Swimming: Nautical ‘Cats start the year with a bang

Jan 13, 2023 - 6:36 PM

In an effort to avenge outcomes earlier this year, the swimming team decided to enact revenge upon the Miami RedHawks for their takedown of Wildcats football (sorry for reminding everyone that that happened). Their efforts were successful, as both teams dominated Miami (OH) in the first meet of the year. The men’s team won decisively 170-73, pushing the squad to 3-1. The women’s team one-upped them and dominated 187-56, improving their record to 5-1.

Northwestern claimed the top spot on the podium in all 26 of the events that took place in the Norris Aquatic Center last week, setting a trend that it’ll hope to maintain as the season continues. This impressive effort also included six podium sweeps, with four for the women and two for the men.

On a smaller scale, the Wildcats had many dominant individual performances. Men’s distance swimmer Ryan King won gold in both the 1,000 and 500 free, and his teammate Henry Schirmer followed suit on the diving boards, taking home the precious medals from both the 1M and 3M events. First-year Malachi Cohen also set a personal best en route to finishing the 200 free. On the other side of the pool, fellow first-year Hana Shimzu-Bowers won the 200 fly and came in second in the 200 free. The diving was also commendable, as the women took home all three medals from the events, with Jaye Patrick winning the 1M and Markie Hopkins winning the 3M.

The ‘Cats are back in action on Jan. 21 in Madison, Wisconsin to take on the Badgers. The men will be looking to earn their first Big Ten meet win, while the women are going for their second. After competing in Wisconsin, the Wildcats will return home the next weekend for a Big Ten-palooza in Evanston. Purdue, Iowa and Minnesota are all coming to town on Jan. 27 and 28, marking a showdown that could have massive implications on the standings.