crushed the Division II meet record in the 200 last year, coming to the wall nearly 2 seconds ahead of Mertins. She, Mertins, and Mikesell are the top three entrants in this event, and it should be an excellent race this year.
200 Freestyle
It will be all new faces in the final of the 200 free this year. Emilia Ronningdal and Emily Trieschmann of Nova S’eastern come in with the two fastest seed times of 1:47.04 and 1:47.53, respectively, but Helga Fodor of Lynn has also been faster than 1:48 this year. Freshmen Mika Heideyer of Indy (1:48.42) and Lucy Hedley of Grand Valley (1:48.50) and Colorado Mesa’s Katerina Matoskova (1:48.67) and Lauren White (1:48.73) are also contenders. In any case, the top seven seeds are all entered with faster times than half of last year’s A final.
100 Breaststroke
The highest returning finisher from 2022 is top-seeded Savanna Best of Nova S’eastern, who comes in with a time of 1:00.30. That makes her the favorite by 1.5 seconds over Colorado Mesa’s Lily Borgenheimer (1:01.87). They were both A finalists last year. Borgenheimer is already faster than she had been leading into NCAAs in each of the last two years, so she could give Best a run for her money.
The next 12 entrants are all sub-1:03s, with Claire Conover of Drury (1:02.19), Amanda Wenhold of Wingate (1:02.38), and Jordan Tierney of Mines (1:02.37) leading the pack.
200 Backstroke
Drury’s Alexandra Waller brings the top entry time in the 200 back (1:56.06), but she will be challenged by three of the top four finishers from last year, including 2022 champion Celina Marquez of Nova S’eastern (1:57.57), Mertins of Lynn (1:56.56), and Indy’s Katie McCoy (1:57.07.).
Team Score Predictions – Men (no diving)
The top ten teams from the men’s psych sheet, including distance events and relays but not diving, are as follows:
- UIndy – 387
- Drury – 325
- Tampa – 321
- McKendree – 302
- Findlay – 287
- Colorado Mesa – 276
- Oklahoma Christian – 252
- Nova S’eastern – 225
- Wingate – 213
- Henderson State – 188
On the men’s side, Drury (15), Indy (13), Colorado Mesa (12), Wingate (11), McKendree (9), and Tampa (9) bring the largest contingents.
Events to Watch
500/1000/1650 Freestyle
With the top two entrants seeded faster than last year’s winning time, the 500 free should be an exciting race. Santiago Corredor of Tampa (4:19.96) and last year’s runner-up, Victor Rosado of Oklahoma Christian (4:20.04), lead a strong field of contenders. Indy’s Cedric Buessing (4:20.66), ninth in 2022, and Tampa’s Hayden Curley (4:20.77) are also favorites for the title.
Curley is top seed in the 1000 free with 8:56.58, just 2.4 seconds off the meet record. Buessing (9:01.69), Rosado (9:04.45), and Grand Valley’s Eric Hieber (9:04.47) will provide strong challenges to Curley in the final.
Buessing (15:02.54) leads the field of entrants in the 1650 free by more than ten seconds. Curley (15:12.68) and Hieber (15:15.03) will be on either side of him in the timed final on Saturday.
100 Butterfly
With the top nine entrants all seeded within .44 of each other, the 100 fly is expected to be an exciting event. 2022 bronze medalist Gregg Lichinsky of McKendree tops the field with 46.00, a time that would have won the title last year by .30. Findlay’s Tim Stollings, who was runner-up a year ago, is seeded second with 46.14, just ahead of Indy’s Jeron Thompson (46.29).
400 IM
The 400 IM is shaping up to be a good race with, among others, Benjamin Sampson of Colorado Mesa (3:45.23), Tampa’s Corredor (3:45.75), Indy’s Buessing (3:46.02), and Nova S’eastern’s Jarryd Baxter (3:46.67). Buessing and Baxter finished second and third a year ago.
100/200 Backstroke
Colorado Mesa’s Sampson, 2022’s fourth-place finisher, leads the entrants in the 100 back by nearly four-tenths with 45.96, the only sub-46 in the field. Indy’s Thompson (46.31), Daniel Aizenberg of Florida Tech (46.84), Drury’s Nathan Bighetti (46.87), and Lamar Taylor of Henderson State (46.88) will seek to challenge Sampson. Findlay’s Stollings, 2021’s runner-up, leads the 47s with a seed time of 47.19.
Sampson, the NCAA Division II record-holder in the 200 back, tops the field by 3.3 seconds in the 200 back, coming in with a time of 1:39.53.
5-Day Schedule – Finals
Tuesday, March 7, 2023
- 800 free relay
Wednesday, March 8, 2023
- 1000-yard freestyle
- 200-yard individual medley
- 50-yard freestyle
- 1-meter diving (W)
- 200-yard medley relay
Thursday, March 9, 2023
- 100-yard butterfly
- 400-yard individual medley
- 200-yard freestyle
- 3-meter diving (M)
- 400-yard medley relay
Friday, March 10, 2023
- 500-yard freestyle
- 100-yard backstroke
- 100-yard breaststroke
- 200-yard butterfly
- 3-meter diving (W)
- 200-yard freestyle relay
Saturday, March 11, 2023
- 1650-yard freestyle
- 100-yard freestyle
- 200-yard backstroke
- 200-yard breaststroke
- 1-meter diving (M)
- 400-yard freestyle relay
