Northwestern Travels to Wisconsin for Big Ten Swimming and Diving Championships

The postseason has officially arrived for the Northwestern Wildcats, and the timing could not be more electric. This week, the Wildcats head north to Madison, Wisconsin. They got there for the 2026 Big Ten Men’s Swimming and Diving Championships.

Championship Season Got the Northwestern Wildcats Ready

The four-day championship meet is hosted by the University of Wisconsin. It was at the Soderholm Family Aquatic Center from Wednesday, Feb. 25, through Saturday, Feb. 28. Action begins Wednesday at 4 p.m. CT with two high-octane relays and a team diving exhibition.

From there, the daily rhythm settles in with preliminary heats at 10 a.m. CT and championship finals at 5 p.m. CT. Every session will stream live on B1G+, giving fans a front-row seat to one of the most competitive meets of the year.

Northwestern enters the championships ranked No. 19 nationally, a strong position but hardly a comfortable one in a loaded Big Ten lineup. The Wildcats will be racing in deep water against five other ranked conference programs. That includes the No. 2 Indiana Hoosiers, No. 10 Michigan Wolverines, No. 13 Ohio State Buckeyes, No. 17 USC Trojans, and No. 21 Minnesota Golden Gophers.

To understand Northwestern’s mindset this week, it helps to rewind to Minneapolis. At the 2025 Big Ten Championships, the Wildcats finished seventh with 711 points. That performance was powered by 14 podium appearances, nine individual and five relay, along with three school records in the 50 Free, 100 Back, and 400 Free Relay.

David Gerchik, Diego Nosack, Stuart Seymour, and Joshua Staples each earned two individual podium finishes last year. Staples was named to the All-Freshman Team. Meanwhile, junior Christopher Leung earned recognition as a Big Ten Men’s Swim and Dive Sportsmanship Honoree.

The returning core is deep and experienced. Gerchik, Leung, Nosack, Seymour, Staples, junior Adam Cohen, sophomore Kyle Ly, junior Ryan Augustine, sophomore Nolan Rooker, and senior Jack White all recorded at least one podium finish in 2025.

Momentum is also on Northwestern’s side. The Wildcats closed the regular season in style with a tri-dual against Minnesota and Purdue, sweeping both opponents with a 181-172 win over Purdue and a 214-139 victory over Minnesota. Relay depth proved decisive, as Northwestern captured the 200 Medley Relay, 800 Free Relay, 200 Free Relay, and 400 Free Relay.

Athletes to Watch as Championships Begin

Joshua Staples arrives in Madison in peak form. He recently secured an NCAA Qualifying Standard in the 200 Breast with a personal-best 1:54.71, punching his ticket to the NCAA Championships in March. In the tri-dual finale, he also claimed victories in the 100 Breast with a 52.39 and the 400 IM in 3:44.95. Staples is not just swimming fast. He is swimming with confidence.

Stuart Seymour is another name to circle. The junior dominated his most recent outing, winning all six events he entered. That included individual titles in the 100 Back in 45.38 and the 100 Fly in 45.65, while also contributing to all four winning relay teams.

While the men prepare for their championship run, the Northwestern women recently wrapped up their own conference campaign at the Big Ten Women’s Swimming and Diving Championships at the Jean K. Freeman Aquatic Center in Minneapolis. The Wildcats placed ninth overall for the second straight year with 446 points, improving by 37 points from their 2025 total.

Entering that meet, No. 4 Michigan, No. 6 Indiana, and No. 11 Ohio State were widely viewed as top contenders. Michigan ultimately captured its first women’s conference championship since 2018, finishing ahead of Indiana and Ohio State. The Wolverines were powered by Bella Sims, who won the 400-yard individual medley and 200-yard individual medley and swam on three championship-winning relays.

For Northwestern, the highlight came in the 800 Free Relay, where Ekaterina Nikonova, Sydney Smith, Zoe Nordmann, and Hana Shimizu-Bowers set a new school record of 7:01.42 to finish sixth. The Wildcats also placed sixth in the 200 Free Relay. Individually, Nordmann placed sixth in the 1650 Free, and Lindsay Ervin finished eighth in the 100 Free with a personal best of 48.28.

On the diving side, Isabella Chen was Northwestern’s top performer, placing 19th in the 3-meter and 24th in the 10-meter events.

Once the men’s championships conclude in Madison, attention will quickly shift to the national stage. NCAA Diving Zones are set for March 11 through 14, determining who advances to the NCAA Championships in Atlanta, Georgia, from March 25 through 28.

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