The Week That Was In College Swimming (Week 1)

Welcome to The Week That Was In College Swimming, where every week we’ll take a look at some of the highlights from around the NCAA in all three divisions.

Swims of the Week

Rewriting the Record Book – Maggie MacNeil: In her second dual meet with LSU, Maggie MacNeil took down her third and fourth school records of the season. First, she clipped the 50 freestyle record by .02, posting a quick 21.90. She saved the real fireworks for her second record though; in the 100 butterfly she dropped a blistering 50.84. Not only did that swim break the school record by almost a second, it’s also the first time in NCAA history that a woman’s broken 51 seconds in a practice suit. It’s still early in the season, but MacNeil is showing that she means business in her fifth and final year of NCAA eligibility.

A Challenger Rises – Gabi Albiero: We’ve been getting ready for an epic NCAA showdown in the 100 fly between MacNeil, Kate Douglass, Torri Huske, and Claire Curzan, but by the time we get to March there might be a fifth name to throw in the mix. At the SMU Classic, Gabi Albiero threw her name in the ring as a potential upset. After a strong summer, she took the 100 fly win with a 51.19, which is only .35 seconds off her lifetime best and already just off what it took to make the ‘A’ final last year. It was a pool and meet record, and backed up the 50.84 she split on the 400 medley relay earlier in the meet. In addition, she won the 50 and 100 free, the latter of which she did in 48.08 which stands up as the fastest time in the NCAA this week.

Flying Start – Jackson Lustig: Division II McKendree University beat Division I Southern Illinois on October 7, powered by sophomore Jackson Lustig‘s three individual wins in the 100 fly, 200 fly, and 200 IM. It was his 200 fly that really stood out; he clocked a 1:45.35, which is less than two seconds shy of the 1:43.66 lifetime best he swam to place second at last season’s D2 NCAAs. It’s the season’s top time in the division by nearly five seconds and would stand up as the fifth-fastest in D1. The three-time defending D2 champion Alex Kunert of Queens won’t have a chance to go for the sweep, as Queens is in the middle of transitioning to D1. That leaves Lustig as the clear favorite for the 2023 national title.

Teams of the Week

USC Women: Four different Trojan women posted a division top time this week, thanks to their stellar performance at the SMU Classic. Fifth-year Isabelle Odgers led the Trojans to a win at the meet, racking up a whopping 52 points. Odgers won both the 200 breast (2:10.52), the 400 IM (4:11.01), and also came second in the 200 IM to Letitia Sim. Their NCAA 100 breast champion Kaitlyn Dobler also looked strong: she won the 100 breast in 59.09 and more intriguingly, dropped a 21.96 anchor on the 200 freestyle relay, which is only .11 seconds off what she split at NCAAs last year.

Emory Men & Women: It’s early in the D3 season, but the Eagles are already impressing. They lost their dual with Queens, but even so posted some impressive times for early October. The men’s team, who are the reigning D3 champions, owns all the top times in the division this week. They’re highlighted by freshman Will Kohn, who earned the team’s first NCAA ‘B’ cut in the 200 back with a 1:49.81.

The women are the NCAA runners-up, and they showed their depth this week to, as they own all the division’s top times except the 100 freestyle. It was another freshman, Emily Noll, who caught our eye on the women’s side–she won the 200 back in 2:04.10, almost three seconds ahead of the field. She also took 2nd in the 100 back (57.73) and 200 IM (2:10.59). Their perennial division rival Kenyon College gets their season underway this coming weekend, so we’ll start to get a sense of how the two teams stack up.

Navy Men: It’s been a while since the Naval Academy had direct competition in the Patriot League. This past week, they faced two out of conference foes, Penn State and Boston College, in a tri-meet. The Midshipmen’s meet against Penn State came down to the final event, the 400 free relay. Navy won in 2:58.89, and also took third to secure the win, 150-148. As head coach Bill Roberts said after the meet, “any time you get a meet that goes down to the last relay, it’s a full team effort.” Navy was behind for most of the meet, but their four event victories and 11-second place showings kept them close enough for the two relay teams to have a shot.

Top Times of The Week

Note: This list is compiled from the NCAA database, which means that if a team has not uploaded their meet results, swims done at the meet do not show up on a top times report and it’s up to us to catch those mistakes. If we’re missing a top swim, please kindly let us know in the comments.

Division I:

Division II:

Division III:

The Week Ahead

This week’s dual meet schedule is highlighted by some heavy hitting match-ups. There’s the UGA v. Georgia Tech rivalry meet, Tennessee vs. NC State, Alabama vs, South Carolina, and the USC Invite. Not to mention that Claire Curzan will make her debut for the Stanford Cardinal as they face off against Utah.

For the full list of this week’s meets, click here.