WashU swimmers took on elite competition at the UAA championships in Chicago. (Bri Nitsberg | Student Life)

In Division III swimming, few conferences are more nationally competitive than the University Athletic Association (UAA). The conference boasts multiple top 10 teams including New York University, The University of Chicago, and the defending two-time national champion, No. 2 ranked Emory University. As a result, competing for a conference championship in the UAA is never an easy feat.

Across four days from Feb. 14-17, the No. 14 ranked Washington University men’s and women’s swim and dive teams attempted to do exactly that, putting themselves to the test against elite competition in the 2024 UAA Championships. The women’s (1,162 points) and men’s (1,105 points) teams fell short of the UAA title, but placed fourth and fifth respectively, finishing in the middle of the talented eight-team conference.

For the Bears, the meet was highlighted by five top-three finishes. On the women’s side, the all first-year 200-yard medley relay of Elizabeth Chen, Hannah Lee, Peyton Watson, and Izzie Gattone took home second with a time of 1:43.41. Lee also finished third in the 100-yard backstroke with a time of 1:03.77.

Senior Alex McCormick nabbed second in the 200-yard backstroke and third in both the 200-yard individual medley (IM) and 100-yard backstroke. Across his three individual top-three performances, McCormick accounted for 82 of the Bears’ 1,105 points.

“It feels great obviously, it’s a great feeling ranking that high,” McCormick said about his performances. “But, place is not the whole picture of it. A lot of people who didn’t place as high had just the same caliber swims and qualified for nationals in a lot of races. So, it means a lot to be ranked so high, but as a team, I think we did really well and had the same amount of caliber.” 

Head coach Brad Shively similarly praised the Bears’ strong performances in a highly competitive UAA conference.

“Overall we competed well this weekend,” he wrote in a statement to Student Life. “The competition at this meet is truly remarkable and our swimmers and divers really stepped up their level of performance and focus.” 

The meet started with the 200-yard freestyle relay, where both the men’s and women’s teams notched fifth place with respective times of 1:22.15 and 1:35.53. From there, the Bears logged 31 more top-eight finishes across the next 40 events of the four-day meet.

The IM events proved a strength for the squad, as they tallied seven appearances in A Finals (which features the eight fastest swimmers from prelims) across four IM events.

In the women’s 200 IM, sophomore Rin Iimi and first-year Lili Sandor placed fourth and fifth with times of 2:05.44 and 2:05.46. Both secured B-Cuts in the event, a crucial step to be invited to the NCAA Championship in March.

In the women’s 400 IM, Iimi and Sandor returned with respective fourth and fifth places, while first-year Rachel Bello placed seventh with a time of 4:30.60. Iimi, Sandor, and Bello all secured B-Cuts earlier that morning in prelims.

Bello also placed eighth in the 500 yard freestyle, swimming a time of 4:59.88 in prelims, her first time to break five minutes in the event.

“The first half of my race, my coach wasn’t sure if I was actually going to break five minutes,” Bello said. “Then in the last 100 [yards] I peaked at the scoreboard a little because I was in lane 10, right next to the scoreboard, and I saw that I needed to go under a minute in my last 100, so that really motivated me towards the end to do that. I just barely got under five and it was really exciting.”

Sandor also found success in the 200-yard breaststroke, swimming a time of 2:19.96, an NCAA B-Cut. She described the feeling of competing in the finals at her first UAA Championship.  

“Really the energy in the natatorium, in the pool area, was just palpable,” Sandor said. “I was definitely a little nervous, but I was also pretty excited to be repping the team and knowing that there is nothing left to lose [so you can] just go and give it your all.” 

The team hopes to use practice to gear up for the NCAA championships in late March. (Bri Nitsberg | Student Life)

On the three-meter diving board, first-year Madi Okon tallied 408.85 points, placing eighth. Across her 11 dives in prelims, she tallied 426.60 points, surpassing the B-Cut of 410 points, a crucial step in making it to the NCAA Championship on Mar. 20-23. First-year Shanze Karimi, who has had a record-setting season, placed 12th with a score of 393.50. 

The Bears also showed their strength in mid-distance events. In the 200-yard backstroke, senior Kyle Wolford finished fourth, alongside McCormick, with a time of 1:46.48, a personal best and B-Cut. Junior Isabella Barrientos posted a personal best and B-Cut of 2:20.55 en route to finishing sixth in the event.

In the 200-yard butterfly, senior Eve Kearns placed eighth with a time of 2:08.88. First-year Marco Minai also placed eighth in the event with a time of 1:50.41, a B-Cut, and over one second faster than her previous personal best. 

Junior Pace Edwards swam a time of 1:39.21 to place fourth in the 200-yard freestyle, less than a second off of his season-best time set at the Denison Invitational.

Both McCormick and Sandor credited the team and their support for their success during the meet. This was due in part to their seating near the pool, creating what McCormick described as a high-energy environment. Sandor echoed this sentiment, describing the team’s support as crucial throughout both the meet and the season at large.

“Everyone’s always super supportive,” she said. “Just hav[ing] the team be so close-knit and so strong I think helped me a lot with my confidence because I know that no matter what happens, the team has got my back, and I can support my teammates and they can support me.”

Some swimmers, including Sandor, will travel to Chicago on Feb. 23-24 to compete in the Midwest Invitational to have one more chance to race their events in a competitive setting before the NCAA Championship in Greensboro, NC on Mar. 20-23. 

Shively hopes to use the time before the NCAA Championship to work on the smaller details of each swimmer’s events.

“Meets like the UAA Championships reveal areas that need to be strengthened and we’ll need to work on those details,” Shively wrote. “We know we can sharpen our starts, turns, and breakouts. We’ll also need to come up with plans for each swimmer that will help them maximize their individual and relay opportunities at the NCAA Championships.”

Similarly, McCormick hopes to use the taper — where swimmers decrease yardage in practice to be more rested for important meets like the UAA and NCAA Championships — to perfect the small aspects of the events he will be swimming in March.

“We’re all in good shape,” McCormick said. “So hopefully those small details will add up to a lot of time dropped at nationals.”