Women’s Swim & Dive 2026 season preview

Northwestern Women’s Swim & Dive kicks off its 2026-27 campaign Saturday at Norris Aquatics Center against Miami (Ohio).

Northwestern Director of Swim & Dive Rachel Stratton-Mills has a desire to reach the top tier of the Big Ten. This offseason, she expanded her recruiting footprint overseas in hopes of taking a step toward that goal.

The ‘Cats finished ninth out of 14 teams at the 2026 Big Ten Women’s Swimming and Diving Championships, setting program records along the way. Now, they look to build upon a season in which they sent six swimmers to the 2026 NCAA Women’s Swimming & Diving Championships.

Here’s a deep dive into the Wildcats 2026-27 roster and schedule.

Returners: Maggie Belbot (Sr.), Gretchen Braun (So.), Isabella Chow (So.), Brianna Deierlein (Jr.), Caroline Li (Sr.), Claire Mehok (Jr.), Teya Nikolova (So.), Maggie Papanicholas (Sr.), Chloe Sharpe (Sr.), Sydney Smith (Sr.), Lila Bleakney (Jr.), Isabella Chen (Jr.), Grey Davis (Jr.), Olivia Detter (Jr.), Lydia Georgopoulou (Sr.), Sophie Martin (Jr.), Lilly Mehok (Jr.), Zoe Nordmann (Jr.), Amy Pan (Sr.), Kayla Rodriguez (So.) and Madeleine Simmons (So.),

Losses: Lindsay Ervin, Mackenzie Lanning, Shauntel Lim, Inés Sancho, Hana Shimizu-Bowers, Ekaterina Nikonova, and Audrey Yu

Additions: Aya Ferguson (Fr.), Flawia Kamzol (Fr.), Sophia Oka-Fedder (Fr.), Iris Kim (Fr.), Bella Teply (Fr.) and Laura Wang (Fr.)

Stratton-Mills enters her fourth season at Northwestern with a roster that combines seasoned talent with international star power.

Zoe Nordmann, Isabella Chen, Grey Davis, Amy Pan and Teya Nikolova are top point contributors. The distinguished group has put up impressive times at the conference and national levels and includes Olympic trial qualifiers and national team members.

At the 2026 Big Ten Women’s Swimming and Diving Championships, the Wildcats set a new school record in the 800-yd freestyle relay (7:01.42). Nordmann finished sixth in the 1650-yd freestyle (16:06.23), while Nikolova placed 12th in the 100-yd breaststroke (1:00.47).

Nordmann and diver Lydia Georgopoulou were named to the 2026-27 Big Ten Women’s Swimmers and Divers to Watch list. Georgopoulou earned Academic All-Big Ten and CSCAA Individual Scholar All-American honors last season. Nordmann recorded 12 personal-best performances last season en route to raking in the same recognitions.

Northwestern lost several key sprint specialists to graduation, following the departures of school record holder Lindsay Ervin, graduate student Ekaterina Nikonova and Audrey Yu.

The Wildcats 2026 recruiting class provides plenty of reason for optimism. Stratton-Mills added versatile depth pieces that boast significant national and international experience.

Keep an eye on Poland native Flawia Kamzol, who could make an immediate impact.

At the European Junior Championships, Kamzol was crowned champion in the 50-m butterfly (26.17) and placed third in the 100-m butterfly, swimming an astounding 58.80 in the semifinals. This summer, she competed at the European Aquatics Championships in Paris, finishing 13th in the 50-m butterfly (26.16).

Kamzol’s converted best time in the 100-yd butterfly (51.80) would have been fast enough for an eighth-place finish at the Big Ten Championships this year.

Laura Wang of Hong Kong is another international standout. Her converted 400-yd individual medley time of 4:14.94 would rank second on the team, as would her 1000-yd freestyle time of 9:56.43.

Kamzol and Wang join Iris Kim, Sophia Oka-fedder, Aya Ferguson and Bella Teply in the Wildcats 2026 recruiting class.

Stratton Mills has taken a personalized approach to training, tailoring workouts to the needs of her swimmers while taking advantage of picturesque Lake Michigan for aerobic open water cross training.

Assembling a competitive group capable of competing with Big Ten powers such as Ray Looze’s Indiana Hoosiers and Matt Bowe’s Michigan Wolverines is a daunting endeavor. Stratton-Mills must develop talent to produce A-final quality swimmers at the Big Ten Championships. Strategic event placement and relay combinations will be crucial if Northwestern hopes to climb the conference standings this season.

The Wildcats open their season Saturday, Oct. 3, against Miami (Ohio) in Evanston before facing an immediate test six days later in Bloomington, Indiana against Indiana and Texas.

Notre Dame visits Evanston on Oct. 23 before Northwestern competes at the Short Course World Trials in Westmont, Illinois from Oct. 28-31. The Wildcats then travel to Durham, North Carolina, to face Duke on Nov. 6-7.

The ‘Cats will attend two midseason invitationals. Swimmers will compete at the Texas Hall of Fame Invite from Nov. 18-20, and divers will compete at the Ohio State invite from Nov. 19-21.

The Wildcats return to dual-meet competition Jan. 9 against crosstown rival University of Chicago in Evanston. Northwestern hosts Wisconsin for Senior Day on Jan. 16 before closing the regular season with a Big Ten tri-meet against Purdue and Minnesota in West Lafayette, Indiana.

The Big Ten Women’s Swimming and Diving Championships will be held in Iowa City, Iowa from Feb. 17-20. The NCAA Diving Zones are in West Lafayette, Indiana from March 8-10 followed by the NCAA Women’s Swimming and Diving Championship will be in Austin, Texas from March 17-20.

Northwestern is primed for tremendous growth. The question is how they will fare against a brutal Big Ten schedule.