en swimmers from the Indiana University women’s program earned individual qualifying berths to the 2020 NCAA Championships in Athens, Ga. on March 18-21, the NCAA announced on Wednesday.
The following swimmers will be NCAA bound later this month: freshman Cora Dupre, freshman Carla Gildersleeve, senior Cassy Jernberg, junior Abby Kirkpatrick, sophomore Mackenzie Looze, senior Maria Paula Heitmann, sophomore Noelle Peplowski, freshman Ashley Turak and sophomore Maggie Wallace.
Indiana is one of 12 teams to bring double-digit swimmers to the Gabrielsen Natatorium. Stanford and Virginia lead the nation with 15 swimmers for each institution. Ohio State (12) is the lone Big Ten Conference school to place more swimmers in the NCAA field than the Hoosiers. Michigan is third on the conference list with nine participants.
Along with the swimmers, the IU diving team will compete for a spot on the NCAA Championship roster at the NCAA Zone C Championships in Lexington, Ky. The competition runs from March 12-14 at the Lancaster Aquatic Center.
Last season at the 2019 NCAA Championships, the Hoosiers tallied 179 points and a ninth-place finish. IU placed inside the top-10 in each of the last five NCAA Championships, the longest streak in program history. In total, IU boasts 10 top-10 finishes at the NCAA level. Indiana has not finished outside the top-15 in the team standings since placing 16th with 66 points at the 2003 NCAA Championships.
Below is a list of the 10 Hoosier swimmers who qualified for individual events at the 2020 NCAA Championships, along with their seeding in each event:
Individuals
Cora Dupre – 50 Freestyle (16th), 100 Freestyle (12th), 200 Freestyle (8th)
Carla Gildersleeve – 200 Butterfly (36th)
Cassy Jernberg – 500 Freestyle (10th), 1,650 Freestyle (14th)
Abby Kirkpatrick – 100 Breaststroke (36th)
Mackenzie Looze – 200 IM (16th), 400 IM (26th)
Maria Paula Heitmann – 500 Freestyle (34th)
Noelle Peplowski – 100 Breaststroke (9th), 200 Breaststroke (6th), 400 IM (28th)
Ashley Turak – 50 Freestyle (35th)
Maggie Wallace – 1,650 Freestyle (23rd)
Emily Weiss – 100 Breaststroke (7th), 200 Breaststroke (11th)
Relays
200 Medley Relay – 1:37.01 (22nd)
400 Medley Relay – 3:32.72 (19th)
200 Freestyle Relay – 1:28.37 (16th)
800 Freestyle Relay – 7:03.23 (17th)
