Three meets into the season, no one can be disappointed in what these ‘Cats have shown so far. Both the men’s and women’s squad boast a record that is .500 or better through the first half of fall meets. Let’s dive a little deeper.

Women’s Swimming and Diving

The Northwestern women dominated their first meet against Illinois and UIC, beating them 203-92 and 212.5-78.5, respectively. The Wildcats swept the podium in 4 events (200 Medley Relay, 200 Free, 100 Free and 1m diving). They also earned at least one medal in 12 events (just gold in 1000 Free, 200 Breast, 500 Free, 100 Fly, 200 IM, 400 Free Relay and 3m diving; gold and silver in 100 Back, 100 Breast, 200 Fly, 50 Free and 200 Back). This record also meant that there was not a single event in which a Wildcat athlete did not finish first.

The ‘Cats followed this impressive opening performance up with a competitive loss to Michigan, 162.5-137.5. Northwestern earned 19 medals across 16 events, including eight golds (1000 Free, 100 Breast, 200 Fly, 100 Free, 100 Fly, 200 Free Relay, 1m diving and 3m diving), seven silvers (200 Medley Relay, 200 Free, 50 Free, 200 Back, 200 Breast, 500 Free and 1m diving) and four bronzes (100 Back, 100 Breast, 100 Free and 200 IM).

This first half run ended with a second place team finish at the Purdue Invitational. Twelve swimmers qualified for finals and 13 medals were collected. Jasmine Nocentini followed up on two straight Big Ten Swimmer of the Week Awards by winning two events at the Invitational, breaking two of her own records in the process.

Next up for the ‘Cats is the US Open in Greensboro, NC from Dec. 1-3. The team continues to be ranked 18th in the nation as the second half of the season sets to begin.

Men’s Swimming and Diving

The men are off to a so-so start, dominating UIC 200-87, but losing in similar fashion 204-95 to Michigan. The ‘Cats finished third at the Purdue Invitational as well but this start saw them fall from No. 24 in the nation to the “Also receiving votes category.”

A win over UIC in the season’s first head-to-head match was a strong start for the Wildcats. Thirty podium finishes were secured across 16 events, and Northwestern finished first in all but one event.

The trip to Ann Arbor was less successful, but there were some strong individual performances nevertheless. Kevin Houseman, a member of the US National Team, won the 100 Breast, while Olympian Federico Burdisso dominated the 100 and 200 Fly, winning the latter by over 3 seconds. More second and third place finishes were sprinkled throughout, but it was still not enough to take home the victory.

Third place out of seven at the Purdue Invitational is nothing to scoff at for the ‘Cats. Tyler Lu and Tona Zinn finished second and third in the 200 IM A Final, and the team finished third in the 400 Medley Relay on the first day. Lu followed this up with a victory in the 400 IM, and Houseman secured another victory in the 100 Breast. Ryan King joined Lu on the podium with a third place finish in the 400 IM. Northwestern’s final victory of the weekend came courtesy of Ben Miller, who won the 200 Fly on day three.

This half of the team will also be competing at the US Open in two weeks. Both squads will then travel to Florida, first for a meet against Army and Miami, and then for the CSCAA Open Water Championships to round out the year.