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Women's Swim & Dive Places 7th at 2024 B1Gs

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EVANSTON, Ill. - The 2024 Big Ten Women's Swimming & Diving Championships unfolded with fierce competition from February 21st to 24th at Purdue's Morgan J. Burke Aquatic Center in West Lafayette, Indiana. The 'Cats showed out throughout the event, achieving remarkable results.

Wednesday Highlights:

The competition started with the 200 Medley Relay, with NU securing fifth place with a time of 1:37.53. The relay team included Justine Murdock, Maggie Papanicholas, Ayla Spitz, and Lindsay Ervin.

In the Women's 800 Freestyle Relay, Northwestern again claimed the fifth spot, clocking in at 7:06.09. The relay featured Spitz, Sydney Smith, Hana Shimizu-Bowers, and Annika Wagner.

Spitz set the tone with a new school record, finishing 5th in the 200 Free (1:43.80). 

Thursday Highlights:

Wagner showcased her skill in the Women's 200 IM preliminaries, qualifying for finals in 22nd place with a time of 2:00.97.

Ervin competed in the Women's 50 Free preliminaries, claiming 12th place and earning a spot in the finals with a NCAA B provisional time of 22.40.

Ayla Spitz took third in the 500 Freestyle with a time of 4:40.28. good for another NCAA B time.
 

She's fast ??

Ayla Spitz finishes 3rd in the 500 Freestyle final! pic.twitter.com/gNQKM8C132

— NorthwesternSwimDive (@NUSwimDive) February 23, 2024

Friday Highlights:

Spitz continued to impress at the championships, securing fifth place in the Women's 200 Free with a time of 1:44.54, contributing valuable points to the team's standing.

The relay team of Ervin, Audrey Yu, Amy Pan, and Wagner clinched another fifth place in the 200 Free Relay, clocking in at 1:30.47.

Saturday Highlights:

Spitz set another school record in the 200 Backstroke with an outstanding time of 1:52.77. She went on to claim second place in the A Final, lowering her own record to 1:52.37.

SHE. KEEPS. BREAKING. RECORDS. ??

Ayla Spitz earns ?? in the 200 Backstoke with a time of 1:52.37 (breaking her own record set earlier today) ??#GoCats | @bigten pic.twitter.com/FEPimNpNMB

— NorthwesternSwimDive (@NUSwimDive) February 24, 2024

In diving, Markie Hopkins finished seventh on the Platform with a score of 284.40.

Erika Chen was honored with the Big Ten Sportsmanship Award.

The team concluded the championships on a high note, securing seventh place overall with a total of 463.5 points.