2025 Women’s Big Ten Championships: Day 4 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 | Day 3
  • Prelims: Day 2 | Day 3
• Day 3 Ups/Mids/Downs

Day 4 Finals Heat Sheet 

Team Scores After Day 3

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

1650 Freestyle — Timed Final (Fastest Heat)

• NCAA Record: 15:03.31 — Katie Ledecky, Stanford (16:02.60)
• Big Ten Record: 15:36.27 — Allyson McHugh, Penn State (2018)
• Big Ten Meet Record: 15:43.17 — Molly Kowal, Ohio State (2020)
• NCAA ‘A’ Cut: 15:52.41
• 2024 NCAA Invite Time: 16:14.82
• 2024 Champion: Ching Hwee Gan, Indiana – 15:54.83

Final: 

1. Ching Hwee Gan (IU), 15:46.22
2. Mila Nikanorov (OSU), 15:50.54
3. Eliot Kennedy (MINN), 15:54.05
4. Genevieve Jorgenson (NEB), 15:56.70
5. Paige McKenna (WISC), 16:00.75
6. Marian Ploeger (MICH), 16:02.29
7. Rebecca Diaconescu (MICH), 16:02.87
8. Claire Tuggle (USC), 16:03.08

Senior Ching Hwee Gan defended her Big Ten 1650 freestyle to kick off the last session of the championships. She did so with a lifetime best 15:46.22, slicing six-hundredths off the mark she swam to earn silver at the 2023 NCAA Championships.

Ohio State freshman Mila Nikanorov added about a second from her season-best (15:49.26) but solidly earned the silver medal ahead of Minnesota senior Eliot Kennedy, continuing the success of the Ohio State freshmen this week. This swim was a significant improvement for Kennedy, who broke 16 minutes for the first time in her career with a lifetime best of 15:54.05. Not only did she improve her time but she jumped up the standings as well; last year, she finished 9th overall.

Genevieve Jorgenson (15:56.70) and Paige McKenna (16:00.75) repeated as top eight finishers from last season, while the 2024 silver and bronze medalists, Maddie Waggoner and Mariah Denigan, placed outside the top eight.

Marian Ploeger (16:02.29) and Claire Tuggle (16:03.08) snuck into the top eight from the early heats of the event.

200 Backstroke — Final

• NCAA Record: 1:46.87 — Claire Curzan, Virginia (2024)
• Big Ten Record – 1:47.24, Beata Nelson, Wisconsin (2019)
• Big Ten Meet Record – 1:48.47, Beata Nelson, Wisconsin (2019)
• NCAA ‘A’ Cut: 1:50.50
• 2024 NCAA Invite time: 1:54.01
• 2024 Champion: Phoebe Bacon, Wisconsin – 1:50.05

Final: 

1. Phoebe Bacon (WISC), 1:48.75
2. Miranda Grana (IU), 1:50.51
3. Krista Marlin (OSU), 1:51.33
4. Paige Hall (OSU), 1:52.11
5. Maggie Wanezek (WISC), 1:53.38
6. Mya Dewitt (IU), 1:54.48
7. Casey Chung (MICH), 1:55.60
8. Kacey McKenna (IU), 1:55.86

Defending NCAA Champion Phoebe Bacon successfully defended her conference title in the women’s 200 backstroke. Bacon led from start-to-finish, flipping at the halfway point in 52.87 before closing in a 55.88. She touched in a season-best 1:48.75, coming within .28 seconds of Beata Nelson‘s Big Ten meet record. The win is her third of the weekend as she won the 200 IM and 100 backstroke earlier in her last conference championship.

Bacon won the race by almost three seconds. Indiana’s Miranda Grana was right on her lifetime best of 1:50.50, swimming a 1:50.51 to win the silver medal. Meanwhile, Ohio State picked up a 3-4 finish with junior Krista Marlin and senior Paige Hall. Hall was four-hundredths off the lifetime best she posted this morning, clocking 1:51.33. Hall swam her second lifetime best of the day, cutting .13 seconds off her previous standard from prelims with a 1:52.11.

Wisconsin picked up a 1-5 finish, while Indiana went 2-6-8.

100 Freestyle — Final

• NCAA Record: 44.83 — Gretchen Walsh, Virginia (2024)
• Big Ten Record; 46.02 —  Maggie MacNeil, Michigan (2021)
• Big Ten Meet Record; 46.57 — Maggie MacNeil, Michigan (2020)
• NCAA ‘A’ Cut: 47.10
• 2024 NCAA Invite time: 48.34
• 2024 Champion: Amy Fulmer, Ohio State – 47.48

Final:

1. Lindsay Flynn (MICH), 47.30
2. Minna Abraham (USC), 47.34
3. Anna Peplowski (IU), 47.37
4. Stephanie Balduccini (MICH), 47.40
5. Teresa Ivan (OSU), 47.74
6. Kristina Paegle (IU), 47.85
7. Nikki Venema (NU), 47.97
8. Brady Kendall (MICH), 48.60

It came down to the touch between four women in the 100 freestyle championship final. Indiana senior Anna Peplowski held the lead at the halfway point, flipping in 22.69, just a hundredth ahead of Michigan’s Lindsay Flynn. She was still ahead at the final turn, but Flynn ran her down over the final 25 yards and got her hand on the wall for gold in 47.30.

The time takes two-tenths off Flynn’s lifetime best from the 2022 NCAA Championships, making this her first best time in the event in almost three years. This is her first individual Big Ten championship title.

Minna Abraham had a big back half, closing in 24.50 to get her hand on the wall in 47.34, three-hundredths ahead of Peplowski. Abraham clocked a lifetime best as well, bettering the 47.69 that stood as her former best. Peplowski held on to win bronze. She’s now made the podium in the 100/200/500 freestyle at these championships, winning the 500 free and taking bronze in the 200 free.

Sophomore Stephanie Balduccini rounded out the group of four that were fighting for the three podium spots with a 47.40. The swim is seven-hundredths from her season-best as she hit 47.33 at mid-season.

200 Breaststroke — Final

• NCAA Record: 2:01.29 — Kate Douglass, Virginia (2023)
• Big Ten Record: 2:02.60 — Lilly King, Indiana (2018)
• Big Ten Meet Record: 2:04.03 — Lilly King, Indiana (2017)
• NCAA ‘A’ Cut: 2:05.73
• 2024 NCAA Invite time: 2:09.55
• 2024 Champion: Brearna Crawford, Indiana – 2:07.25

Final: 

1. Brearna Crawford (IU)/Kaitlyn Dobler (USC), 2:07.22
2. —
3. Letitia Sim (MICH), 2:07.28
4. Hazal Ozkan (WISC), 2:08.22
5. Mary Cespedes (IU), 2:08.46
6. Ava DeAngelis (OSU), 2:08.69
7. Ashley McMillan (USC), 2:10.31
8. Ana Jih-Schiff (UCLA), 2:11.91

Brearna Crawford returns to the top step of the women’s 200 breaststroke after winning the title in 2024–but this time, she’s sharing the step, as she and Kaitlyn Dobler tied for the gold medal.

Crawford was ahead of Dobler at the 100-yard mark, turning in 1:01.29. Dobler, a former NCAA champion in the 100 breaststroke, made the turn in 1:01.39. However, it was Michigan’s Letitia Sim that led the field at the halfway point with a 1:01.03. Sim continued to lead at the 150-yard mark, extending her lead with a 32.62 split. Behind her, Crawford out-split 32.67 to 32.86 on the third 50.

Then, Dobler and Crawford turned on the jets. Dobler split a field-best 32.97 over the final 50 yards. Crawford came home in 33.35 and both pulled event with Sim. The three charged to the wall together and at the touch, it was Crawford and Dobler splitting the win with Sim six-hundredths behind. Sim’s bronze medal effort is her first swim under 2:08 in the event.

This is Dobler’s second title of the meet as she won the 100 breaststroke yesterday.

200 Butterfly — Final

• NCAA Record: 1:49.16 — Alex Walsh, Virginia (2024)
• Big Ten Record: 1:51.19 — Olivia Carter, Michigan (2022)
• Big Ten Meet Record: 1:51.83 —  Olivia Carter, Michigan (2022)
• NCAA ‘A’ Cut: 1:52.47
• 2024 NCAA Invite time: 1:55.88
• 2024 Champion: Katelyn Crom, Michigan – 1:54.61

Final: 

1. Hannah Bellard (MICH), 1:52.04
2. Ava Whitaker (IU), 1:55.17
3. Mackenzie McConagha (WISC), 1:55.84
4. Claire Reinke (MINN), 1:56.06
5. Ella Piersma (MICH), 1:56.38
6. Justina Kozan (USC), 1:57.14
7. Campbell Scofield (PUR), 1:57.25
8. Lucy Malys (OSU), 1:58.38

The women’s 200 butterfly Big Ten title stays in Ann Arbor for another year, as sophomore Hannah Bellard dominated the field. Bellard finished third last year, but left no doubt that she would stand atop the podium this season as she shot out to the lead with a 24.95 opening split.

Bellard led the remainder of the race, splitting 28.55/29.06/29.48 over the final three 50s to touch in a lifetime best 1:52.04. The swim takes more than a second off her lifetime best, which was a 1:53.20 from the 2023 Speedo Sectionals in Austin.

She won the race by over three seconds as Indiana sophomore Ava Whitaker earned silver in 1:55.17. Whitaker’s swim is also a lifetime best, shaving nine-hundredths off her best. She pulled into second-place at the 100 mark and stayed solidly in that positioning, as Wisconsin’s Mackense McConagha won bronze in 1:55.84. Last month, McConagha swam a lifetime best 1:55.22 at Wisconsin’s dual against Northwestern.

Platform Diving — Final

• 2024 Champion: Skyler Liu, Indiana — 342.40

Final: 

1. Skyler Liu (IU), 366.90
2. Viviana Del Angel Peniche (MINN), 334.00
3. Daryn Wright (PUR), 329.95
4. Eden Cheng (UCLA), 313.75
5. Paola Pineda (OSU), 281.90
6. Ella Roselli (IU), 266.70
7. Kate Miller (USC), 266.25
8. Bailee Sturgill (RUT), 251.25

Last year, four-tenths of a point decided the women’s platform diving champion as it came down to Skyler Liu‘s final dive. Liu won the title with 342.40 points over Minnesota’s Viviana Del Angel Peniche. It wasn’t as close of a battle this year, as Liu pulled away from the rest of the ‘A’ flight to defend her title with a final score of 366.90.

The podium remained the same as last year. Del Angel Peniche earned silver with 334.00 points, while Purdue’s Daryn Wright scored 329.95 points for the bronze medal.

400 Freestyle Relay — Final

• NCAA Record: 3:05.84 — Virginia (Douglass, Walsh, Parker, Douglass) (2023)
• Big Ten Record: 3:09.84 — Michigan (Flynn, Newman, Carter, MacNeil) (2022)
• Big Ten Meet Record: 3:09.84 — Michigan (Flynn, Newman, Carter, MacNeil) (2022)
• NCAA ‘A’ Cut: 3:14.74
• 2024 Champion: Michigan — 3:11.21

Final: 

1. Michigan (Balduccini, Kendall, Newman, Flynn), 3:08.89
2. Indiana (Peplowski, Dewitt, Grana, Paegle), 3:10.77
3. USC (Buinaia, Famous, Tuggle, Abraham), 3:11.02
4. Ohio State, 3:12.25
5. Wisconsin, 3:14.53
6. Minnesota, 3:14.84
7. Northwestern, 3:14.95
8. UCLA, 3:15.71

Michigan dominated the women’s 400 freestyle relay, the final event of the meet. Balduccini (47.66), Brady Kendall (47.58), Claire Newman (47.15), and Flynn (46.50) led from wire-to-wire, pulling away to win the race by 1.88 seconds. The quartet crushed the conference championship record that Michigan set in 2022, which was anchored by Maggie MacNeil. On this relay, the newly crowned 100 freestyle champion Flynn fired off a 46.50 anchor; in the 100 freestyle final, she set her first lifetime best in the 100 freestyle in almost three years.

Indiana’s team of Peplowski (47.82), Dewitt (48.51), Grana (47.64), and Paegle (46.80) finished second. They held that position for the majority of the race, and Paegle had enough gas left in the tank to fend off USC, which got a 46.57 anchor leg from Abraham. She teamed with Vasilissa Buinaia (48.52), Caroline Famous (48.40), and Tuggle (47.53) to swim 3:11.02. This was an impressive display of range from Tuggle, who swam in the early heats of the mile and grabbed a top eight finish.

Final Team Standings:

1. Ohio State — 1313.5
2. Indiana — 1255.5
3. Michigan — 1149.5
4. Wisconsin — 849
5. USC — 835
6. Minnesota — 592
7. UCLA — 544
8. Purdue — 529
9. Northwestern — 409
10. Nebraska — 344
11. Rutgers — 310
12. Penn State — 260
13. Illinois — 211
14. Iowa — 158.5