Talk about a brutal opener to the season, man. Northwestern’s swim program got absolutely bulldozed by two of the biggest powerhouses in college swimming last Friday, with their men’s team taking it on the chin by well over 100 points from both No. 1 Texas and No. 2 Indiana. It was a tri-meet in Bloomington, Indiana, and honestly, it felt less like a competition and more like a statement from the reigning champs.
A Full-Blown Sweep and Barely a Whimper
Coming off a win against Miami (OH) to kick off their season, NU clearly stepped into a whole different league against these top 5-ranked giants. The men’s squad was taken down 224-76 by Texas, who are the reigning national champions, and then got slapped 241-59 by Indiana, the reigning Big Ten champs. It wasn’t much better for the women, either. They lost 250-50 to No. 3 Texas, the reigning SEC champions, and 241-59 to No. 5 Indiana. These are preseason rankings from the College Swimming & Diving Coaches Association, and let me tell you, those teams earned those spots. Texas didn’t just sweep NU, they swept Indiana too, making them the overall victor of the meet.
On the individual side, Indiana had the big dogs. Josh Bey was the male high point, snagging wins in the 200-meter breaststroke with a 2:04.28 and the 200-meter individual medley at 1:55.11. Liberty Clark crushed it for the women, taking the female high point with event wins in the 50-meter freestyle (23.92), 100-meter freestyle (51.61), and 200-meter freestyle (1:53.00). Northwestern’s top male swimmer, Stuart Seymour, landed 16th in the men’s high point standings, while first-year Xintong Wang led the women, finishing 24th. Not exactly lighting up the scoreboard against that kind of competition.
Oli Kos: The Man, The Myth, The Sole Winner
If there was any light in this whole meet, it came from Oli Kos. This dude was the *only* event winner for NU, taking the title in the 200-meter backstroke. Think about that for a second: one win across the entire program against these two juggernauts. It’s wild. In the men’s 200-meter backstroke, Kos trailed Texas’ Will Modglin by nearly half a second at the 100-meter mark, then absolutely flew home in the back 100 with a 58.08 split to snatch the victory with a 1:53.77. That’s a serious surge. And get this, he did it at the alma mater of his world champion brother, Hubert Kos. That’s gotta feel good for the family.
Beyond Kos’s heroics, the men only podiumed in four of the 16 events. They got third in the 400-meter freestyle relay (3:11.95) with the team of Seymour, Duncan, Schuster, and Kos. Then they took fifth in the 200-meter medley relay (1:35.25) with Kos, Staples, Seymour, and Duncan. Individually, Kyle Ly grabbed a third-place finish in one-meter diving, and Seymour added another third in the 100-meter backstroke (50.96). For the women, first-year Flawia Kamzol nabbed their singular podium finish in the entire meet. It just highlights how stacked the competition was.
This meet was run in short course meters, prepping the athletes for the upcoming Short Course World Championship Trials. While the results sting, facing this kind of firepower early in the season can sometimes light a fire. Let’s see if NU can bounce back and show some grit in their next outings.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
Leave a Reply