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Northwestern’s men’s and women’s swim and dive teams suited-up for the first time this season, ending the program’s fall season with travel meets at a couple of November invitationals spanning November 18-21. The Northwestern men’s team entered the meets ranked N0. 24 in the nation per the CSCAA’s November poll, while the women’s team came in unranked, but receiving votes (4).
Northwestern’s swimmers competed in the Texas Hall of Fame Invitational against a plethora of ranked opponents, including Texas (Men N0. 1, Women N0. 2), Stanford (Women N0. 4), Wisconsin (Men N0. 20, Women N0. 17), and USC (Men N0. 22, Women N0. 12). In Texas, the men’s swimmers placed 5th of 6 teams, and the women’s team placed 7th of 7 teams. Though there were podium finishes by both teams, the meet was highlighted by the men’s team’s five school record swims, and Joshua Staples’ 13th place finish in the men’s high point standings.
Meanwhile, Northwestern’s divers competed in the Ohio State Invitational against similarly tough competition such as Indiana (Men N0. 3, Women N0. 10), Louisville (Men. N0. 5, Women No. 3), and Ohio State (Men N0. 19, Women N0. 14). In Ohio, Northwestern’s men’s and women’s teams placed close to the bottom because they only participated in the diving events. Northwestern’s divers finaled in many events, but did not nab any podium finishes.
Results for the Texas Hall of Fame Invitational can be found on the app Meet Mobile or on Swimcloud’s meet page for the event. Results for the Ohio State Invitational can only be found on Swimcloud.
Men’s Recap (Texas HoF Invite):
At the Texas Hall of Fame Invitational, the N0. 24 ranked men’s team scored 745.8 points, coming in 5th of 6 teams in a competitive midseason meet. As a team, Northwestern grabbed podium finishes in six events (400-yard I.M., 800 free relay, 400 medley relay, 100 backstroke, 200 backstroke), and had 20 A-finalists (top 8 finishers) across the four days.
Once again, Joshua Staples was the team MVP. Staples had A-final appearances in three of his four individual events, placing 3rd in the 400-yard I.M. (3:40.05), 5th in the 100-yard breaststroke (51.83), and 6th in the 200-yard I.M. Staples’ 3:40.05 in the 400 I.M. was one of three school records he set over the weekend. Leading off the 800-yard freestyle relay, in which Northwestern placed 3rd with a time of 6:26.48, Staples split a 1:33.76 for a school record in the 200-yard freestyle. Additionally, in itself, the 6:26.48 Staples-Seymour-Kos-Nosack relay was another school record. Outside of Staples, David Gerchik and Stuart Seymour also picked up podium finishes. Gerchik picked up the team’s only 1st-place event finish in the 200-yard backstroke with a time of 1:40.53. Seymour was 2nd in the 100-yard backstroke with a 44.64 and 3rd in the 100-yard freestyle with a 42.37, but also secured a school record in the 100-yard butterfly with a 45.43. Despite the school record, Seymour finished fourth in the event.
In the high point standings, Staples was the team’s top finisher at 13th. Texas claimed the entire high point podium, with Will Modglin, who set an American record in the 100-yard backstroke at the meet, taking the top spot.
Women’s Recap (Texas HoF Invite):
In Austin, the women’s team scored 710 points, finishing 7th of 7 teams. Zoe Nordmann picked up the team’s lone podium finish in the 1650-yard freestyle, though the team had six A-finalists throughout the week. Granted, the Stanford and Pittsburgh women’s teams are much better than their male counterparts, so the Northwestern women were swimming against tougher competition than the men.
Northwestern had three individual A-finalists. Zoe Nordmann in the 1650, Lindsay Ervin, who finished 7th in the 50-yard freestyle (22.20) and Gretchen Braun, who finished 8th in the 200-yard backstroke (1:56.53). Braun, a first-year, had somewhat of a breakout meet for the Wildcats, swimming personal bests in each of the backstroke events, including a PB 50-yard backstroke leadoff split for the 200-yard medley relay. The ‘Cats finished top eight in three of the five relays: the 800-yard freestyle relay (7:07.61), 400-yard freestyle relay (3:16.30) and 200-yard freestyle relay (1:29.40).
Zoe Nordmann finished 34th in the high point standings. On top was Stanford’s three-time Olympic gold medalist Torri Huske, who won every individual and relay event she swam in.
Diving Recap (OSU Invite):
Since the Texas HoF Invite didn’t include diving events, Stratton-Mills had no other choice then to send the divers to Columbus with head diving coach Kris Jorgenson. Northwestern’s team finish at the Ohio State Invitational is unimportant considering the Wildcats only competed in the diving events. There were three events for both the men’s and women’s divers: 1-meter, 3-meter, and 10-meter diving. The men’s team had six A-finalists and the women’s team had one A-finalist across the three events.
For the men, Kyle Ly led the charge as an A-finalist in all three diving events. Ly’s top finish was 6th in the 10-meter, though he also placed 10th in both the 1-meter and 3-meter events. Adam Cohen also had a strong performance in the events with greater height, grabbing 4th place in the 10-meter diving for the team’s top finish of the meet. Cohen also placed 8th in the 3-meter competition, while Ryan Augustine finished 11th in the 1-meter event.
For the women, it was Lydia Georgeopoulou who was the top performer. Georgopoulou was the team’s sole A-finalist throughout the weekend, finishing 8th in the 10-meter competition. Georgopoulou also was the ‘Cats’ top finisher in the 1-meter event, placing 15th. In the meet’s other diving event, at the 3-meter height, Chloe Sharp was Northwestern’s top finisher at 16th.
One Big Observation:
With Staples’ performance this weekend, he’s already solidifying himself, in just his sophomore season, as one of the greatest Northwestern men’s swimmers of all time. Acquiring new school records in the 200-yard freestyle, 400-yard I.M. and 800-yard freestyle relay this weekend, Staples expanded his school record holdings from just his 4:13.28 in the 500 freestyle to four total events, three of which are individual. In comparison, Matt Grevers, the four-time Olympic gold medalist commonly talked about as Northwestern’s greatest male swimmer ever, currently holds four individual records, and three relay records, putting Staples not that far off of Grevers-level Northwestern accolades. Additionally, Staples is now top 3 all time in five other individual events: the 1000-yard freestyle (2nd), 1650-yard freestyle (2nd), 200-yard I.M. (2nd), and 100-yard breaststroke (3rd). With two more years to add some more school records to his name, Joshua Staples is set to secure a spot on Northwestern’s swimming Mount Rushmore when he’s all said and done.
Looking Ahead
Following the ‘Cats’ splashy invitational performances, Northwestern will not compete for the rest of the 2025 calendar year. Over winter break, swimmers typically head home for the holidays and train with the club teams which they swam for in high school. However, make no mistake, rain or shine winter practices are characterized by hard, grueling aerobic training. Whether at home with their clubs, or in the Norris Aquatic Center, the ‘Cats will be on the grind, ramping up their training to peak in the spring. In January, Northwestern will start the second half of their season by traveling cross-town to the University of Chicago for a dual meet on the 10th. The squad will be back competing in Norris on the 17th for Senior Night against Wisconsin.
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