2023 Ivy League Women’s Championships: Day 3 Prelims Live Recap

2023 Women’s Ivy League Swimming & Diving Championships

• Wednesday, February 15 – Saturday, February 18, 2022
• Prelims 11:00 AM / Finals 6:00 PM
• DeNunzio Pool, Princeton, New Jersey
• Defending Champions: Harvard University (results)
• Live Results
• Live Video (ESPN+)
• Championship Central
• Fan Guide

FRIDAY MORNING HEAT SHEETS

With the Ivy League women’s teams having voted to no longer swim the 1000 free at the championship meet, Day 3 brings us the prelims of the 400 IM, 100 fly, 200 free, 100 breast, and 100 back. Later in the session we will have prelims of 1-meter diving.

In the team standings, Princeton leads Harvard by 151 points and Yale by 154 points going into Friday’s prelims.

Princeton has the top seed in the 400 IM with Emily Appleton (4:14.96) and in the 100 fly with 2022 runner-up Nikki Venema (53.24). Maxine Parker of Cornell comes in with the top time in the 200 free (1:47.13). Princeton’s Ellie Marquardt has a tough double today, seeded third in the 400 IM and second in the 200 free. Yale’s Jessey Li leads the qualifiers in the 100 breast (1:00.11) and defending champion Jenna Reznicek of Brown comes in with the top time in the 100 back (53.08).

Women’s 400 Individual Medley – Prelims

• Ivy League Record: 4:06.15 – Alicia Aemisegger, Princeton (2009)
• Ivy Championships Record: 4:06.15 – Alicia Aemisegger, Princeton (2009)
• Princeton Pool Record: 4:06.74 – Cristina Teuscher, Columbia (1999)
• NCAA A Standard: 4:03.62
• 2022 NCAA Invite Time: 4:11.60

Top 8:

1. Ellie Marquardt, Princeton – 4:15.25
2. Meg Wheeler, Princeton – 4:15.31
3. Sumner Chmielewski, Brown – 4:15.78
4. Aziza Ganihanova, Columbia – 4:16.61
5. Emily Appleton, Princeton – 4:16.64
6. Anna Kalandadze, Penn – 4:16.72
7. Julianne Jones, Dartmouth – 4:18.63
8. Olivia Paoletti, Yale – 4:18.65

Princeton put all three of their swimmers in the A final, earning the first, second, and fifth qualifying spots for big points in tonight’s final.

Penn’s Emma Stolberg won the first heat with 4:26.92, having been seeded with no time.

Heat 2 began with Princeton’s Marquardt and Columbia’s Aziza Ganihanova trading leads on the butterfly. Ganihanova moved in front of the pack on the backstroke, while Dartmouth freshman Julianne Jones moved past Marquardt to take over second place. Marquardt made her move on the breaststroke, as both she and Jones closed the gap behind Ganihanova. Jones took over a slight lead at the 300, but essentially they all turned into the freestyle together. Marquardt took off and motored to the finish, winning the heat in 4:15.25. Ganihanova touched second (4:16.61), while Jones took third (4:18.63), dropping 5.6 seconds off her seed time.

In heat 3, Penn’s Anna Kalandadze, who won the 500 free title last night, went out on the butterfly and held the lead from lane 7 through the first 100 yards. Brown freshman Sumner Chmielewski, swimming in lane 4, took over on the backstroke leg, while Yale’s Junseo Kim moved past Kalandadze, as well. Chmielewski, who was ahead by 3 body lengths at the 200, held on through the breast, while giving up a second per 50 to Kalandadze. Chmielewski got the win with 4:15.78, dropping six-tenths from her entry time and lowering the Brown school record. Kalandadze came in second in 4:16.72, representing a drop of 10 seconds from her seed time. Kim was third in 4:18.82.

The final heat featured an early battle in the middle lanes, with Princeton’s Meg Wheeler and Emily Appleton trading stroke for stroke on the butterfly leg. They remained in front during the backstroke, putting about 5 meters of clear water in their wake. Yale’s Olivia Paoletti came roaring back on the breaststroke, passing Appleton and turning even with Wheeler headed into the freestyle leg. Wheeler pulled away and Appleton challenged Paoletti, eventually earning a 1-2 finish for the Tigers. Wheeler was just off her seed time with 4:15.31, Appleton (4:16.64) dropped a second, and Paoletti (4:18.65) was 1.1 seconds faster than her entry time.

Women’s 100 Butterfly – Prelims

• Ivy League Record: 51.57 – Alex Forrester, Yale (2013)
• Ivy Championships Record: 51.57 – Alex Forrester, Yale (2013)
• Princeton Pool Record: 51.57 – Alex Forrester, Yale (2013)
• NCAA A Standard: 50.92
• 2022 NCAA Invite Time: 52.35

Top 8:

1. Nikki Venema, Princeton – 52.86
2. Sydney Lu, Harvard – 53.23
3. Alex Massey, Yale – 53.32
4. Amelia Liu, Princeton – 53.91
5. Karen Liu, Columbia – 53.99
6. Anna Gruvberger, Cornell – 54.00
7. Heidi Smithwick, Princeton – 54.01
8. Zehra Bilgin, Brown – 54.26

Princeton had another big event in the 100 fly, earning another three spots in the A final. Dartmouth freshman Lindsey Drumm kicked off the morning with a .3 drop to win heat 1 in 55.37. Yale’s Alex Massey, who placed third in last year’s final, won heat 2 with 53.32, an improvement of .37 from her seed time and a four-tenths drop from her finals time a year ago. Coming to the wall just behind Massey were Anna Gruvberger of Cornell and Heidi Smithwick of Princeton, separated by a mere .01 with 54.00 and 54.01, respectively. Gruvberger dropped .73 on that swim, vaulting into the A final.

Columbia’s Karen Liu pulled off an upset victory over Harvard’s Abby Carr, last year’s fourth-place finisher, in heat 3. Liu went 53.99 to emerge victorious in a crowded field. Brown’s Zehra Bilgin (54.26) and Cornell’s Emilie Boisrenoult (54.31) were second and third in the heat, while Princeton’s Jamie Chen improved her time by .78 to come in fourth from lane 8 with 54.67.

Top-seeded Nikki Venema, the runner-up in the 2022 final, won the final heat with the only sub-53 performance of the morning. She stopped the clock at 52.86 to reserve lane 4 for tonight’s final. Harvard’s Sydney Lu was second with 53.23, while Princeton’s Amelia Liu was third (53.91).

Women’s 200 Freestyle – Prelims

• Ivy League Record: 1:41.93 – Lia Thomas, Penn (2021)
• Ivy Championships Record: 1:43.12 – Lia Thomas, Penn (2022)
• Princeton Pool Record: 1:44.26 – Miki Dahlke, Harvard (2019)
• NCAA A Standard: 1:42.84
• 2022 NCAA Invite Time: 1:45.42

Top 8:

1. Morgan Lukinac, Brown – 1:47.47
2. Samantha Shelton, Harvard – 1:47.59
3. Kelly Dolce, Brown – 1:48.04
4. Olivia Jubin, Columbia – 1:48.11
5. Anna Podurgiel, Brown – 1:48.19
6. Raime Jones, Yale – 1:48.35
7. Addie Rose Bullock, Harvard – 1:48.39
8. Ellie Marquardt, Princeton – 1:48.42

Brown, who started the day in sixth place in the team standings, is projected to catch Penn and inch closer to Columbia after placing three swimmers in the A final of the 200 free.

It was Cornell’s Joelle Ohr who got things going, clocking a 1:52.86 to win heat 1 handily. Samantha Shelton from Harvard, third in this event a year ago, took 3.5 seconds off her seed time to win heat 2 in 1:47.59, with teammate Addie Rose Bullock just behind (1:48.39). Catherine Buroker from Penn, the runner-up in the 500 free last night, touched third from lane 8 with 1:49.11.

Brown’s Anna Podurgiel won her heat from the middle lane, holding off Princeton’s Caroline Lewitt (1:48.54) and Yale’s Vivian Weng (1:48.59) with 1:48.19. Podurgiel’s teammate Kelly Dolce dropped six-tenths to take the penultimate heat from lane 3. Next to her was Princeton’s Ellie Marquardt, who an hour ago had swum the 400 IM and looked like she might not have much gas left in the tank. But Marquardt came roaring back over the second half – mainly the final 50 yards – to place second in the heat with 1:48.42. Marquardt snuck into the A final, assuring Princeton’s presence and giving herself one more heat of 200 frees to rest after her 400 IM final tonight.

But the biggest Brown performance of the morning belonged to freshman Morgan Lukinac, who took 1.1 seconds off her seed time to win the final heat with 1:47.47. Yale’s Olivia Jubin (1:48.11) and Raime Jones (1:48.35) came to the wall second and third behind Lukinac.

Women’s 100 Breaststroke – Prelims

• Ivy League Record: 58.44 – Katie Meili, Columbia (2013)
• Ivy Championships Record: 58.44 – Katie Meili, Columbia (2013)
• Princeton Pool Record: 58.44 – Katie Meili, Columbia (2013)
• NCAA A Standard: 58.10
• 2022 NCAA Invite Time: 59.87

Top 8:

1. Jessey Li, Yale – 1:00.33
2. Ava Franks, Yale – 1:01.25
3. Margaux McDonald, Princeton – 1:01.39
4. Ashley Hu, Columbia – 1:01.52
5. Eliza Brown, Princeton – 1:01.59
6. Isabella Pytel, Penn – 1:01.63
7. Victoria Eisenhauer, Harvard – 1:02.11
8. Kaia Li, Harvard – 1:02.59

After placing two swimmers in the A final of the 200 free, Harvard earned another two slots in the 100 breast, although it was Yale’s two entrants who took the top qualification slots.

There were only three heat, assuring a finals spot for everyone. Margaux McDonald of Princeton opened with a 1:01.39 to win heat 1. Columbia freshman Georgia Young dropped 1.6 seconds to come in second from lane 1 with 1:02.74. Brown freshman Kaitlyn Holmes (1:03.00) touched out Harvard’s Aleksandra Denisenko, the defending champion, by .01 to take third in the heat.

Yale’s Ava Franks won the next heat in 1:01.25 ahead of Columbia freshman Ashley Hu (1:01.63) and Penn’s Isabella Pytel (1:01.63). Her teammate, top-seeded Jessey Li, claimed the final heat with 1:00.33. Princeton’s Eliza Brown, fourth at the 50 wall, out-split Harvard’s Victoria Eisenhauer by nine-tenths on the second 50 to finish with 1:01.59 in second place. Eisenhauer was third in 1:02.11.

Women’s 100 Backstroke – Prelims

• Ivy League Record: 52.34 – Bella Hindley, Yale (2019)
• Ivy Championships Record: 52.34 – Bella Hindley, Yale (2019)
• Princeton Pool Record: 51.36 – Natalie Coughlin, Cal (2003)
• NCAA A Standard: 50.89
• 2022 NCAA Invite Time: 52.46

Top 8:

1. Anya Mostek, Harvard – 52.92
2. Jenna Reznicek, Brown – 54.08
3. Lindsey Wagner, Yale – 54.13
4. Isabelle Shapiro, Brown – 54.19
5. Isabella Korbly, Princeton – 54.22
6. Sabrina Johnston, Princeton – 54.40
7. Quinn Murphy, Yale – 54.47
8. TIE Addie Rose Bullock / Alexia Pappas, Princeton – 54.53

The final event of the morning was another in which all entrants were assured a spot in finals. Brown had another excellent showing, but even though Harvard came away with the top spot, Yale and Princeton each put two in the A final. Harvard and Princeton swimmers tied for eighth place and the outcome of that swim-off will be important to the Crimson, who are trying to hold off Yale at number 2 in the team rankings.

Yale began with a heat 1 win from Lindsey Wagner (54.13) heat of teammate Quinn Murphy (54.47) and Grace Zhou of Columbia (54.75). Brown’s Zehra Bilgin was fourth with 55.23, a 1-second drop from her seed time made all the more impressive at it was her second swim of the morning.

Harvard freshman Anya Mostek improved her entry time by three-tenths to take heat 2 in 52.92. She came to the wall a full body length ahead of the field. Isabelle Shapiro of Brown dropped 1.2 seconds to come in second place (54.19), .03 ahead of Princeton’s Korbly, also swimming her second race of the morning.

Defending champion Jenna Reznicek of Brown wrapped up with a 54.08 victory in heat 3. Princeton’s Sabrina Johnston was second (54.40), while Addie Rose Bullock of Harvard and Alexa Pappas of Princeton (both swimming for the second time this morning) tied for third with 54.53.

UPDATE: Pappas won the swim-off against Bullock, 53.92 to 54.63.

Women’s 3-Meter Diving – Prelims

• Ivy League Record: 360.55 – Caitlin Chambers, Princeton (2015)
• Ivy Championships Record: 360.55 – Caitlin Chambers, Princeton (2015)
• Princeton Pool Record: 336.00 – Katie Giarra, Princeton (2007)
• NCAA A Standard: 280.00

Top 8: