Penn women's swimming and diving traveled to Providence, Rhode Island for the Ivy League Swimming and Diving Championships on Feb. 21-24.
At the Ivy League Championships, Penn women’s swimming and diving proved that it was more than its 1-6 conference record. The team left Providence, R.I. with a fifth-place team finish, two Ivy titles from senior distance freestyler Anna Kalandadze, and three new program records.
On the second day of Ivies, it was crystal clear that Kalandadze and the Quaker distance group came to win.
Historically, Penn has dominated distance freestyle events. In 2022, the distance freestyle group was headlined by now-graduated NCAA champion Lia Thomas, three-time NCAA qualifier Catherine Buroker, and Kalandadze. In 2023, the group evolved to feature Kalandadze, Buroker, and now-sophomore freestyler and individual medley specialist Anna Moehn. They finished 1-2-3 respectively in the 500-yard freestyle at the 2023 Ivies. This year, that trend has not stopped, with Kalandadze and Moehn continuing to lead the charge.
In the 500 free, Kalandadze did Kalandadze things. The Ardmore, Pa. native touched the wall first in a NCAA A-cut time of 4:37.21 to defend her 2023 title. Moehn held on during the last 50 yards to finish second — completing a 1-2 punch for the Quakers.
“Anna Kalandadze is a mad dog every day. She works hard, loves to swim, and has no fear. And she's somebody who has a lot of confidence in herself, and she knows how good she is,” coach Mike Schnur said. “She knows she's one of the best in the country and has the work ethic to back up that up, which helps her succeed.”
In the 1650 free, Kalandadze once again impressed. In Katie Ledecky-like fashion, the two-time NCAAs qualifier took home gold — finishing over 18 seconds faster than second place — while claiming a Katherine Moran Coleman Aquatics Center pool record. Moehn and sophomore freestyler Sydney Bergstrom returned to the top of the scoreboard this year with Kalandadze — finishing in second and fourth, respectively. Last year, the distance group trio completed a similar 1-2-3 podium sweep.
“We were talking in the ready room before [the 1650], and we [were] saying ‘This is a Penn heat. We run the show. Let's go.’ [...] Because we’re training with the same girls every day and that's who I'm racing against at the end of the day, it's very comforting feeling having the distance group together until the very bitter end,” Moehn said of the tight-knit Quaker distance group.
Notably, Moehn also finished in third in the 200 free and was Penn’s sole representative in that A-final. The event makes sense for the distance freestyler’s lineup, but her medal-winning success in all three is impressive, especially as the 200 free is a interesting mix of sprint and distance swimming.
Kalandadze is in a similar situation. The inclusion of the 400 individual medley on her lineup may raise an eyebrow, but Kalandadze is competitive in the event. The Ardmore, Pa. native proved it last year with her bronze medal in the event and again this year. With her surprisingly strong breaststroke, the 2022-23 Daily Pennsylvanian Women’s Athlete of the Year rebroke her program record in the 400 IM and finished with hardware in fifth.
Kalandadze was not the only one setting records. Four-time Ivy A-finalist and junior breaststroker Izzy Pytel has historically been a lock in the A-finals in the breaststroke events — placing between fourth and sixth in both events at the past two Ivies. This year, a competitive field shut Pytel out of the 200 breast A-final, but Pytel still took home hardware in the 100 breast with an eighth-place finish and a time of 1:01.28 for a new program record. This field was also ultra competitive, with only 0.20 seconds separating third and eighth place.
In addition, versatile freshman freestyle/backstroke/IM specialist Katya Eruslanova rebroke her program record in the 200 IM that she set back in December 2023 twice: once during morning prelims, and again while winning the B-final. Eruslanova actually won the B-final of all her individual events in times faster than some of the swimmers in the A-final, which speaks to her strong finals performances but weak prelims.
“Katya had a great meet. She's the second fastest 400 IMer [in program history] and now, second fastest 200 IMer [in program history]. She's just not a great morning swimmer yet, and something we need to work on as she gets older, but her night swims were super,” Schnur said.
At the end of the meet, thanks to the strong freshman and veteran distance talent, the Quakers finished in fifth place with 865.5 points, improving upon their sixth-place finish from last year. Home team Brown finished just ahead for fourth. Defending champions Princeton took home the championship, with Harvard and Yale rounding out the top three.
The Penn women's swimming and diving season is not over just yet. A contingent of swimmers and divers are off to Annapolis, Md. this weekend for ECAC Championships, and after, Kalandadze (and possibly some company) head to Athens, Ga. for the NCAA Championships.
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