The Case Western Reserve University women's swimming and diving team placed 13th in Division III following competition on the fourth and final day of the 2024 NCAA Division III Women's Swimming and Diving Championships at the Greensboro Aquatic Center in Greensboro, North Carolina, on Saturday.
The 13th-place national finish is the best for the program since the team finished 12th in 2003. It also marks the third highest national placement in the history of the program, following the 12th-place finish in 2003 and seventh-place finish in 2001. CWRU scored 70.0 points across the four days, the third most in program history and most since accumulating 97.0 points at the 2003 NCAA Championships.
Junior diver Abigail Wilkov earned her second All-America honor of the meet and the fifth of her career by placing sixth in the 3-meter dive. Wilkov, who reached the championship final with the third-highest score in preliminary action of 451.10, recorded a score of 469.70 in the evening session. The sixth-place finish is the best-ever for a Spartan in a diving event, surpassing Wilkov's seventh-place finish in the 3-meter dive in 2022 and in the 1-meter dive earlier this week.
The 400 Free Relay of sophomore Claire Kozma and juniors Angeli Paull, Kate Menzer, and Gabriella Chambers concluded the meet with a 13th-place finish in the event in a school record time of 3:27.12. The quartet bested its own record of 3:27.49 set at the Total Performance Invite last fall. The Spartans reached the consolation final with a time of 3:27.90 in the preliminary heat. With the All-America honorable mention, CWRU has earned All-America honors in the event five times in its history (2003, 2002, 2001, 2000).
With the top 16 finish, Kozma earned her fifth All-America honors at the meet, Chambers received her fourth, and Paull and Menzer each collected their second.
Kozma's five All-America honors at a single championship are tied for the second most ever by a Spartan, falling one shy of the six former Spartan Kelly Alexander received in 2001. The five honors are the most in 21 years, when Alicia Kendig was a five-time honoree in 2003. Chambers, who earned four All-America honors, received the sixth-most in program history at a single meet. Kozma and Chambers are the seventh and eighth swimmers to earn at least four All-America honors at a single championship.
Earlier in the day, both Chambers and Kozma competed in the 100 Free, with Chambers placing 25th in 51.56 seconds and Kozma finishing 30th in 51.68 seconds.
Earlier this week, the 200 Free Relay of Kozma, Chambers, sophomore Eliza Dixon, and junior Kelly Vann placed eighth to reach the podium as All-Americans. The 800 Free Relay of Kozma, Chambers, Paull and first-year Maggie Rose Rook received All-America honorable mention with a 14th-place finish, as did the 400 Medley Relay of Kozma, Chambers, Menzer, and junior Erica Rice with a 16th-place finish. Kozma added an individual All-America honorable mention with a 10th-place finish in the 200 Fly on Friday.
The nine Spartans scoring at the national meet match a program record set during the 2001 championship. Combined with the CWRU men's swimming and diving team, 11 Case Western Reserve student-athletes received All-America honors at the 2024 Championships, matching a program record previously set in 2002 and 2001.
