Season Review: 2023-24 Michigan Women's Swimming and Diving
5/17/2024 3:20:00 PM | Women's Swimming & Diving
• Record: 1-3, 0-3 Big Ten Conference
• Big Ten Championships: 3rd Place (1,207 points)
• NCAA Championships: 12th Place (147.5 points)
The University of Michigan women's swimming and diving team regained its championship mettle under the direction of first-year head coach Matt Bowe. In his first season at the helm, U-M captured third place overall, three Big Ten event titles and landed 14 student-athletes on an All-America team. At the NCAA Championships, Michigan improved by 11 places and more than 100 points in solid close to the 2023-24 season.
Individual highlights abounded in 2023-24, starting with Stephanie Balduccini putting together an excellent freshman season and earning Big Ten Freshman of the Year and All-America honors. The 2023 Big Ten Freshman of the Year Katie Crom followed up with a sparkling sophomore campaign that featured two individual Big Ten championships and All-America finishes at NCAAs. Numerous Wolverines lowered their personal-best times during the 2023-24 season and stamped their names in the top-10 program times for several events.
Team Highlights
• Following the Be Better; Invitational, held in honor of the late Ian Miskelley to start the season, Michigan captured its first dual-meet win of the Matt Bowe era against the Arizona Wildcats on Oct. 21 by a score of 228-119.
• Michigan traveled south to take on some of the best teams in country at Gabrielsen Natatorium, the site of the 2024 NCAA Women's Swimming and Diving Championships, in Athens, Ga., for the Georgia Invitational. U-M finished third of six teams with 724.5 points. Balduccini took home two individual event wins and the 200 and 400-yard freestyle relay teams posted an NCAA qualifying times.
• Michigan began its postseason with a trip to West Lafayette, Ind., for the Big Ten Championships, coming in third with a total of 1,207 points. The Maize and Blue captured three Big Ten titles during the four-day meet, including the 400-yard freestyle relay to close out the meet on Feb. 24.
• Sixteen student-athletes (15 swimmers and one diver) punched their tickets to the NCAA Championships. Michigan finished 12th with 147.5 points, improving by 11 places from its finish from 2023. Fourteen of the 16 athletes that traveled earned All-America honors.
Individual Highlights
• Crom followed up a strong freshman campaign with more of the same in her sophomore season. She saved her best races for when it mattered most, starting at the Big Ten Championships. In the second evening session, Crom outraced the field to take the 500-yard freestyle conference title with a dazzling time of 4:37.24, a new personal best. Crom followed up with a win in the 200-yard butterfly with a mark of 1:54.61. At the NCAA Championships, Crom earned All-America honors in the 200-yard butterfly and 500-yard freestyle.
• Balduccini made a name for herself in her first season for the Maize and Blue. Following a solid regular season and just days after returning from the World Aquatics Championships, she accounted for 78 points individually at the Big Ten Championships to take home Big Ten Freshman of the Year honors, the second straight Wolverine to win the award after Crom earned the accolade in 2023. Balduccini garnered two All-America honors in the 100 and 200-yard freestyles.
• Brady Kendall stepped up and put together a strong season in her second year at Michigan. The sophomore paced the Wolverines in the 50-yard freestyle and 100-yard butterfly. At the Big Ten Championships, Kendall was a critical piece to U-M's win in the 400-yard freestyle relay. She followed that up with a seventh-place finish in the 50-yard freestyle to earn individual All-America recognition.
• Claire Newman was a key part of the Wolverines' success in 2023-24. The senior ranked in the top four on the team in the 50-, 100- and 200-yard freestyle events. Newman was honored with the Big Ten Sportsmanship Award at the Big Ten Championships in recognition of her leadership and excellence as a teammate. Newman was a part of the 400-yard freestyle team that took the gold medal at the Big Ten Championships. Newman earned two All-America accolades as a part of the 200 and 400-yard freestyle relay teams that placed fifth and fourth, respectively, at the NCAA Championships.
Honors and Awards
Kathryn
Ackerman
Malia
Amuan
Stephanie
Balduccini
Hannah
Bellard
Casey
Chung
Katie
Crom
Lindsay
Flynn
Lexi
Greenhawt
Natalie
Kan
Brady
Kendall
Devon
Kitchel
Christey
Liang
Kiarra
Milligan
Claire
Newman
NCAA
All-America (First Team): Malia Amuan, Stephanie Balduccini, Katie Crom, Lindsay Flynn, Brady Kendall, Christey Liang, Kiarra Milligan, Claire Newman
All-America (Second Team): Kathryn Ackerman, Hannah Bellard, Casey Chung, Lexi Greenhawt, Natalie Kan, Devon Kitchel
CSC
Academic All-District: Kathryn Ackerman, Brady Kendall, Kiarra Milligan, Claire Newman
Big Ten Conference
Big Ten Freshman of the Year: Stephanie Balduccini
All-Big Ten (First Team): Stephanie Balduccini, Katie Crom, Lindsay Flynn, Brady Kendall, Claire Newman
All-Big Ten (Second Team): Hannah Bellard, Casey Chung, Natalie Kan, Christey Liang
Sportsmanship Award: Claire Newman
Academic All-Big Ten
Kathryn Ackerman, Sr., Biomedical Engineering BSE
Malia Amuan, So., Undeclared
Casey Chung, Sr., Biopsych, Cognition, and Neuroscience BA
Chrismon Clark, Jr., Political Science BA
Katie Crom, So., Undeclared
Claire Donan, Sr., Pharmaceutical Sciences BS
Evie Johnson, Jr., International Studies BA
Natalie Kan, Jr., Sport Management BA
Brady Kendall, So., Pharmaceutical Sciences BS
Abbey Ketslakh, Jr., Movement Science BS
Devon Kitchel, So., Movement Science BS
Alex Mercier, So., Undeclared
Kiarra Milligan, So., Undeclared, Brisbane
Claire Newman, Sr., Environment BA
Taylor Peters, Sr., Biopsych, Cognition, and Neuroscience BA
Ella Jo Piersma, So., Business Administration
Sophia Tuinman, Sr., Computer Science BSE
Players Mentioned
