First-year diver Abigail Wilkov earned the first women's diving All-America honors in program history, leading the Case Western Reserve University women's swimming and diving team to a 31st place finish at the 2022 NCAA Division III Swimming and Diving Championships.
Wilkov finished seventh in the three-meter dive at the championship meet with a score of 434.75 in the finals. She became the first women's diver in program history to earn All-America honors and the first CWRU diver to ever earn First Team All-America honors. She is the first Spartan women's swimming and diving First Team All-American since Maggie Dillione in 2014. To qualify for the championship finals, Wilkov scored 440.65, sixth best among competitors. In the one-meter dive, Wilkov finished 24th.
The NCAA Championships capped a stellar year for the first-year diver. Earlier in the season at the Carnegie Mellon University Diving Invitational, Wilkov broke the school records in both diving events. For the one-meter dive, she recorded a mark of 477.15, besting the previous record of 371.55 that stood since 1995. In the three-meter dive, Wilkov broke the record of 391.275 set in 1996 with a mark of 459.65. At the NCAA Diving Regional, Wilkov placed fourth in the one-meter dive and third in the three-meter dive to punch her ticket to the NCAA Championships, while at the 2022 University Athletic Association Swimming & Diving Championships, she placed seventh in both events.
Junior swimmer Abby Halsdorfer also competed for CWRU at the NCAA Championships, racing in three freestyle events. She finished 24th in the 1,650 Free with a time of 17:27.53, 37th in the 500 Free with a time of 5:03.76, and 47th in the 200 Free with a time of 1:54.75. Halsdorfer had the top times for the Spartans in those three events, as well as the 1,000 Free and 200-yard butterfly.
At the conference championship meet, the Spartans placed sixth with 752.5 points. Halsdorfer totaled 63.0 points, finishing fourth in the 500 Free, sixth in the 1,650 Free, and 14th in the 400-yard individual medley. First-year swimmer Kate Menzer earned 33.5 points, placing 11th in the 200 IM, 13th in the 200 Fly, and tying for 21st in the 100 Fly. At the Midwest Invitational in February at the University of Chicago, Halsdorfer recorded her second NCAA 'B' cut time of the season in the 1,650-yard freestyle. The Spartans placed second at the two-day meet, winning four events.
Competing primarily against Division I and II competition at the three-day Magnus Cup in November at Cleveland State University, Case Western Reserve turned in a plethora of top times. Halsdorfer placed 14th in the 1,650-year freestyle with her first 'B' cut time of the season. The 400-yard freestyle relay of first-years Gabriella Chambers, Simone Vale, and Isabel Verheyen and junior Maria Pritchett earned a 14th place finish, as they finished the event with the top mark by a Spartan relay in the 2021-22 season. Pritchett added a 27th place finish in the 200 IM, while Vale placed 27th in the 50 Free, both top times by CWRU swimmers. Verheyen added a season-best time in the 400 IM, finishing in 13th place. Finally, the 400-yard medley relay of Vale, Chambers, Menzer, and first-year Madison McDaniels swam a season-best time in the event while finishing in 16th place.
The Spartans finished the 2021-22 campaign with a 6-1 record in dual meets. Their only loss came to Kenyon College, the Division III national champion.
In addition to their work in the pool, the Spartans were recognized as a team for their academic achievements by the College Swimming & Diving Coaches Association of America, as the team received Scholar All-America honors with a team grade point average of 3.58 during the fall semester. Nineteen members of the Case Western Reserve women's swimming and diving team – sophomore Abby Beatty, sophomore Sydney Criscitiello, junior Sasha Grinevich, sophomore Emma Guarnieri, Halsdorfer, senior C.J. Hill, sophomore Elena Igic, junior Julie Mason, sophomore Sydney Maxwell, junior Elizabeth McDyer, sophomore Zoe Michos, sophomore Rei Miyauchi, senior Kelly Moton, senior Jackie Ngu, junior Johanna Pearson, senior Hailey Seibert, sophomore Casey Slaterbeck, senior Anna Smith, and junior Erica Yang – received UAA Winter All-Academic recognition.
The Spartans earned the following honors during the 2021-22 season:
All-America
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Abigail Wilkov
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Solon, Ohio / Solon
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3-Meter Dive (7th)
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NCAA Championship Participant
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Abigail Wilkov
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Solon, Ohio / Solon
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3-Meter Dive (7th), 1-Meter Dive (24th)
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Abby Halsdorfer
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Buffalo, N.Y. / Sacred Heart Academy
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1650 Free (24th), 500 Free (37th), 200 Free (47th)
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The following were top times/marks by Spartan swimmers and divers during the 2021-22 season:
50 Free
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Simone Vale
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24.30
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Magnus Cup
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100 Free
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Gabriella Chambers
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53.18
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Magnus Cup
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200 Free
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Abby Halsdorfer
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1:54.59
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Magnus Cup
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500 Free
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Abby Halsdorfer
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5:01.45
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UAA Championships
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1000 Free
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Abby Halsdorfer
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10:25.76
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Midwest Invitational
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1650 Free
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Abby Halsdorfer
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17:14.97
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Midwest Invitational
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100 Back
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Erica Rice
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57.28
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UAA Championships
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200 Back
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Elishka Bailey
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2:04.56
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UAA Championships
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100 Breast
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Caroline Schlessman
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1:07.05
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UAA Championships
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200 Breast
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Emma Guarnieri
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2:25.85
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Midwest Invitational
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100 Fly
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Anna Smith
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56.92
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UAA Championships
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200 Fly
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Abby Halsdorfer
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2:07.14
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Midwest Invitational
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200 IM
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Maria Pritchett
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2:07.44
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Magnus Cup
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400 IM
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Isabel Verheyen
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4:30.81
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Magnus Cup
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1-Meter Dive (11 Dives)
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Abigail Wilkov
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477.15 *SR
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CMU Diving Invite
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3-Meter Dive (11 Dives)
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Abigail Wilkov
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459.65 *SR
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CMU Diving Invite
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200 Free Relay
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Gabriella Chambers, Kate Menzer, Angeli Paull, Simone Vale
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1:37.22
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UAA Championships
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400 Free Relay
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Gabriella Chambers, Simone Vale, Maria Pritchett, Isabel Verheyen
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3:31.65
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Magnus Cup
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800 Free Relay
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Isabel Verheyen, Abby Halsdorfer, Angeli Paull, Gabriella Chambers
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7:42.31
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UAA Championships
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200 Medley Relay
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Erica Rice, Caroline Schlessman, Kate Menzer, Gabriella Chambers
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1:47.04
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UAA Championships
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400 Medley Relay
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Simone Vale, Madison McDaniels, Kate Menzer, Gabriella Chambers
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3:54.61
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Magnus Cup
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*SR – Indicates school record