Championship Final Fillers, Fowler Gold Keep Hoosiers in Hunt at Big Tens

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ANN ARBOR, Mich. – It’s tight at the top.

 

Indiana women’s swimming and diving earned three medals Thursday (Feb. 16) night to remain among the leaders at the 2023 Big Ten Women’s Swimming and Diving Championships inside Canham Natatorium.

No. 8-ranked IU had top-eight finishers in all five events contested in day two of the conference championships and brought its point total to 429.5 points halfway through the meet. The Hoosiers sit just 11.5 points behind No. 6 Ohio State. No. 16 Michigan is not far behind with 423.5 points.

“We’re in a fantastic team battle,” IU head swimming coach Ray Looze said. “It’s really four teams: Ohio State, Michigan, ourselves and Wisconsin. I thought we swam well and so did they.”

Indiana’s night was highlighted by junior Anne Fowler’s Big Ten title on the 1-meter springboard. Fowler tallied 324.60 points to capture her second-career conference championship and first on the 1-meter board. She had previously won on 3-meter as a freshman in 2021. Her fellow divers, sophomores Skyler Liu (286.45) and Megan Carter (285.65) finished fifth and seventh, respectively, in the championship final.

“What a great day for the girls,” IU head diving coach Drew Johansen said. “I am so happy for Anne winning her second Big Ten title. The energy from all the ladies, swim and dive, is fantastic. We are in a tight race with multiple teams, and I look forward to seeing the girls try to separate from the pack tomorrow.”

“It was great to see Anne Fowler get a win,” Looze added. “She won her freshman year, and she showed a lot of perseverance through injuries and other adversity. To see her come back from that, that was the highlight of the night for us and for our staff.”

IU’s medal count stretched to five as the Hoosiers collected three top-three finishes on Thursday, one in each discipline. In two days, IU has won two gold, two silver and one bronze medal.

The Hoosiers have captured medals in all three relays thus far thanks to Thursday’s 400-yard medley relay runner-up finish. IU went 3:29.82, its first time under 3:30 since it won four straight conference titles in the event from 2015-19. It also went lower than the previous pool record, set by IU in 2016. Sophomore Anna Peplowski set the tone with the fastest leadoff split of the night in 51.62. Her sister, senior Noelle Peplowski, junior Elizabeth Broshears and freshman Kristina Paegle joined her on the podium.

Indiana also earned silver in the first event of the night, as sophomore Ching Hwee Gan went a career-best 4:38.96 to capture the runner-up position. Gan was one of three Hoosier sophomores to finish in the A final, as Mariah Denigan (4:40.52) and Elyse Heiser (4:41.48) each posted personal records while finishing fourth and sixth. A year ago, Heiser placed 27th in the same event with a time of 4:54.56.

IU had a pair of top-eight finishers in both the 200 IM and 50 free, as well. Seniors Noelle Peplowski (1:55.89) and Mackenzie Looze (1:57.38) placed fourth and sixth in the individual medley, while Paegle (21.91) and senior Ashley Turak (22.35) finished fourth and tied for seventh in the sprint freestyle event. Paegle’s 21.91 was a hundredth of a second short of tying Cora Dupre’s program record set in 2020.

“I was proud of how we did,” Looze said. “We’ll need our depth to come into play. We did not score a B final. Although A finals are great, we’re going to need those B finals. We need to get those tomorrow and on Saturday. That will be the key. We have been a deep team, now we need to show it in the last couple days of this meet.”

TEAM SCORES
1. Ohio State – 441

  1. Indiana – 429.5
  2. Michigan – 423.5
  3. Wisconsin – 347
  4. Minnesota – 297
  5. Northwestern – 244
  6. Penn State – 200
  7. Rutgers – 188
  8. Nebraska – 164
  9. Purdue – 151
  10. Iowa – 107
  11. Illinois – 106

    RESULTS
    500 FREESTYLE

  12. Ching Hwee Gan – 4:38.96 (Silver, NCAA B Cut, Career Best)
  13. Mariah Denigan – 4:40.52 (NCAA B Cut, Career Best)
  14. Elyse Heiser – 4:41.58 (NCAA B Cut, Career Best)

 

200 IM

  1. Noelle Peplowski – 1:55.89 (NCAA B Cut)
  2. Mackenzie Looze – 1:57.38 (NCAA B Cut)

 

50 FREESTYLE

  1. Kristina Paegle – 21.91 (NCAA B Cut, Career Best)
  2. Ashley Turak – 22.35 (NCAA B Cut)

 

1-METER DIVE

  1. Anne Fowler – 324.60 (NCAA Zone Qualifier)
  2. Skyler Liu – 311.10 (NCAA Zone Qualifier, Career Best)
  3. Megan Carter – 285.25 (NCAA Zone Qualifier)

400 MEDLEY RELAY

  1. Anna Peplowski, Noelle Peplowski, Elizabeth Broshears, Kristina Paegle – 3:29.82 (NCAA A Cut)

    UP NEXT

Indiana will look to set the tone for another great night when they open day three with the morning preliminary session on Friday (Feb. 17) beginning at 10 a.m. ET. The 100 fly, 400 IM, 200 free, 100 breast, 100 back, 3-meter dive and 200 freestyle relay will be contested.

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