Wildcat Divers sweep podium
UNIVERSITY CENTER, Mich. – The #10 NMU women’s swim and dive team got a pair of wins on the road, defeating nationally ranked conference and regional foes Saginaw Valley State and Findlay.
The Wildcats defeated #14 Findlay 139 – 98, and downed host #17 Saginaw Valley State 132 – 108 from the Gerstacker Regional Aquatic Center on the campus of SVSU.
The Wildcats had 19 podium finishes, highlighted by the dive team sweeping the podiums in both the 3-meter and 1-meter diving, and an individual gold from Emma Casas in the 100 back. A full list of results from today’s meet can be found here.
The meet kicked off with the 200 medley relay, as the NMU C relay squad of Evangeline Pierce, Julia Zimpel, Phini Schneider, and Joanne Arbic finished third with a time of 1:46.07. The NMU B relay team finished just behind at 1:46.53, and the NMU A and D teams placed seventh and eighth.
The 1000 free was next, and it was All-American Anika Wright battling fellow All-American, Alexa Hieber, of SVSU. Hieber claimed gold at 10:14.06, followed closely by Wright in second at 10:14.27, beating the rest of the field by at least nine seconds. Caitlin Aarseth finished fourth with a time of 10:33.11.
Annika Geyer, a member of the NCAA team from last season, claimed silver in the third event for the women, posting a time of 1:54.41 in the 200 free. Ellie Kilgard and Carlotta Santi finished fifth and sixth with times of 1:56.17 and 1:56.40, respectively. Pierce was the last ‘Cat to race, finishing eighth.
Victoria Burda found the podium in the 50 free, as her time of 24.47 was good enough for a bronze-medal finish. Schneider and Abigail Keen finished sixth and seventh, and Tegan Rose and Brooklyn Millward claimed 11 and 12.
In the 200 IM, Manuela Araujo claimed bronze with her time of 2:08.32, followed by Nadia Blackmore in fourth at 2:11.39. Kenzie Stute, Julia Zimpel, and Sophia Moore finished eighth through tenth, and Pauline Izydorek and Julia Plevak claimed 12 and 13, and Nicole Malinova finished 15.
The Wildcats swept the podium in the 1-meter diving, led by Kalina Ceglinski with a score of 264.85. Freshmen Grace Daly and Lillian Marx claimed silver and bronze, with scores of 231.65 and 228.70, respectively. Fellow freshman Josie Bossen finished fifth.
Geyer and Schneider led the Wildcats in the 100 fly, finishing fourth and fifth with respective times of 58.32 and 58.53. Annie Devine and Moore finished seventh and eighth at 59.26 and 59.27, respectively.
Evie DeCarlo claimed a podium spot in the 100 free, finishing third with her time of 52.24. Kilgard, Burda, and Arbic claimed spots five, six, and seven, respectively.
The Wildcats had a dominant showing in the 100 back, with freshmen Emma Casas, Pierce, and Laura Stockinger claiming three of the top four spots. Casas claimed gold with 56.52, Pierce silver at 57.06, and Stockinger just off the podium at 57.74. Stute finished seventh, Plevak 12th, and Malinova 15th.
It was a battle with Wright and Hieber for first-place in the 500 free, but it was Hieber who edged out Wright for first by 0.37 seconds with her time of 5:00.36. Geyer claimed bronze behind Wright, finishing at 5:05.37, Santi finished fifth, and Aarseth seventh.
The Wildcats swept the 3-meter diving again, with Ceglinski (253.95) in first, Marx (235.30) in second, and Daly (221.75) in third. Bossen finished fifth.
NMU had a dominant performance in the 100 breast, claiming five of the top six spots, led by second and third place finishes from DeCarlo and Zimpel at 1:04.31 and 1:05.15, respectively. Araujo narrowly missed the podium at 1:05.84, followed by Blackmore and Ludovica Bonnini in sixth and seventh.
The NMU B team of Kilgard, Casas, Stockinger, and Keen closed the evening by claiming third in the 400 free relay with a time of 3:33.90, followed by the NMU A team of Wright, DeCarlo, Santi, and Arbic in fourth at 3:34.18.
