Junior diver Abigail Wilkov became the first-ever member of the Case Western Reserve University women's swimming and diving team to earn All-University Athletic Association honors in a diving event on Friday, the third day of the 2024 UAA Championships, at the Myers-McLoraine Pool inside the Ratner Athletic Center in Chicago.
Wilkov qualified for the 3-meter final with a score of 453.90 in the preliminary round, the third-best score among 24 competitors. Later in the day in the final, Wilkov scored 460.05 to place third in the event, besting the fourth-place finisher by 3.45 points.
Among the swimmers, sophomore Claire Kozma secured the best finish, placing sixth in the 100 Fly with a time of 56.28 seconds in the A Final. In the prelims, she recorded an NCAA B Cut with the second-best overall time of 55.78 seconds. Juniors Kate Menzer and Erin Quinlan qualified for the C Final, placing 17th in 57.04 seconds and 22nd in 58.24 seconds, respectively. Menzer added an 18th-place finish in the 100 Breast with a C Final time of 1:07.06, touching the wall after sophomore Julia Cho who finished in 1:06.49.
Junior Erica Rice reached the A Final in the 100 Back with the seventh-fastest prelims time (56.96 seconds), placing seventh in 57.48 seconds. Case Western Reserve had a swimmer in each of the three finals of the event with junior Amelia Myhrvold placing 14th in 58.12 seconds in the B Final, and junior Elishka Bailey placing 23rd with a time of 58.99 seconds in the C Final.
Three Spartans qualified for the finals of the 400 IM, led by fifth-year swimmer Maria Pritchett. She placed eighth in 4:30.86 after swimming the sixth-fastest time in the prelims of 4:30.15. Both senior Emma Guarnieri and junior Selah Dean reached the C Final. Guarnieri placed 20th in 4:37.19, and Dean placed 22nd in 4:40.46.
CWRU was represented by three swimmers in the C Final of the 200 Free: juniors Angeli Paull and Gabriella Chambers and first-year Maggie Rose Rook. Paull placed 18th with a time of 1:53.91, Chambers finished 19th in 1:54.48, and Rook touched the wall 21st at 1:54.91.
To close the night, the Spartan 200 Medley Relay of Rice, Menzer, sophomore Eliza Dixon, and junior Kelly Vann placed sixth with a time of 1:46.22.
Overall, Case Western Reserve ranks fifth in the conference standings with 688.0 points, trailing first place Emory by 500.0 points.
The UAA Championships conclude on Saturday with the 200 Back, 100 Free, 200 Breast, 200 Fly, 1650 Free, and 400 Free Relay. Swimming prelims will start at 11 a.m. ET with finals scheduled for 7 p.m. ET.
