2024 WOMEN’S BIG TEN SWIMMING & DIVING CHAMPIONSHIPS
After Ohio State’s Nyah Funderburke in 2022 had the quickest prelims swim within the 100 again, the Huge Ten’s ‘non-scoring’ swimmers have earned particular consideration.
2022 was the primary yr of latest Huge Ten Championship roster guidelines. The brand new guidelines nonetheless allowed groups to carry 24 athletes to Huge Tens, however solely 18 of them had been allowed to attain. That swim for Funderburke, which certified her for the NCAA Championships, was the launching of her school swimming profession, which now sees her as a key contributor to Ohio State, who positioned 2nd on the Huge Ten Championships final weekend.
Whereas there have been no Funderburke-esque swims at this yr’s Huge Ten Championship meet, there have been some non-scoring outcomes that had been nonetheless price noting.
It’s change into pretty regular for swimmers on these non-scoring groups to outpace their scoring teammates – as coaches are enjoying a little bit of a guessing sport with tapers.
Noteworthy Non-Scoring Swims:
In a meet that got here all the way down to only a .5-point hole between the champions Indiana and the runners-up Ohio State, the Buckeyes made just a few attainable lineup miscalculations.
- The most important for Ohio State was Lucy Malys, who swam 1:58.19 in prelims of the 200 fly. That was the Eighth-best swim in prelims and if she had been on the Buckeyes’ scoring staff, would have put her into the A closing and given her a minimal 22 factors (barring DQ). Together with C-Remaining worthy ends in the 400 IM and 500 free, if Malys had been on the scoring roster, she might have outscored the Buckeyes’ divers Clara McGing and Michelle Mazzarra, who mixed for 34 factors in a single roster spot. It might have been tight. Actually much less impactful than McGing not ending competitors on 3-meter or the DQ within the 200 free relay.
- Additionally for Ohio State, senior Libby Gilbert swam 1:54.42 as a non-scorer within the 200 again. That too would have put her into the A-final because the Sixth-best performer within the heats. Gilbert only a week earlier swam a brand new private finest within the 200 again of 1:55.65 on the Ohio State Winter Invite, however she simply undercut that on Saturday at Huge Tens. She additionally was lined up for six or 7 factors within the 200 free, and a finest time within the 500 free would have earned her factors as nicely.
- Ohio State’s Paige Delma swam 2:13.88 within the 200 breast and 1:59.82 within the 200 IM, each finest occasions that might have put her in “B” finals. With a C-Remaining within the 400 IM, which may have outscored any of the swimmers listed above. For the freshman Delma personally, these outcomes can be an enormous confidence-builder, together with a 200 IM that was her first time below two minutes.
In all three instances, it might have been very tight as as to whether it improved, however all of the Buckeyes wanted to seek out was .5 factors.
- Indiana perhaps made a miscalculation with Kabria Chapman. She swam 1:01.14 within the 100 breast, which might have put her tenth, and in a simulated “time trial” closing within the 200 breast, swam 2:14.97, which might have put her nineteenth. As seeded, that might have outscored Chiok Sze Yeo and would have been near Kathryn Forrester, although the wanted Chiok for his or her free relays.
- Ohio State additionally had Allison Fenska swam 53.71 within the 100 again out of the non-scoring staff. That might have put her in the midst of the B-Finals.
Two of the largest breakthroughs from non-scoring groups got here from the College of Michigan.
- Ella Jo Piersma swam 22.46 within the 50 free, 49.31 within the 100 free, and 1:46.84 within the 200 free. Her season-best occasions coming into the meet had been 22.90, 51.21, and 1:47.95, respectively, all lagging nicely behind her occasions from final season. All of her occasions final weekend would have put her in B-Finals, although. Placing her on the scoring staff would have positively improved Michigan’s scoring, however not by sufficient to influence their standings. Only a sophomore, Piersma can have a possibility to construct off this subsequent season.
- Lily Cleason from Michigan swam 53.38 within the 100 again and 1:56.04 within the 200 again. Each would have put her within the B Remaining.
There have been no nationally-relevant ends in Huge Ten time trials, although there have been nonetheless some finest occasions. For instance, Sydney Stoll of Illinois dropped a finest time int he 100 free of fifty.16, which improves on her earlier better of 51.15 from 2021, when she was nonetheless in highschool. Her freshman teammate Kylee Classes swam 51.67 in a 100 free time trial, bettering her lifetime better of 51.89 performed final January – additionally when she was in highschool.
