Hoosiers Win Four Big Ten Titles, Keep Pace in Team Race

Friday, February 23

West Lafayette, Ind.

5 p.m.

Indiana University

Big Ten Championships - Finals

Hoosiers Win Four Big Ten Titles, Keep Pace in Team Race

2/23/2024 11:40:00 PM | Women's Swimming and Diving

Results (PDF)

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – No. 6-ranked Indiana swimming and diving won Big Ten Championships in the 200-yard freestyle, 100-yard backstroke, 3-meter diving and 200-yard freestyle relay Friday (Feb. 23) and remains in striking distance of team leader Ohio State after three days at the 2024 Big Ten Women's Swimming and Diving Championships inside the Morgan J. Burke Aquatic Center on the campus of Purdue University.

IU sits 23 points short of first place in the team race going into the final day of championships Saturday.

Indiana had five top seeds coming out of Friday morning's preliminary session and won the Big Ten titles in four of those events.

Junior Anna Peplowski snagged her second straight Big Ten 200-yard freestyle championship with an NCAA A cut 1:42.62. Peplowski touched .83 hundredths ahead of Wisconsin junior Abby Carlson to claim her third-career medal in the event. On opening night, she swam the leadoff of the 800-yard freestyle relay in 1:42.04, beating her own program record in the event, and now owns the top seven times in program history. Peplowski's older sister, assistant coach Noelle Peplowski, presented the champion with her gold medal at the podium.

After her program record 100-yard backstroke split of 50.73 was erased Thursday night due to the disqualification of IU's 400 medley relay, junior Kacey McKenna posted an even better time to win the 100-yard backstroke title. A bronze medalist as a freshman, McKenna faced a 16th-place setback last season and was determined to come back with a loud performance in Friday's final. McKenna dropped a pool record and NCAA A cut 50.49 and captured her first-career individual conference championship. Her time ranks No. 5 nationally.

Junior Skyler Liu also won her first-career Big Ten Championship on the 3-meter springboard with a dominant performance. Liu set herself apart with a personal best 379.95-point performance, 26.20 points better than runner-up and senior teammate Anne Fowler. Fowler, a two-time champion in the event, was clutch to earn the silver medal with dives of 63.00 and 67.50 to round out her set. She finished less than three points ahead of third. IU totaled 96 points from the 3-meter springboard as freshmen Lily Witte and Ella Roselli placed eighth and 13th, respectively.

"It was another great day for the women," IU head diving coach Drew Johansen said, "with three in the A and one in the B again providing great points for the team!

"Skyler was fantastic today, winning her first Big Ten title. Anne's performance was inspiring, fighting all the way to the last dive to make it a 1-2 finish for the Hoosiers."

Indiana set the Big Ten meet, pool and program record to win the 200-yard freestyle relay in 1:26.66. IU initially touched second but benefitted from a disqualification, juxtaposing their situation the night before. Peplowski gave Indiana the lead with a 21.97, her first time under 22 seconds to make her the fourth-fastest Hoosier ever. Senior Ashley Turak split 21.52, followed by sophomore Chiok Sze Yeo's 22.14. Fellow sophomore Kristina Paegle anchored with the quickest split of the race in 21.03.

"We are so proud of Anna Peplowski, Kacey McKenna, Skyler Liu and our 200 freestyle relay champions," IU head swimming coach Ray Looze said. "Our women continue to bring positive energy despite the challenges that have arisen. We are excited about the last day of the competition and are looking forward to our opportunity."

Junior Brearna Crawford was IU's seventh medal winner with an important bronze performance in the 100-yard breaststroke, finishing 59.73. It's Crawford's first Big Ten medal in the event, having placed eighth as a freshman and ninth last season. She'll swim the 200-yard breaststroke on Saturday, which she won two seasons ago and holds the conference's top time for this year.

In all, IU had 11 podium finishes and nine B final finishes, totaling 458 points on the day.

TEAM SCORES
1. Ohio State – 907
2. Indiana – 884
3. Michigan – 835
4. Wisconsin – 624.5
5. Minnesota – 574.5
6. Purdue – 363
7. Penn State – 305
8. Northwestern – 298.5
9. Nebraska – 296
10. Rutgers – 237.5
11. Iowa – 217
12. Illinois - 152

RESULTS
100 BUTTERFLY
13. Chiok Sze Yeo – 53.27 (NCAA B Cut)
16. Ava Whitaker – 53.40 (NCAA B Cut)

400 IM
6. Anna Freed – 4:10.87 (NCAA B Cut)
10. Ching Hwee Gan – 4:12.08 (NCAA B Cut, Career Best)
12. Mariah Denigan – 4:12.84 (NCAA B Cut)
14. Reese Tiltmann – 4:13.47 (NCAA B Cut)

200 FREESTYLE
1. Anna Peplowski – 1:42.62 (Big Ten Champion, NCAA A Cut)
7. Kristina Paegle – 1:46.74 (NCAA B Cut)
8. Ella Ristic – 1:46.88 (NCAA B Cut)
13. Elyse Heiser – 1:46.47 (NCAA B Cut)

100 BREASTSTROKE
3. Brearna Crawford – 59.73 (Bronze, NCAA B Cut)
12. Ashley Turak – 1:01.54
15. MacKenna Lieske – 1:02.14

100 BACKSTROKE
1. Kacey McKenna – 50.49 (Big Ten Champion, Pool Record, Program Record, NCAA A Cut, Career Best)
7. Mya DeWitt – 52.79 (NCAA B Cut)

3-METER DIVING
1. Skyler Liu – 379.95 (Big Ten Champion, NCAA Zone Qualifier, Career Best)
2. Anne Fowler – 347.05 (Silver, NCAA Zone Qualifier)
8. Lilly Witte – 300.60 (NCAA Zone Qualifier)
13. Ella Roselli – 279.40

200 FREESTYLE RELAY
1. Anna Peplowski, Ashley Turak, Chiok Sze Yeo, Kristina Paegle – 1:26.66 (Big Ten Champion, Meet Record, Pool Record, Program Record, NCAA A Cut)

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