Grinnell’s women’s swim had their final dual swim meet of the semester at Loras College, sweeping every event. This 193-71 victory on Saturday November 20th
is an exciting show of effort from the team.

This is the first away meet of the semester where divers were also able to travel and compete. Nikki Schlegel ’22 dominated her four events with a victory in the 100-yard freestyle, the 200-yard freestyle, the 100-yard butterfly, and the 200-medley relay.

She says that the team put in great effort and was excited for the chance to travel: “A lot of people got to swim events that they don’t normally swim, so
they got to step up in different ways,” said Schlegel.

She explained that this past month of training has been intense, so the team was happy that the extra work paid off with such a strong win.

Sophia Carroll ’25, who contributed to the win with victories in both the 200-yard butterfly and 220-yard breaststroke, attributes the win to the cohesion of the team: “When the team is working really well together and we get out and compete, great things happen,” she said.

Carroll also cites the mock meet hosted by Grinnell as a useful way for the team to
practice the conditions of a meet and improve their competitive swimming skills.
“We were able to recreate the meet atmosphere and still get out there and do really well,” she said.

Schlegel expressed hope that the success at Loras will translate into the rest of the year: “The win is a good sign that we are able to perform well, and we are training really hard, it’s a great confidence booster,” said Schlegel.

One notable aspect of the success of this tournament is that many of the titles were won by underclassmen. This year, the majority of the team are second and first year students. Olivia Klein ’24, Genevieve Martinez ’24, Maree Elliott ’24, Aliya Swearngin ’25, Camryn Gonzales ’25, Kate Bartz ’25, Valentina Ishchecnko ’25, and Dorothy Anna Russell ’24 are all underclassmen who won titles in the Loras event.

Looking forward Schlegel and Carroll believe that the performance by the underclassman shows an exciting future for the swim team.

The team looks ahead now to the Pioneer Classic this weekend, Friday December 3rd and Saturday December 4th. Grinnell College will host Carleton College, Illinois College, Gustavus Adolphus College, Knox College, Lawrence University, Monmouth College, Nebraska Wesleyan University, Principia College and Simpson College and Washington University in St. Louis. The first event kicks off at 5:30p.m.