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 (results)
- Live Results
- Live Video (ESPN+)
- Championship Central
- Fan Guide
SATURDAY FINALS HEAT SHEETS
TEAM SCORES AFTER DAY 3
- Princeton – 1023
- Harvard – 794
- Yale – 768.5
- Brown – 607
- Columbia 599
- Penn – 521
- Cornell – 366
- Dartmouth – 182.5
The final session of the 2023 Women’s Ivy League Swimming and Diving Championships is here. Princeton holds a massive lead as we head into tonight and should have the meet sealed up quickly.
Princeton’s Nikki Venema clocked the top time of the morning by a wide margin in the 100 free, coming in at 48.53. She looks well positioned for another Ivy League title tonight.
Harvard’s Samantha Shelton was the top swimmer in the 200 back this morning by over a second, swimming a 1:55.66.
The 200 breast looks like it should be a good race between Yale’s Ava Franks and Princeton’s Margaux McDonald, as both swimmers went 2:12s this morning.
WOMEN’S 1650 FREESTYLE – TIMED FINALS
Ivy League Record: 15:57.34, Alicia Aemisegger, Princeton (2009)Ivy Championships Record: 15:57.34, Alicia Aemisegger, Princeton (2009)Princeton Pool Record: 15:58.57, Alicia Aemisegger, Princeton (2008)- NCAA A Standard: 15:52.41
- 2022 NCAA Invite Time: 16:16.47
RESULTS:
- Anna Kalandadze (PENN) – 15:53.88 (IVY LEAGUE RECORD)
- Sydney Bergstrom (PENN) – 16:20.35
- Anna Moehn (PENN) – 16:22.41
- Olivia Jubin (COL) – 16:24.77
- Megan Reich (PRIN) – 16:34.50
- Emily Appleton (PRIN) – 16:35.55
- Lilly Derivaux (YALE) – 16:35.61
- Lyndsey Reeve (PENN) – 16:48.99
After dropping a huge lifetime best to win the 500 freestyle earlier in the meet, Penn’s Anna Kalandadze was at it again here in the 1650 freestyle. She dominated the race, clocking a new personal best in 15:53.88. That’s an Ivy League record by 3.46 seconds, breaking Alicia Aemisegger‘s record that had stood since 2009. Kalandadze won the race by over 25 seconds.
As in the 500 free, Kalandadze led a 1-2-3 sweep for the Quakers, as Sydney Bergstrom and Anna Moehm grabbed second and third.
WOMEN’S 200 BACKSTROKE – FINALS
- Ivy League Record: 1:52.56 – Felicia Pasadyn, Harvard (2020)
- Ivy Championships Record: 1:52.56 – Felicia Pasadyn, Harvard (2020)
- Princeton Pool Record: 1:51.42 – Natalie Coughlin, Cal (2003)
- NCAA A Standard: 1:50.50
- 2022 NCAA Invite Time: 1:53.97
RESULTS:
- Samantha Shelton (HARV) – 1:54.42
- Anya Mostek (HARV) – 1:55.64
- Meg Wheeler (PRIN) – 1:56.08
- Aziza Ganihanova (COL) – 1:56.20
- Isabella Korbly (PRIN) – 1:57.56
- Quinn Murphy (YALE) – 1:58.32
- Liza Whitmire (PRIN) – 1:58.76
- Addie Rose Bullock (HARV) – 2:01.33
Crimson senior Samantha Shelton earned the win in the 200 backstroke with a 1:54.42, just off her lifetime best of 1:54.01. Shelton opened up a lead on the first 50, and though she turned at the 100-yard mark in second, she quickly fought back and reestablished her lead to take the win over her freshman teammate Anya Mostek.
Mostek touched in a personal best 1:55.64 to earn silver; prior to this swim, she’d never been under 1:56. While Princeton might have (barring disaster) locked this meet up, the Crimson women aren’t going quietly, as they put three swimmers into this final, finishing 1-2-8.
Princeton had third place Meg Wheeler (1:56.08) and seventh place Liza Whitmire (1:58.76) scoring points for them in this final.
WOMEN’S 100 FREESTYLE – FINALS
- Ivy League Record: 47.32 – Iszak Henig, Yale (2022)
- Ivy Championships Record: 47.63 – Lia Thomas, Penn (2022)
- Princeton Pool Record: 47.85 – Bella Hindley, Yale (2019)
- NCAA A Standard: 47.18
- 2022 NCAA Invite Time: 48.44
RESULTS:
- Nikki Venema (PRIN) – 48.33
- Sabrina Johnston (PRIN) – 49.09
- Morgan Lukinac (BROW) – 49.36
- Emily MacDonald (COL) – 49.47
- Ophelia Pilkinton (YALE) – 49.63
- Priscilla Wongso (CORN) – 49.95
- Samantha Scott (BROW)/Mandy Brenner (HARV) – 50.23
- (tie)
One event after the Harvard women went 1-2, the Princeton women fired back with their own 1-2 punch in the 100 freestyle. 2020 champion Nikki Venema reclaimed the title after placing third last year. She swam a lifetime best 48.33 and won by .76 seconds, as no other woman in the field broke 49 seconds. Venema’s previous best was 48.55, which she swam to win Ivies in 2020.
Like the Crimson 1-2 in the 200 back, a Tiger senior finished first, while the freshman in the duo finished second. Sabrina Johnston earned silver in 49.09, well ahead of third place Morgan Lukinac. Johnston’s time was a personal best as well, undercutting the 49.37 she swam at NCSAs in March 2022.
Interestingly, this is the third event in a row where the top two finishers have been from the same school.
WOMEN’S 200 BREASTSTROKE – FINALS
- Ivy League Record: 2:08.47 – Jaycee Yegher, Harvard (2020)
- Ivy Championships Record: 2:08.47 – Jaycee Yegher, Harvard (2020)
- Princeton Pool Record: 2:09.41 – Katie Meile, Columbia (2013)
- NCAA A Standard: 2:06.18
- 2022 NCAA Invite Time: 2:09.15
RESULTS:
- Margaux McDonald (PRIN) – 2:11.38
- Ava Franks (YALE) – 2:11.69
- Eliza Brown (PRIN) – 2:12.60
- Jessey Li (YALE) – 2:13.05
- Isabella Pytel (PENN) – 2:13.80
- Ashley Hu (COL) – 2:14.86
- Olivia Paoletti (YALE) – 2:15.04
- Anna Boeckman (PENN) – 2:16.06
Yale sophomore Ava Franks led for the majority of the race, turning at the 150 mark in 1:35.57, over a second and a half ahead of the rest of the field. She clearly paid for that effort on the final 50, as she split 36.12, the slowest final split in the field. Over the final 50, Margaux McDonald came on strong, splitting a field-best 34.22.
That split allowed her to overtake Franks and earn gold in 2:11.38. Franks finished second in 2:11.69. Her opening speed gave her enough room over the field that she still finished almost a second ahead of third place, Tiger freshman Eliza Brown.
This podium is much faster than the one from 2022. Last year, the winning time was 2:11.93, while Franks earned silver in 2:12.79 and McDonald took bronze in 2:14.88. McDonald has made big improvements this year–coming into the meet, her best time was a 2:13.61 that she swam at Princeton’s tri-meet with Notre Dame and Navy almost a month ago.
WOMEN’S 200 BUTTERFLY – FINALS
- Ivy League Record: 1:54.60 – Alex Forrester, Yale (2013)
- Ivy Championships Record: 1:54.60 – Alex Forrester, Yale (2013)
- Princeton Pool Record: 1:54.60 – Alex Forrester, Yale (2013)
- NCAA A Standard: 1:52.86
- 2022 NCAA Invite Time: 1:56.14
RESULTS:
- Karen Liu (COL) – 1:55.99
- Alex Massey (YALE) – 1:56.90
- Vanessa Chong (PENN) – 1:58.50
- Zehra Bilgin (BROW) – 1:58.59
- Lilly Derivaux (YALE) – 1:58.92
- Allison Martin (COL) _ 1:59.76
- Junseo Kim (YALE) – 2:00.25
- Nell Chidley (BROW) – 2:00.84
As a freshman, Karen Liu made one ‘A’ final and two ‘B’ finals, with her highest finish coming in the 400 IM with fourth. The Ivy league didn’t run her sophomore year, and last year she didn’t compete at the Ivies.
Now, she’s an Ivy League champion in the women’s 200 fly. She led from start to finish and ripped a lifetime best 1:55.99, undercutting the 1:57.59 that she swam in prelims. Coming into the meet, her personal best stood at 1:58.61.
Liu won by over a second, while Yale’s Alex Massey earned silver in 1:56.90, using a strong back half to power past Vanessa Chong. There were wide gaps in this field, as Chong took bronze in 1:58.90, more than a second behind Massey.
WOMEN’S 3-METER DIVING – FINALS
- Ivy League Record:
- Ivy Championships Record: 360.55, Caitlyn Chambers (Princeton, 2015)
- Princeton Pool Record:
RESULTS:
- Charlotte Martinkus (PRIN) – 304.65
- Elizabeth Miclau (HARV) – 303.85
- Nina Janmyr (HARV) – 302.70
- Remi Edvalson (HARV) – 301.50
- Paige Lai (YALE) – 299.20
- Maddie Seltzer (PRIN) – 292.80
- Lily Horenkamp (YALE) – 287.60
- Evie Geier (HARV) – 278.65
Freshman Charlotte Martinkus gave the Tigers their third win of the session with her win on the 3-meter board. This gives her a sweep in the diving well, as she won the 1-meter board earlier in the meet.
Behind her, the Harvard trio of Elizabeth Miclau, Nina Janmyr, and Remi Edvalson went 2-3-4, with thier teammate Evie Geier finishing eighth. Miclau, Janmyr, and Edvalson also went 2-3-4 on the 1-meter, though in a slightly different order; there, Edvalson took second, and Miclau fourth.
Yale also had multiple representatives in the championship flight. Paige Lai, a freshman, finished fifth for the Bulldogs, while Lily Horenkamp, also a freshman, finished seventh.
WOMEN’S 400 FREESTYLE RELAY – FINALS
- Ivy League Record: 3:14.48, Harvard (2020)
- Ivy Championships Record: 3:14.48, Harvard (2020)
Princeton Pool Record: 3:15.47, Harvard (2019)- NCAA A Standard: 3:14.10
- NCAA B Standard: 3:16.32
RESULTS:
- Princeton (Venema, Johnston, Noble, Liu) – 3:15.25 (POOL RECORD)
- Yale (Wagner, McCurdy, Jones, Pilkinton) – 3:18.13
- Brown (Dolce, Jia, Podurgiel, Lukinac) – 3:19.99
- Harvard – 3:20.06
- Columbia – 3:20.28
- Cornell – 3:21.02
- Penn – 3:22.52
DQ: Dartmouth
With the team title locked up, the Princeton quartet of Nikki Venema, Sabrina Johnston, Elzbieta Noble, and Amelia Liu capped off the team’s home pool victory with a pool record in the women’s 400 freestyle. They clocked 3:15.25, lowering the old pool record (set by Harvard in 2019) by .22 seconds.
Princeton won by almost three seconds, as Yale’s squad of Lindsey Wagner, Caroline McCurdy, Raime Jones, and Ophelia Pilkinton earned silver in 3:18.23.
On the final leg of the race Brown’s anchor, freshman Morgan Lukinac came from behind Harvard, splitting 49.76 to out-touch Samantha Shelton for bronze, 3:19.99 to 3:20.06.
Final Team Scores
- Princeton – 1480
- Harvard – 1254
- Yale – 1158.5
- Brown – 951.5
- Columbia – 910.5
- Penn – 832
- Cornell – 552
- Dartmouth – 255.5
This meet was fast. Really exciting to see Princeton on top after struggling so much last year. Venema is lights out and would love to see where / if she decides to use her 5th year. Addition of Charlotte Martinkus is a huge boost for Princeton who really struggled last year in diving.
Kalandaze is a class act and great for the Ivy League. I can’t wait to see her at NCAAs. Penn is building a dominating distance group and they would be a huge force on the scene if they could get other events up to the same par.
Was really impressed by Columbia and Brown this year. Brown had a great freshman class who excelled in… Read more »
Congratulations, Princeton. Special kudos to Charlotte Martinkus for sweeping the diving events and contributing to the great overall team performance.
I don’t believe that the meet officials care about anyone’s past or what they’ve been through while making a disqualification…not part of the job, sorry pal. Take it out on Jesse Moore if you need someone to blame.
Explain the positive.14 rjp. I’m not saying they are trying to take this out on Dartmouth, I am saying that if Princeton or Harvard had this happen to them things would change with how the reviewal process works in this league. The facts speak for themselves.
Both Princeton and Yale had seniors disqualified in their last individual races Saturday morning. Baseless argument to claim that the process would have been different based on the school.
Meet officials need to be fired for disqualifying Dartmouth off a .14 relay reaction time. Simply unacceptable and the fact there is no review process in a situation like this is a travesty to the swimmer, the team, the parents, the coaches, and a program that has been through more than anyone in the past 3 years.
Ivy League do better.
It is a pretty bad call, especially if they have a system measuring the reaction times. But fire them? Come on, dude. You may not realize this, but being a college meet official is not some super-lucrative position filled with applicants who are dying to get their foot in the door.