Northwestern Women’s Swim and Dive Records 446 Points at Big Ten Championships
In the middle of that high-octane environment, the Northwestern Wildcats women's swimming and diving wrapped up a pivotal weekend at the Jean K. Freeman Aquatic Center. Especially with numbers that signal steady progress. Northwestern placed ninth at the Big Ten Women’s Swimming and Diving Championship, matching its 2025 conference finish.
Northwestern Wildcats Making Their Way to the Big Ten Landscape
However, the bigger headline sits in the point totals. The Wildcats recorded 446 points, a 37-point increase from the previous season. In a sport where fractions of seconds equal crucial points, that jump matters. It reflects growth under head coach Rachel Stratton-Mills, even as the conference grows deeper and faster.
Best of B1Gs 📸 pic.twitter.com/e90USDZi5O
— Northwestern Swimming & Diving (@NUSwimDive) February 23, 2026
Coming into the meet, attention centered on three powerhouse programs. No. 4 Michigan Wolverines women's swimming and diving, No. 6 Indiana Hoosiers women's swimming and diving. And No. 11 Ohio State Buckeyes women's swimming and diving all arrived in Minneapolis with national expectations.
The results lived up to the hype and delivered a historic twist. Michigan claimed its first conference title since 2018, dethroning reigning champion Ohio State, which finished third. Indiana secured second place. Michigan’s performance was dominant from start to finish. The Wolverines won half of all individual events and captured four of the five relay contests.
Individual brilliance stole the spotlight throughout the championships. Bella Sims emerged as the undisputed swimmer of the championship and high-point champion. She earned five gold medals and two silver medals for Michigan. That included victories in the 400-yard individual medley and 200-yard individual medley. She also swam on three championship-winning relays.
Michigan’s Hannah Bellard added to the fireworks by sweeping the 200-yard butterfly and 500-yard freestyle. Letitia Sim dominated the breaststroke events. The meet also saw several records fall. Michigan relay teams set meet records in both the 200- and 400-yard medley relays.
Individually, Sims lowered the meet record in the 400-yard individual medley. Indiana’s Liberty Clark set a meet record in the 100-yard freestyle, and Wisconsin’s Maggie Wanezek broke the meet record in the 200-yard backstroke.
Northwestern’s School Record Moment
While Michigan was rewriting conference records, Northwestern was making its own history. The highlight for the Wildcats came in the 800-yard freestyle relay. Ekaterina Nikonova, Sydney Smith, Zoe Nordmann, and Hana Shimizu-Bowers combined to post a school-record time of 7:01.42. The quartet finished sixth, marking the program’s highest relay placement of the weekend.
The Wildcats also flexed their sprint depth in the 200 freestyle relay. Lindsay Ervin, Nikonova, Audrey Yu, and Pan teamed up for another sixth-place finish. Zoe Nordmann delivered a sixth-place finish in the 1650-yard freestyle. On the other hand, Lindsay Ervin placed eighth in the 100 freestyle with a personal best of 48.28.
The Wildcats also posted seven B-final appearances, showcasing their ability to consistently land swimmers in the top 16. Sydney Smith competed in the 200-yard freestyle. Teya Nikolova swam the 100-yard breaststroke.
Nordmann added a B-final in the 500-yard freestyle. Ervin reached the B-final in the 50-yard freestyle. Kat Nikonova competed in the 100-yard freestyle. Shimizu-Bowers raced in the 200-yard butterfly. Claire Mehok swam the 200-yard backstroke.
The race for eighth place came down to Northwestern and Purdue. Ultimately, Purdue edged the Wildcats 497 to 446. The difference was largely created on the diving boards.
The Wildcats once again had two swimmers in the top 100, but the positioning reflects improvement. In 2025, senior Nikki Venema finished 73rd, and Nordmann placed 92nd. This season, both Nordmann and Ervin improved upon that 73rd-place benchmark.
In 2025, seven Wildcats finished between 100th and 150th in the high-point standings. This year, that number increased to eight. Northwestern sits in the lower half of the conference among swimmers ranked 1 through 99. They are expanding the lens to the top 150 places, which puts the Wildcats in the upper half of the Big Ten.
The repeat ninth-place finish offers both validation and motivation for Stratton-Mills and her staff. The program is trending upward in measurable ways, but the next step will require transforming depth into podium-level performances.
Help is on the horizon. In the fall, Flawia Kamzol, the No. 20 recruit in the Class of 2026, and Xintong Wang, the No. 97 recruit in the Class of 2026, will arrive in Evanston as two of the highest-rated prospects of the Stratton-Mills era. The Class of 2027 brings even more promise with Lucy Velte ranked No. 14 and Annabeth Town ranked No. 41.
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Shayni Maitra is a sports girl through and through writing about everything from locker room drama to game-day legends in the NFL and NBA. She’s covered the action for outlets like College Sports Network, Sportskeeda, EssentiallySports, NB Media, and PinkVilla, blending sharp takes with a deep love for storytelling. Whether it’s college football rivalries, Olympic gold-chasers, or the off-field chaos that keeps Twitter alive, Shayni brings the heat with heart—and just the right amount of humor.