Freshman Kayla Fu performs freestyle during swim practice on Nov. 19, 2024.
Credit: Weining DingIn a season without a pool to call home, women’s swimming and diving swam past the wintery storm and emerged anew.
After finishing the regular season with 8-4 overall and 3-4 conference records, the Quakers have greatly improved from last year — thanks to a combination of standout freshmen and improved performance of the overall team. While the team didn’t have access to Sheerr Pool, the team adapted and progressed amidst the change.
“I'm amazed at how well we've swam … given all the challenges we have this year without having any facilities,” coach Mike Schnur said. “We were training maybe 75% of what we usually do … It's been a very challenging year, and they've responded beautifully.”
Indeed, the women’s team has had many exceptional performances this season. Freshman butterfly and freestyle specialist Kayla Fu came out the gate swinging — recording consistent victories in the 50-yard free, 100y free, and 100y fly events. Fu also notched a new program record in the 100y fly at a tri-meet back in November. Fellow freshman fly specialist Maggie Hu followed close behind Fu in the fly events, and they — along with freshman freestyle and breaststroke specialist Amy Qin and senior breaststroker Izzy Pytel — played a crucial role in breaking the 200y-medley relay school record at the Princeton Big Al Invitational.
That’s not to say the veterans weren't picking up their side of the coin. Junior freestyle specialist Anna Moehn’s performance at the Big Al Invitational earned her three NCAA B-Cut qualifying times, with 1:46.77 in the 200y free, 4:41.61 in the 500y free, and 16:04.71 in the 1650y free. Moehn looks to make a second trip to the NCAAs — following her appearances in the 500y and 1650y free events last year.
Also at the Big Al invite, sophomore individual medley specialist Katya Eruslanova broke two school records: her program record in 200y IM and 2024 graduate Anna Kalandadze’s 400y IM program record.
Fu, Moehn, and Eruslanova's performances were highlights of the Quakers' first-place team finish at the Big Al Invite.
With stellar performances and a drastic improvement over their 4-6 overall and 1-6 conference records last year, the Quakers have their eyes set on gold at Ivy League Championships in February.
“I hope we'll be as aggressive and as focused and as team-oriented as we were at [the Big Al Invitational],” said Schnur. “I expect us to be pretty fast, you know, and hopefully two or three more women can join in at NCAA this year.”
As the Quakers take the next month to recalibrate, Schnur emphasizes the women's team's dedication this season.
“I'm constantly amazed at how well they've done this year … I watched some of them have class conflicts, and they come running in an hour late," said Schnur. "They just don't accept any excuses.”
The Red and Blue are set to appear at the Ivy League Championships held in Princeton, N.J. on Feb. 19-22.
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