2025 Women’s Big Ten Championships: Day 3 Finals Live Recap

2025 BIG TEN CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIPS

• Dates: Wednesday, February 19 – Saturday, February 22
• Location: McCorkle Aquatic Pavilion, Columbus, OH
• Teams: Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, Northwestern, Ohio State, Penn State, Purdue, Rutgers, UCLA, USC, Wisconsin
• Defending champions: Indiana (1x)
• Championship Central
• Live Results
• Live Video: B1G+
• Results: Day 1 | Day 2
• Recaps:
  • Finals: Day 1 | Day 2
  • Prelims: Day 2 | Day 3
• Day 3 Ups/Mids/Downs

Team Scores After Day 2

1. Ohio State- 480
2. Michigan- 431
3. Indiana- 378
4. Wisconsin- 301
5. USC- 292
6. Minnesota- 239
7. Purdue- 199
8. Northwestern- 182
9. Nebraska- 154
10. UCLA- 140
11. Rutgers- 139
12. Penn State- 110
13. Illinois- 105
14. Iowa- 84

FRIDAY FINALS HEAT SHEET

The Women’s Big Ten Championships has been incredibly exciting so far, and the team race is one of the closest of the meets we are watching this weekend.

Ohio State comes into the meet ahead, and, based on their prelims performance, they should stay there. They put seven swimmers through to the ‘A’ final, and are projected to score upwards of 300 points during the session.

While OSU had the strongest prelims sessions, Indiana swimmer Miranda Grana had the best individual prelims session, locking up two top seeds. She started with a win in the 100 fly, coming in at 51.27 seven tenths ahead of the field in the event. She then went on to earn the top spot in the 100 backstroke at 50.90, three-and-a-half tenths ahead of the 2nd place qualifier.

Sienna Angove from Ohio State picked up her 2nd top seed of the meet, earning the top qualifying spot in the 400 IM at 4:05.99, a whole second ahead of 2nd place.

Anna Peplowski earned the top spot in the 200 freestyle, swimming 1:42.55. On Wednesday, she led off the relay in 1:40.69, so she certainly has more in the tank as she hunts her 2nd win of the meet at tonight’s finals session.

Former NCAA Champion Kaitlyn Dobler snagged the middle lane in the 100 breaststroke final, six tenths ahead of Michigan’s Letitia Sim in 2nd.

Tonight’s session also includes the women’s 3-meter diving event and the 400 medley relay. Michigan is 3-for-3 in relays so far this meet, and they will be looking to continue their sweep, though they have a slight uphill climb to beat Wisconsin and Indiana, who are both seeded more than a second ahead of them.

100 BUTTERFLY – FINALS

• Big Ten Meet Record – 49.42, Maggie MacNeil, MICH (2020)
• Big Ten Record – 48.89, Maggie MacNeil, MICH (2019)
• NCAA ‘A’ Cut – 50.52
• 2024 NCAA Invite time: 51.88
• 2024 Champion: KitKat Zenick (OSU) – 51.47

Top 8 Finishers:

1. Miranda Grana (IU)- 50.80
2. Brady Kendall (MICH)- 51.60
3. Lexi Greenhawt (MICH)- 51.65
4. Caroline Famous (USC)- 52.19
5. Natalie Kan (MICH)- 52.36
6. Ella Piersma (MICH)- 52.37
7. Emma Harvey (UCLA)- 52.39
8. Margaret Markvardt (PSU)- 52.55

Sophomore Miranda Grana wins her first of two events this finals session, swimming 50.80 in the women’s 100 butterfly and coming in exactly eight-tenths ahead of the rest of the field. This was exactly a three tenth drop for Grana, who had a previous best of 51.10 from the Ohio State Invite earlier this year.

Michigan picked up 2nd, 3rd, 5th, and 6th overall in the event. Brady Kendall went 51.60 for 2nd, which was a best time by just over a tenth of a second, dropping from the 51.72 she went at last year’s NCAAs. Bronze medalist Lexi Greenhawt had a huge best time today swimming 51.65 in the final, dropping from her pervious best of 53.01. Natalie Kan added around half-a-second, swimming 52.35 for 5th, and Ella Piersma had about a three-tenth drop to 52.37 for 2nd.

USC’s Genevieve Sasseville swam 52.07 to win the ‘B’ final in a time that would have been 4th overall.

400 INDIVIDUAL MEDLEY – FINALS

• Big Ten Meet Record – 4:01.41, Allysa Vavra, IU (2012)
• Big Ten Record – 4:01.35, Calypso Sheridan, NU (2019)
• NCAA ‘A’ Cut – 4:03.62
• 2024 NCAA Invite time: 4:10.74
• 2024 Champion: Megan Van Berkom (MINN) – 4:06.71

Top 8 Finishers:

1. Sienna Angove (OSU)- 4:03.92
2. Mia Rankin (OSU)- 4:04.85
3. Ashley McMillan (USC)- 4:05.20
4. Krista Marlin (OSU)- 4:06.79
5. Callahan Dunn (WISC)- 4:07.50
6. Reese Tiltmann (IU)- 4;07.61
7. Hannah Bellard (MICH)- 4:09.13
8. Paige Maceachern (UCLA)- 4:11.07

Sienna Angove wins her first event of the meet, touching almost a second ahead of the rest of the field in the women’s 400 IM. The Ohio State Freshman is making a strong case for freshman of the year, especially with her event win tonight. Angove hung in the middle of the pack through the first 300 of the race, sitting in 4th after the breaststroke, but she had the best last 100 in the field by a large margin, splitting 27.39/26.40 on her last 100 to go 53.79. The next fastest final 100 split was 7th place finisher Hannah Bellard at 55.09.

Mia Rankin, also from Ohio State, took 2nd overall, coming in at 4:04.85. This was a three second drop from her previous best of 4:09.74 from earlier this season. She is also well under the 2024 Invite time of 4:10.74 in the event.

Ashley McMillan from USC rounded out the podium finishers with her 4:05.20 for 3rd. Her time was also a significant drop, improving from her 4:09.04 from the Texas Hall of Fame Invite.

200 FREESTYLE – FINALS

• Big Ten Meet Record – 1:40.69, Anna Peplowski, IU (2025)
• Big Ten Record – 1:40.69, Anna Peplowski, IU/Siobhan Haughey, MICH
• NCAA ‘A’ Cut – 1:42.60
• 2024 NCAA Invite time: 1:44.80
• 2024 Champion: Anna Peplowski (IU) – 1:42.62

Top 8 Finishers:

1. Stephanie Balduccini (MICH)- 1:41.15 (NCAA ‘A’ CUT)
2. Minna Abraham (USC)- 1:41.29 (NCAA ‘A’ CUT)
3. Anna Peplowski (IU)- 1:41.45 (NCAA ‘A’ CUT)
4. Abby Carlson (WISC)- 1:44.14
5. Christey Liang (MICH)- 1:44.34
6. Malia Amuan (MICH)- 1:44.59
7. Rachel Bockrath (OSU)- 1:45.20
8. Erin Little (OSU)- 1:45.34

The 200 freestyle had a shocking finish. Michigan’s Stephanie Balduccini won the event for Michigan, coming in at 1:41.15, a new personal best time in the event. She actually held the number one time in the nation in the event for a few months this year after she went 1:41.85 at the Georgia Tech Fall Invitational. She lost that position back in January when Michigan and Indiana had their dual meet and Anna Peplowski overtook her.

She led almost from wire-to-wire tonight, taking the gold and scoring crucial points for Michigan in their hunt for the team title, upsetting the reigning champion and conference record holder  Peplowski in the process.

Minna Abraham from USC also upset Peplowski to finish 2nd overall, coming in at 1:41.29, a tenth of a second faster than her previous best of 1:41.28 from November 2023. She actually trailed Balduccini and Peplowski for the firt 150, but she had the strongest final 50 in the field at 25.61 to move her into 2nd overall.

Anna Peplowski finished in 3rd at 1:41.45. Last year, she won the event in 1:42.62, but she was not able to do enough tonight, and touched 3rd, her lowest finish ever. On Wednesday, Peplowski went 1:40.69 to break the meet record and tie the conference record in the event, and was the favorite to win tonight. She started off strong, even taking over the lead at the 150 mark, but she was not able to hold on at the end, splitting 26.32 on the back end.

100 BREASTSTROKE – FINALS

• Big Ten Meet Record – 55.88, Lilly King, IU (2019)
• Big Ten Record – 55.73, Lilly King, IU (2019)
• NCAA ‘A’ Cut – 58.01
• 2024 NCAA Invite time: 59.75
• 2024: Hannah Bach (OSU) – 57.54

Top 8 Finshers:

1. Kaitlyn Dobler (USC)- 57.41 (NCAA ‘A’ CUT)
2. Letitia Sim (MICH)- 58.74
3. Ava DeAngelis (OSU)- 59.25
4. Karolina Piechowicz (UCLA)- 59.27
5. Brearna Crawford (IU)- 59.52
6. Hazal Ozkan (WISC)- 59.94
7. Maia Hall (NEB)- 59.99
8. Ana Jih-Schiff (UCLA)- 1:00.13

Kaitlyn Dobler becomes the first event winner from one of the new Big 10 schools. After winning the event at four-straight PAC-12 Championships, Dobler was able to add another conference title to her belt with a victory tonight at 57.41, a new season best, in the women’s 100 breaststroke. She will never get anything but a gold medal in the event at her conference meet.

Michigan’s Letitia Sim went 58.74, almost a second-and-a-half behind, to finish 2nd overall, ahead of Ohio State’s Ava DeAngelis at 59.25. Every place counts right now, as Michigan and Ohio State have been trading the lead throughout the finals session, though that will likely change with the diving event.

Michigan junior Devon Kitchel won the ‘B’ final in 59.82, breaking the 1:00 barrier for the first time.

100 BACKSTROKE – FINALS

• Big Ten Meet Record – 49.70, Beata Nelson, WISC (2020)
• Big Ten Record – 49.18, Beata Nelson, WISC (2019)
• NCAA ‘A’ Cut – 50.66
• 2024 NCAA Invite time: 59.75
• 2024 Champion: Kacey McKenna (IU) – 50.49

Top 8 Finishers:

1. Phoebe Bacon (WISC)- 50.14 (NCAA ‘A’ CUT)
2. Miranda Grana (IU)- 50.69
3. Kacy McKenna (IU)- 50.87
4. Nyah Funderburke (OSU)- 51.18
5. Mya DeWitt (IU)- 51.55
6. Ava Yablonski (MINN)- 51.81
7. Caroline Famous (USC)- 51.91
8. Casey Chung (MICH)- 51.92

Phoebe Bacon won her first 100 back conference title since 2022, swimming a new personal best of 50.14 in the event. Bacon won the 200 IM last night, and will be looking to be perfect with a 200 backstroke win tomorrow.

Miranda Grana from Indiana finished 2nd in her 2nd event this evening, going a tenth faster than she went this morning to swim 50.69. This time was a little under two tenths ahead of the 3rd place finisher, teammate Kacey McKenna. Her time tonight was just four one-hundredths off the 50.65 she went swimming for Texas A&M at last season’s SEC Championships.

Kacey McKenna finished 3rd in 50.87, a six tenth add from the 50.23 she went at last season’s NCAA Championships.

The bottom part of the final was incredibly close, with Nyah Funderburke‘s 51.18 at 4th having the same 0.37 seconds separating Nyah Funderburke‘s 51.18 at 4th and Mya Dewitt‘s 51.55 at 5th and DeWitt’s time from Casey Chung‘s 51.92 at 8th.

3-METER DIVING — FINALS

1. Skyler Liu (IU)- 379.70
2. Avery Worobel (PUR)- 361.20
3. Lena Hentschel (OSU)- 353.53
4. Daryn Wright (PUR)- 350.70
5. Viviana Del Angel Peniche (MINN)/Lily Witte (IU)- 339.60
6. —
7. Sophie McAfee (PUR)- 336.95
8. Kate Miller (USC)- 325.20

Skyler Liu won the women’s 3-meter diving event for Indiana, coming in more than 15 points ahead of Purdue’s Avery Worobel at 2nd.

Lena Hentschel from Ohio State was the 3rd place diver on the podium, helping score points for the Bukeyes to keep them in the lead over Michigan.

Daryn Wright finished 4th for Purdue less than three points behind Hentschel, but that was not the closest finish of the night.

Viviana Del Angel Peniche from Minnesota and Lily Witte from Indiana tied at 5th overall, and there was almost a third diver included as Purdue’s Sophie McAfee was less than three points back of them in 7th.

Kate Miller from USC rounded out the top eight in the event, scoring 325.20.

400 MEDLEY RELAY — FINALS

• NCAA record: 3:21.01, Virginia (2023)
• Meet record: 3:26.35, Ohio State (2022)
• NCAA ‘A’ cut: 3:30.89
• 2024 Champion: Ohio State – 3:28.87

Full Results:

1. Indiana- 3:26.64
2. Wisconsin- 3:28.51
3. USC- 3:28.85
4. OSU- 3:32.35
5. Minnesota- 3:32.84
6. UCLA- 3:33.86
7. Nebraska- 3:36.12
8. Purdue- 3:36.78
9. Illinois- 3:37.63
10. Northwestern- 3:38.35
11. Penn State- 3:38.40
12. Iowa- 3:40.17
13. Rutgers- 3:40.71
14. Michigan- DQ

Well… depending on who you were rooting for this will either be your favorite event of the meet or your least favorite. The Michigan swimmers were disqualified after an early take-off on breaststroker Letitia Sim, putting them more than 130 points behind Ohio State with just one day left.

Indiana had an incredible relay swim, taking home the gold in the event by almost two seconds over the rest of the field. Kacey McKenna led off in 51.29, Brearna Crawford swam the breaststroke in 58.93. Miranda Grana swam 49.83 on the fly, and Anna Peplowski went 46.59 to bring them home in first.

Wisconsin also had a strong relay. Maggie Wanezek had the fastest opening split in the field, going 51.29. Hazal Ozkan went 59.37 on the breast. Phoebe Bacon swam 50.20 on the fly, and Abby Wanezek split 47.46 for 2nd overall.

USC was originally 4th, but due to the Michigan DQ, they moved up to third with their team of Caroline Famous (51.66), Kaitlyn Dobler (57.92), Genevieve Sasseville (52.05), and Vasilissa Buinaia (47.22).

After USC, there were almost four seconds before Ohio State came in at 4th. Delia Lloyd (52.23), Ava DeAngelis (58.83), Nyah Funderburke (53.60), and Rachel Bockrath (47.69) went 3:32.35 to finish half-a-second ahead of the Minnesota team’s 3:32.84.

Updated Team Scores

1. Ohio State- 904.5
2. Indiana- 777.5
3. Michigan- 771
4. USC- 584
5. Wisconsin-555
6. Minnesota- 402
7. UCLA- 379.5
8. Purdue- 357
9. Northwestern- 273
10. Nebraska- 256.5
11. Rutgers- 211
12. Penn State- 208
13. Illinois- 176
14. Iowa- 129