The Indiana Hoosiers left West Lafayette, Indiana as Big Ten champions in one of the most memorable meets we have seen in a long time.
The story of the day was the final 400 relay which saw Ohio State and Indiana fighting for the Big Ten Championship. Down 1.5 points coming into the event, Indiana's relay team A consisting of Anna Peplowski, Ashley Turak, Ella Ristic and Kristina Paegle placed second, earning 56 points which was just enough to edge out Ohio State's third-place finish earning them 54 points, leading to a half-point victory by the Hoosiers for the Big Ten crown.
It was the closest margin of victory ever in a Big Ten women’s championship. The previous closest was 2004, when Michigan won the title 604.5-590.5 over second-place Penn State. It is Indiana’s first Big Ten championship since 2019.
The Hoosiers saw similar faces stepping up when it mattered most this weekend. To the surprise of absolutely no one Skyler Liu put on a show during the diving competitions. Needing 78 points to win the competition, Skyler Liu continued to do what she has been doing all season by delivering a score of 79 when the lights were the brightest. Liu finished the competition with scores of 379.95 points in the 3-meter competition and 342.40 in the platform diving competition.
Alongside Liu dominating the Big Ten in diving, Indiana also took home six swimming events as Ching Hwee Gan (1650 freestyle), Anna Peplowski (200 freestyle), Kacey McKenna (100 backstroke) and Brearna Crawford (200 breaststroke) all won individual events. On top of that the Hoosiers took home two relay events as Peplowski, Ristic, Gan and Paegle took home the 800 freestyle win and Peplowski, Ashley Turak, Chiok Sze Yeo and Paegle won the 200 freestyle relay.
Indiana finished the week with a number of swimmers listed to all Big Ten teams. Indiana had a staggering nine women who achieved First Team All Big Ten as Crawford, Gan, Liu, Kacey McKenna, Paegle, Peplowski, Ristic, Yeo and Turak were all honored. In addition to this, Ella Roselli and Anne Fowler were named to Second Team All Big Ten while Morgan Casey was a Big Ten Sportsmanship Honoree.
The NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships start March 20 in Athens, Georgia. Prior to that, the women's diving team will head to Louisville, Kentucky, for NCAA Zone Diving Championships March 14-16, looking to qualify for the 2024 NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships.
