2024 Ivy League Women’s Championships: Day 2 Finals Live Recap

2024 Ivy League Women’s Swimming & Diving Championships

• Wednesday, February 21 – Saturday, February 24, 2024
• Katherine Moran Coleman Aquatics Center, Providence, RI
• Defending Champions:
  • Women: Princeton (1x)
• Championship Central
• Pre-scratch Psych Sheet
• Live Results
• Live Video
• Day 1 Finals Live Recap
• Day 2 Prelims Live Recap

Thursday Finals Heat Sheet 

After winning both relays to open the meet on Wednesday, Princeton claimed two of the top three seeds in swimming events this morning. Dakota Tucker leads the way for Princeton in the 200 IM, a field that will feature five Tigers tonight. Eleanor Sun, who was the top seeded entrant coming into the meet, will also lineup in that final. Sabrina Johnston and Ela Noble were the top two qualifiers in the 50 free, touching in 22.28 and 22.37 earlier today.

Penn posted the top two times in the 500 free heats, with defending champion Anna Kalandadze swimming in lane four tonight. She checked-in at 4:40.84 in the final heat, and won the event last year in a personal best time of 4:38.86.

Harvard and Yale were very impressive in 1-meter diving prelims, with Harvard claiming the top two spots heading into the final tonight. Yale checked-in with the 3rd and 4th ranked divers this morning.

The women’s 200 free relay will also be contested tonight, where Princeton is ranked 1st by about a second.

WOMEN’S 500 FREESTYLE — FINALS

• NCAA Record: 4:24.06, Katie Ledecky, Stanford (2017)
• Ivy League Record: 4:33.24 — Lia Thomas, Penn (2021)
• Ivy Championships Record: 4:36.37 — Ellie Marquardt, Princeton (2020)
• 2024 NCAA ‘A’ Standard: 4:37.89
• 2023 NCAA Invited Time: 4:41.09

Top 8 Finishers:

1. Anna Kalandadze (PENN) – 4:37.21
2. Anna Moehn (PENN) – 4:42.12
3. Alexandra Bastone (HARV) – 4:42.86
4. Lilly Derivaux (YALE) – 4:46.35
5. Ellie Marquardt (PRIN) – 4:46.47
6. Caroline Riggs (YALE) – 4:47.64
7. Aziza Ganihanova (COL) – 4:48.81
8. Sydney Bergstrom (PENN) – 4:49.81

Penn’s Anna Kalandadze, the defending champion, lowered her best time by over a second to claim gold. She hit the wall in a swift 4:37.21, which eclipses the 4:38.86 she put on the books at this meet last year. Teammate Anna Moehn made it a Penn 1-2 finish, clocking 4:42.12 to outpace Harvard’s Alexandra Bastone (4:42.86).

The time from Moehn is a huge personal best, eclipsing the 4:45.48 she posted at the 2023 edition of these championships. It was a similar story for Bastone, as her 4:42.86 time lowers the 4:45.80 she clocked in November.

Lilly Derivaux of Yale put her hand on the wall in 4:46.35, while teammate Caroline Riggs finished 6th with a time of 4:47.64.

The championship record holder, Ellie Marquardt of Princeton, finished 5th tonight. Her time of 4:46.47 is a bit off her record of 4:36.37, but earned her team a valuable 25 points. Columbia’s Aziza Ganihanova (4:48.81) and Penn’s Sydney Bergstrom (4:49.81) rounded out the top eight, finishing 7th and 8th.

Columbia sophomore Lindsay Orringer had a great swim to win the ‘B’ final, touching in 4:48.95. She was 13th out of prelims with her 4:50.84 effort produced there, so she moved up several slots and dropped nearly two seconds in the process.

WOMEN’S 200 INDIVIDUAL MEDLEY — FINALS

• NCAA Record: 1:48.37, Kate Douglass, Virginia (2023)
• Ivy League Record: 1:54.72, Katie Meili, Columbia (2013)
• Ivy Championships Record: 1:55.09, Katie Meili, Columbia (2013)
• 2024 NCAA ‘A’ Standard: 1:53.66
• 2023 NCAA Invited Time: 1:56.90

Top 8 Finishers:

1. Dakota Tucker (PRIN) – 1:56.77
2. Margaux McDonald (PRIN) – 1:56.96
3. Eleanor Sun (PRIN) – 1:57.83
4. Eliza Brown (PRIN) – 1:59.08
5. Ava Franks (YALE) – 1:59.67
6. Liza Whitmire (PRIN) – 2:00.89
7. Stephanie Iannaccone (HARV) – 2:01.05
8. Jessey Li (YALE) – 2:01.63

Princeton continues to impress here in Providence…now adding a 1-2-3-4 finish in the 200 IM to their 2023-2024 resume.

Freshman Dakota Tucker led the way in 1:56.77, defending her top seed from this morning. Her time cut 0.02 off her entry time coming into the meet, and lowered her 1:57.15 prelim marker. Margaux McDonald (1:56.96), Eleanor Sun (1:57.83), and Eliza Brown (1:59.08) finished behind Tucker to complete the sweep. The time from McDonald, who is a senior, represents the first time she has dipped under the 1:59-barrier.

Tucker swam the race almost identical to her previous best time, showcasing incredible consistency across all four disciplines.

Splits Comparison:

In addition to the 1-2-3-4 sweep, Liza Whitmire contributed 24 points to the Tigers with her 6th-place finish. The Yale duo of Ava Franks (1:59.67) and Jessey Li (2:01.63) recorded 5th and 8th place finishes, respectively. Stephanie Iannaccone of Harvard touched in 2:01.05 for 7th place status.

Penn freshman Katya Eruslanova dropped a full second from her prelim time to win the ‘B’ final. She entered the meet with a time of 2:01.26, clocked 2:01.03 in the prelims, and just won her heat tonight in a near sub-2:00 minute time of 2:00.03.

WOMEN’s 50 FREESTYLE — FINALS

• NCAA Record: 20.57, Gretchen Walsh, Virginia (2024)
• Ivy League Record: 21.83, Bella Hindley, Yale (2019)
• Ivy Championships Record: 21.83, Bella Hindley, Yale (2019)
• 2024 NCAA ‘A’ Standard: 21.63
• 2023 NCAA Invited Time: 22.15

Top 8 Finishers:

1. Sabrina Johnston (PRIN) – 22.07
2. Ela Noble (PRIN) – 22.13
3. Samantha Scott (BROWN) – 22.44
4. Morgan Lukinac (BROWN) – 22.46
5. Anya Mostek (HARV) – 22.68
6. Priscilla Wongso (CORN) – 22.77
7. Heidi Smithwick (PRIN) – 22.86
8. Blythe Wieclawek (HARV) – 23.47

Princeton teammates Sabrina Johnston and Ela Noble added to the positive momentum for Princeton, touching for a 1-2 finish in the 50 free. Johnston’s winning time of 22.07 equals a decade-old school record in the event, with Noble touching just 0.06 back in 22.13. Teammate Heidi Smithwick placed 7th overall, recording a final time of 22.86. Having three swimmers in this ‘A’ final bodes well for Princeton’s 200 free relay, which will take place at the end of tonight’s session.

Brown hit the wall in sub-22.5 times, with Samantha Scott (22.44) just out-swimming Morgan Lukinac (22.46) at the touch. They were followed by Harvard’s Anya Mostek, who hit the wall in 22.68, clipping 0.01 off her prelim time (22.69).

Mostek’s teammate, Blythe Wieclawek, finished 8th tonight with a respectable 23.47 time. Cornell’s Priscilla Wongso held her 6th seed, finishing just 0.07 outside her prelim time in 22.77.

Yale’s Caroline McCurdy roared to victory in the ‘B’ final, clocking a sub-23 performance. She finished in 22.99, winning the heat by 0.12, and just missing her 22.83 best time from 2023.

WOMEN’S 1-METER DIVING – FINALS

• Ivy League Record: 314.20 – Mikaela Thompson, Harvard (2016)
• Ivy Championships Record: 314.20 – Mikaela Thompson, Harvard (2016)

Top 8 Finishers:

1. Nina Janmyr (HARV) – 289.30 points
2. Genevieve Thibodeau (YALE) – 282.20 points
3. Amy Wotovich (HARV) – 277.10 points
4. Isabelle George (BROWN) – 274.40 points
5. Francesca Noviello (PRIN) – 272.30 points
6. Gloria Lai (YALE) – 267.80 points
7. Lily Horenkamp (YALE) – 266.40 points
8. Remi Edvalson (HARV) – 266.20 points

Harvard sophomore Nina Janmyr claimed the 1-meter diving title, scoring 289.30 points. Her junior teammate, Amy Wotovich, posted a score of 277.10 points to finish 3rd overall. Genevieve Thibodeau of Yale finished between those two teammates, putting up a score of 282.20.

Janmyr was 3rd last year. where she scored 267.10 points. Wotovich was 5th a year ago with 249.90 points. Thibodeau was 8th last year, finishing with a score of 233.05 points.

WOMEN’S 200 FREESTYLE RELAY – FINALS

• NCAA Record: 1:23.63 – Virginia (2024)
• Ivy League Record: 1:28.85 – Princeton (2023)
• Ivy Championships Record: 1:29.22 – Princeton (2023)
• NCAA ‘A’ Cut: 1:28.43

Top 8 Finishers:

1. Princeton – 1:29.03 *Ivy League MEET Record* 
2. Harvard – 1:29.45
3. Brown – 1:30.22
4. Yale – 1:31.02
5. Cornell – 1:31.04
6. Columbia – 1:32.15
7. Dartmouth – 1:32.33
8. Penn – 1:32.73

After setting a new Ivy League record in the 200 medley relay last night, Princeton added a meet record tonight. This time, the team of Sabrina Johnston, Ela Noble, Heidi Smithwick, and Isabella Korbly teamed up to take down the 1:29.22 from last year, touching in 1:29.03.

Johnston and Noble produced a 1-2 finish in the individual 50 free earlier in the night, and featured on the first two legs of the record-breaking relay. Johnston led off within 0.05 of her individual time from earlier in the night, while Noble split a very fast 21.77 on the second leg. See a full splits comparison of the new record versus the old record, below.

Splits Comparison:

Harvard swam a great race for 2nd place, mounting a late charge over the final 50. Anya Mostek (22.72), Blythe Wieclawek (22.07), Sydney Lu (22.24), and Addie Rose Bullock (22.42) combined to post a time of 1:29.45. Brown rounded out the top three in 1:30.22, with their fastest split coming in the form of Morgan Lukinac‘s 22.24 on the second leg.

TEAM SCORES AFTER DAY 2:

1. Princeton – 523 points
2. Harvard – 422.5 points
3. Yale – 417.5 points
4. Brown – 342.5 points
5. Penn – 302 points
6. Columbia – 261 points
7. Cornell – 224.5 points
8. Dartmouth – 197 points