2023 Women’s Big Ten Championships: Day 2 Finals Live Recap

2023 WOMEN’S BIG TEN CHAMPIONSHIPS

• Wednesday, February 15 – Saturday, February 18, 2023
• Canham Natatorium, Ann Arbor, MI
• Defending Champions:
  • Women: Ohio State (3x)
• Live Results
• Live Video
• Championship Central
• Day 2 Schedule
• Day 2 Prelims Live Recap
• Day 2 Ups and Downs
• Fan Guide

Indiana is clinging to a slim lead over Ohio State and Michigan heading into the second finals session of the 2023 Women’s Big Ten Swimming & Diving Championships on Thursday night.

The Buckeyes probably had the best morning out of any team, earning seven ‘A’ finalists, seven ‘B’ finalists, and one ‘C’ finalist, but the host Wolverines actually put the most athletes in scoring position tonight. Michigan has 16 swims/dives set to score tonight, including six ‘A’ finalists, six ‘B’ finalists, and four ‘C’ finalists. The Hoosiers boasts 10 ‘A’ finalists for tonight, but they’re lacking in depth without any ‘B’ or ‘C’ finalists in the mix.

The session will start with the 500 free, where Wisconsin sophomore Abby Carlson (4:39.28) was the only swimmer sub-4:40 in prelims. Fellow Wisconsin sophomore Paige McKenna faces an uphill battle to defend her title as the sixth seed (4:41.67). Both Wisconsin and Indiana placed three swimmers in the A-final.

Ohio State senior Josie Panitz led the 200 IM prelims with a time of 1:55.75. Wisconsin’s Phoebe Bacon (1:56.13) and Indiana’s Noelle Peplowski (1:56.32) were close behind.

Ohio State teammates Teresa Ivan (21.78) and Amy Fulmer (21.79) were separated by just .01 seconds during the 50 free prelims, with Michigan’s Lindsay Flynn (21.92) the only other swimmer in the field sub-22.

TEAM SCORES AFTER DAY 1

1. Indiana – 118
2. Ohio State – 116
3. Michigan – 112
t4. Wisconsin – 102
t4. Northwestern – 102
6. Penn State – 98
t7. Rutgers – 90
t7. Minnesota – 90
9. Nebraska – 80
10. Illinois – 66
11. Purdue – 64
12. Iowa – 62

500 FREESTYLE — FINALS

• Meet Record – 4:34.40, G Ryan (2017)
• Pool Record – 4:35.19, Haley Lips (2016)
• NCAA ‘A’ Cut – 4:35.76
• 2022 NCAA Invited Time – 4:43.08
• 2022 Champion – 4:38.09, Paige McKenna (Wisconsin)

Top 8:

1. Abby Carlson (Wisconsin) – 4:38.15
2. Ching Gan (Indiana) – 4:38.96
3. Katie Crom (Michigan) – 4:39.05
4. Mariah Denigan (Indiana) – 4:40.52
5. Paige McKenna (Wisconsin) – 4:40.98
6. Elyse Heiser (Indiana) – 4:41.48
7. Blair Stoneburg (Wisconsin) – 4:42.54
8. Shannon Stott (Nebraska) – 4:44.45

Heading into this season, many might have assumed this year’s 500 free champion would be a sophomore from Wisconsin, but few thought it was going to Abby Carlson instead of defending champion Paige McKenna.

After finishing five seconds behind McKenna at last year’s Big Ten Championships, Carlson took the top seed in prelims with a personal-best 4:39.28 before shaving another second off her lifetime best with her winning time of 4:38.15. Before this meet, her best time was a 4:43.08 from last year’s Big Tens.

Indiana sophomore Ching Gan reached the wall second in a time of 4:38.96, dropping more than a second off her lifetime best from last year’s Big Tens.

Michigan freshman Katie Crom also set a new personal best by a couple tenths of a second en route to her third-place finish. Crom threw down a blazing 26.64 split on the final 50 to overtake Indiana sophomore Mariah Denigan (4:40.52).

Notably, Nebraska senior Shannon Stott was the only upperclassman in the entire A-final.

200 INDIVIDUAL MEDLEY — FINALS

• Meet Record – 1:51.66, Beata Nelson (2020)
• Pool Record – 1:54.97, Siobhan Haughey (2016)
• NCAA ‘A’ Cut – 1:53.66
• 2022 NCAA Invited Time – 1:56.85
• 2022 Champion – 1:54.43, Kristen Romano (Ohio State)

Top 8:

1. Josie Panitz (Ohio State) – 1:54.96
2. Phoebe Bacon (Wisconsin) – 1:55.06
3. Megan Van Berkom (Minnesota) – 1:55.67
4. Noelle Peplowski (Indiana) – 1:55.89
5. Letitia Sim (Michigan) – 1:56.20
6. Devon Kitchel (Michigan) – 1:56.36
7. Mac Looze (Indiana) – 1:57.38
8. Paige Hall (Ohio State) – 1:57.45

Ohio State senior Josie Panitz (1:54.96) held off Wisconsin junior Phoebe Bacon (1:55.06) by a tenth of a second for the 200 IM victory. In the process, Panitz just barely took down Siobhan Haughey‘s pool record of 1:54.97 from 2016.

Minnesota junior Megan Van Berkom secured third place in 1:55.67 while Indiana fifth-year Noelle Peplowski placed fourth with a 1:55.89, both slightly off their personal-best times. Michigan freshman Devon Kitchel tallied a new lifetime best with a 1:56.36, placing sixth behind sophomore teammate Letitia Sim (1:56.20).

50 FREESTYLE — FINALS

• Meet Record – 21.28, Zhesi Li (2018)
• Pool Record – 21.63, Zhesi Li (2016)
• NCAA ‘A’ Cut – 21.66
• 2022 NCAA Invited Time – 22.16
• 2022 Champion – 21.32, Maggie MacNeil (Michigan)

Top 8:

1. Katherine Zenick (Ohio State) – 21.85
2. Amy Fulmer (Ohio State) – 21.86
3. Teresa Ivan (Ohio State) – 21.87
4. Kristina Paegle (Indiana) – 21.91
5. Nyah Funderburke (Ohio State) – 21.95
6. Lindsay Flynn (Michigan) – 21.99
7. Ashley Turak (Indiana) – 22.35
8. Brady Kendall (Michigan) – 22.35

Ohio State’s stacked sprint crew boosted the Buckeyes into the lead with a dominant 1-2-3-5 finish in the 50 free finals. Katherine Zenick led the way with a 21.85, with Ohio State teammates Amy Fulmer (21.86) and Teresa Ivan (21.87) reaching the wall right behind her. Both Fulmer and Ivan were slightly off their top-seeded times from prelims this morning.

Not only did the Buckeyes sweep the podium, but they also boasted another sub-22 swimmer in fifth-place finisher Nyah Funderburke (21.95).

Indiana freshman Kristina Paegle broke the 22-second barrier for the first time with a 21.91, placing fourth behind the Ohio State trio of Zenick, Fulmer, and Ivan. Paegle’s previous best was a 22.07 from last November.

Ohio State totaled 132 points in the event as Catherine Russo also took the top spot in the B-final with a 22.04.

1-METER DIVING — FINALS

• Meet Record — 376.10, Sarah Bacon (2022)
• 2022 Champion — 376.10, Sarah Bacon (Minnesota)

Top 8:

1. Anne Fowler (Indiana) – 324.60
2. Kiarra Milligan (Michigan) – 314.85
3. Joy Zhu (Minnesota) – 314.40
4. Daphne Wils (Penn State) – 311.45
5. ZingYu Liu (Indiana) – 311.10
6. Lucy Hogan (Michigan) – 308.10
7. Megan Carter (Indiana) – 285.25
8. Megan Phillip (Minnesota) – 281.80

Indiana sophomore Anne Fowler cruised to the 1-meter diving title with a score of 324.60, leading a trio of Hoosiers in the A-final.

Michigan freshman Kiarra Milligan earned a runner-up finish with 314.85 points, posting the biggest improvement from prelims. Minnesota senior Joy Zhu was close behind with a 3:14.40 while top seed Daphne Wils of Penn State placed fourth with 311.45. Indiana’s Skyler Liu (286.45) and Megan Carter (285.65) placed fifth and seventh, respectively.

400 MEDLEY RELAY — FINALS

• Meet Record — 3:26.35, Ohio State (2022)
• Pool Record: 3:30.17, Indiana (2016)
• 2022 Champion — 3:26.35, Ohio State
• NCAA ‘A’ Cut — 3:31.38

Top 8:

1. Ohio State – 3:26.68
2. Indiana – 3:29.82
3. Michigan – 3:31.07
4. Wisconsin – 3:31.75
5. Northwestern – 3:32.38
6. Minnesota – 3:35.06
7. Rutgers – 3:35.17
8. Penn State – 3:36.66

Ohio State ran away with the 400 medley relay, clocking a 3:26.68 that crushed the previous pool record at Michigan while scaring the Buckeyes’ own meet record from last year.

Ohio State sophomore Nyah Funderburke led off the relay with a 51.90 backstroke split, senior Hannah Bach went 57.53 on the breaststroke leg, junior Katherine Zenick split 50.72 on butterfly duties, and senior Amy Fulmer anchored the win with a 46.53 split. Bach, Zenick, and Fulmer each recorded the fastest splits in the field for their respective strokes. The fastest opening backstroke splits came courtesy of Indiana’s Anna Peplowski (51.62) and Wisconsin’s Phoebe Bacon (51.66).

Second-place Indiana (3:29.82) was also under the previous pool record thanks to its quartet of Anna Peplowski (51.62), Noelle Peplowski (58.38), Elizabeth Broshears (52.41), and Kristina Paegle (47.41).

Third-place Michigan (3:31.07) joined Ohio State and Indiana in sneaking under the NCAA ‘A’ cut of 3:31.38. Michigan junior Casey Chung (53.46), sophomore Letitia Sim (58.45), freshman Brady Kendall (51.87), and sophomore Lindsay Flynn (47.29) helped the Wolverines earn a podium finish less than a second ahead of Wisconsin (3:31.75).

TEAM SCORES AFTER DAY 2

1. Ohio State – 441
2. Indiana – 429.5
3. Michigan – 423.5
4. Wisconsin – 347
5. Minnesota – 297
6. Northwestern – 244
7. Penn State – 200
8. Rutgers – 188
9. Nebraska – 164
10. Purdue – 151
11. Iowa – 107
12. Illinois – 106

Highlighted by victories in three of the four races on Thursday night, Ohio State enjoyed a big evening that saw the Buckeyes leapfrog Indiana in the team standings. Indiana and Michigan are still within striking distance, though, if three-time defending champion Ohio State slips up at all this week.