No. 12 USC Women's Swimming and Diving Set For First Big Ten Conference Championships

LOS ANGELES - The No. 12 USC women's swimming & diving team is set to compete at its first-ever Big Ten Conference Championships this week in Columbus, Ohio beginning Wed., Feb. 19. The meet, scheduled for Wednesday-Saturday at the McCorkle Aquatic Pavillion, features 14 teams from the Big Ten.

Seven Big Ten teams enter the meet in the CSCAA's top 25 rankings including No. 7 Indiana, No. 10 Michigan, No. 12 USC, No. 13 Wisconsin, No. 14 Ohio State, No. 23 UCLA and No. 24 Minnesota.

The Trojans finished second at the Pac-12 Championships. Last year Indiana's women's squad won the Big Ten Championships with 1,359 points, followed by Ohio State (1,358.5) and Michigan (1,207).

PSYCH SHEET NOTES:
The Trojans feature 32 entries that are top 16 seeds at the Big Ten Championships and 20 that are in the top 8. USC fifth year Kaitlyn Dobler is the top seed in both the 100-yard breaststroke and 200y breaststroke, having previously won seven combined Pac-12 titles in those two events. Fellow fifth year swimmer Vasilissa Buinaia holds the second fastest time in the 50y freestyle, the eighth fastest time in the 100y freestyle and the 10^th fastest time in the 200y freestyle. Sophomore Minna Abraham is the third seed in both the 100y freestyle and 200y freestyle. Fifth year swimmer Caroline Famous is the second seed in the 100y fly, the No. 4 seed in the 100y back, the No. 7 seed in the 50y freestyle and the No. 9 seed in the 100y freestyle. Sophomore Macky Hodges is the No. 8 seed in both the 200y freestyle and the 200y backstroke. USC's 200y IM contingent of Ashley McMillan, Abraham and Hodges are seeded fourth, fifth and sixth, respectively in the event. An additional five Trojans carry top 16 seeds in the 400y IM – No. 4 Justina Kozan, No. 5 McMillan, No. 7 Abraham, No. 14 Claire Tuggle and No. 16 Katherine Adams.

Two Trojan relays are also seeded in the top three – 400y freestyle relay and 200y medley relay.

Freshman diver Kate Miller is ranked in the top 15 on all three boards – No. 7 seed on platform, No. 8 seed on 3-meter and No. 11 seed on 1-meter.

EVENT SCHEDULE:

DAY 1 - Wed., 2/19 (Watch | Live Results Swim)
2 p.m. PT / 5 p.m. EST - Swimming Finals

200y medley relay
800y freestyle relay

DAY 2 - Thurs., 2/20 (Watch | Live Results Swim | Live Results Diving)
7 a.m. PT / 10 p.m. EST - Swimming Prelims

200y IM
50y freestyle
500y freestyle

9 a.m. PT / 12 p.m. EST – Diving Prelims

1-meter

2:30 p.m. PT / 5:30 p.m. EST – Swimming and Diving Finals

200y IM
50y freestyle
500y freestyle
1-meter diving
400y medley relay

DAY 3 - Fri., 2/21 (Watch | Live Results Swim | Live Results Diving)
7 a.m. PT / 10 p.m. EST - Swimming Prelims

100y butterfly
400y IM
200y freestyle
100y breaststroke
100y backstroke

9 a.m. PT / 12 p.m. EST – Diving Prelims

3-meter

2:30 p.m. PT / 5:30 p.m. EST – Swimming and Diving Finals

100y butterfly
400y IM
200y freestyle
100y breaststroke
100y backstroke
3-meter diving
200y freestyle relay

DAY 4 - Sat., 2/22 (Watch | Live Results Swim | Live Results Diving)
7 a.m. PT / 10 p.m. EST - Swimming Prelims

200y backstroke
100y freestyle
200y breaststroke
200y butterfly

9 a.m. PT / 12 p.m. EST – Diving Prelims

platform

2:30 p.m. PT / 5:30 p.m. EST – Swimming and Diving Finals

200y backstroke
100y freestyle
200y breaststroke
200y butterfly
Platform
400y freestyle relay

SO FAR THIS SEASON:
USC's women's squad is 3-2 this season. During the October home opener, the Women of Troy defeated Hawaii 226-81 at the Trojan Swimming Invitational. The Women of Troy grabbed first in all four relays, while Troy claimed three out of four relays (400y medley relay, 200y free relay and 200y medley relay). USC also won a combined 12 individual events at the invite.

In early November, the Trojans beat former Pac-12 rival Arizona in an additional home dual. Sophomore All-American and Olympian Minna Abraham posted the fastest time in the country (at that point in the season) in the 200y freestyle, claiming the event in 1:42.01 for an NCAA A-cut.

USC closed out fall competition at the Texas Hall of Fame Invitational, a meet that saw 14 Trojans record personal bests (24.17 seconds total dropped).

USC dropped a pair of road duals in early January, falling to No. 10 Cal and No. 3 Stanford. Against the Bears, Claire Tuggle (1000y freestyle), Kaitlyn Dobler (100y breast and 200y breast) and Justina Kozan (500y free) all posted individual event wins. A day later, the Women of Troy had strong performances in both the 1000y freestyle and the 50y freestyle.

The Women of Troy closed out the season with a dominant victory over No. 22 UCLA. The Trojans swept the crosstown Bruins for the first time in program history, claiming all 16 events. USC picked up their first Big Ten dual meet victory

USC's top times from this season, including those with automatic and provisional NCAA cuts can be found here.

Players Mentioned

Minna Abraham

Minna Abraham

Katherine Adams

Vasilissa Buinaia

Kaitlyn Dobler

Kaitlyn Dobler

Caroline Famous

Macky Hodges

Justina Kozan

Justina Kozan

Ashley McMillan

Kate Miller

Claire Tuggle

Claire Tuggle