ATHENS, Ga. – Coming off a program-record-tying seventh-place national finish a year ago, Big Ten Champion and No. 8-ranked Indiana swimming and diving returns to the NCAA Women’s Swimming and Diving Championships Wednesday (March 20) through Saturday (March 23) inside the Gabrielsen Natatorium on the campus of the University of Georgia.
Final sessions will start at 6 p.m. ET each evening. Preliminary heats will begin at 10 a.m. every morning beginning Thursday. Fans can stream the competition via the ESPN+ digital platform.
Thirteen Hoosiers qualified for the national meet – nine swimmers and four divers. Indiana also qualified all five relays.
The championships off Wednesday night with the 200-yard medley relay and 800-yard freestyle relay. Indiana has the No. 6-seeded 800-yard freestyle relay after crushing its program record by nearly three seconds with a 6:55.45 swim at the Big Ten Championships. The Hoosiers finished seventh in the event a year ago. IU is seeded within All-America position in the medley relay with a time of 1:35.81.
Thursday is the first full day of action as well as the first day of diving. All four divers on Indiana’s roster qualified on both springboards. The 50-yard freestyle is on program record watch; Sophomore Kristina Paegle and senior Ashley Turak are IU’s two fastest women ever in the event, posting program’s five quickest times over the last year. Turak broke the record twice at last year’s championships, going 21.90 to tie it in prelims and 21.81 during the evening. Paegle was 21.98 at the NCAA meet last year before beating Turak’s mark in 21.76 at the Big Ten Championships a few weeks ago.
The 500 freestyle features four Hoosier juniors Thursday: Anna Peplowski, Ching Hwee Gan, Elyse Heiser and Mariah Denigan. Peplowski is the No. 11 seed in the event, having posted an NCAA A cut 4:37.47 at Big Tens. Senior Anna Freed is IU’s lone competitor in the 200 IM. The 200-yard freestyle relay Thursday evening is IU’s top-rated relay, coming in as the No. 6 seed with a time of 1:26.66 that won the Big Ten title and set a program record.
Friday kicks off with the 400 IM as Anna Freed is within striking distance of scoring position, seeded 19th with a best time of 4:08.37. Peplowski is the No. 4 seed in the 200-yard freestyle with a time of 1:42.04, representing as the Big Ten Conference Champion two years running. She’s joined by Heiser in the 200 free. Junior Brearna Crawford and Turak will race the 100-yard breaststroke.
Junior Kacey McKenna is IU’s top-seeded swimmer in any event in the 100-yard backstroke, blasting a program record, NCAA A cut 50.49 to win the Big Ten time and earn the No. 3 national seed. She’ll likely lead off IU’s 400-yard medley relay, which ranks No. 13 with a time of 3:30.33. At Big Tens, IU posted a time of 3:28.32 – which would rank No. 9 – but was disqualified.
All four divers will compete on the 3-meter springboard with the chance to score big – Indiana has the reigning national runner-up in senior Anne Fowler as well as the Big Ten Champion in Skyler Liu. Freshmen Ella Roselli and Lily Witte will join them having both scored at Big Tens.
Saturday, the final day of competition, features one of IU’s best events a year ago. Indiana returns Big Ten Champion and reigning NCAA runner-up Ching Hwee Gan and fellow juniors Mariah Denigan, who finished seventh nationally last season, and adds Heiser. McKenna will return for the 200-yard backstroke before three Hoosiers race in the 100-yard freestyle. Peplowski and Paegle are the No. 9 and 13 seeds, respectively, and are joined by Turak in the event.
The Big Ten 200-yard breaststroke champion, Crawford is the No. 13 seed in her best event with a seed time of 2:07.25. Freed rounds out individual swimming in the 200 fly. Indiana will look to jump onto the podium from the No. 9 seed in the 400-yard freestyle relay, the final race of the championships.
Two Hoosiers will compete in the platform diving event on the final day. Liu is this season’s Big Ten Champion on platform after finishing fourth in the NCAA last season – her first-career podium finish. Roselli joins Liu as IU’s second diver to qualify in all three diving events. The freshman was the top consolation final finisher at Big Tens.
MEET INFO
Wednesday, March 20 – Saturday, March 23 • 10 a.m. ET (prelims), 6 p.m. ET (finals)
Gabrielsen Natatorium • Athens, Ga.
Live Results (Swim): bit.ly/4cpj1FF/Meet Mobile App
Live Results (Dive): divemeets.com
Live Stream: espn.com/watch
SCHEDULED EVENTS (Finals)
Wednesday (6 p.m. ET) – 200 Medley Relay, 800 Freestyle Relay
Thursday (6 p.m. ET) – 500 Freestyle, 200 IM, 50 Freestyle, 1-Meter Dive, 200 Freestyle Relay
Friday (6 p.m. ET) – 100 Butterfly, 400 IM, 200 Freestyle, 100 Breaststroke, 100 Backstroke, 3-Meter Dive, 400 Medley Relay
Saturday (6 p.m. ET) – 1,650 Freestyle, 200 Backstroke, 100 Freestyle, 200 Breaststroke, 200 Butterfly, Platform Dive, 400 Freestyle Relay
INDIANA SWIMMING AND DIVING QUALIFIERS
2024 NCAA Women’s Swimming and Diving Championships
Brearna Crawford – 100 breaststroke, 200 breaststroke
Mariah Denigan – 500 freestyle, 1,650 freestyle
Anne Fowler – 1-meter, 3-meter
Anna Freed – 200 butterfly, 200 IM, 400 IM
Ching Hwee Gan – 500 freestyle, 1650 freestyle
Elyse Heiser – 200 freestyle, 500 freestyle, 1650 freestyle
Skyler Liu – 1-meter, 3-meter, platform
Kacey McKenna – 50 freestyle, 100 backstroke, 200 backstroke
Kristina Paegle – 50 freestyle, 100 freestyle
Anna Peplowski – 100 freestyle, 200 freestyle, 500 freestyle
Ella Roselli – 1-meter, 3-meter, platform
Ashley Turak – 50 freestyle, 100 freestyle, 100 breaststroke
Lily Witte – 1-meter, 3-meter, platform
Relays: 200-yard freestyle relay, 400-yard freestyle relay, 800-yard freestyle relay, 200-yard medley relay, 400-yard medley relay
