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A Look Back at the 2018-19 Season
5/13/2019 4:49:00 PM | Women's Swimming & Diving
As the women of Gopher swim and dive look ahead to international competitions and summer training, GopherSports is taking a look back on a strong 2018-19 season that saw the Maroon and Gold add multiple Big Ten Champions as well as a National Champion to the program history books.
Five different student-athletes collected weekly awards from the Big Ten Conference this season. Kristen Hayden and Mariam Khamis each took a turn in the spotlight as Diver of the Week in 2018-19. Lindsey Kozelsky added to her list of Swimmer of the Week awards while Chantal Nack picked up the first of her career. Abbey Kilgallon was the lone Gopher freshman to pick up a Freshman of the Week nod.
The team recorded six dual-meet wins, and an impressive performance in the inaugural ACC/B1G Challenge in which the Big Ten emerged victorious. Head coach Kelly Kremer was selected to serve as an assistant coach to the Big Ten team at the meet and brough seven Gopher women along to represent the conference.
Another notable win on the Gophers 2018-19 schedule was their first-place finish at the mid-season Invitational where the Gophers defeated 11 other programs to take the top spot. The women notched 13 event wins including all five Gopher relays. Junior Tevyn Waddell alone recorded nine first-places finishes, winning four individual events (200 IM, 100 Back, 100 Fly, 200 Back) and swimming in each winning relay.
Hayden and Sarah Bacon both competed at the USA Diving Winter Trials this past December, diving for the possibility to represent their country on an international stage. Bacon finished the meet with a silver medal for her performance in the One-Meter competition, kicking off the season's medal count for the Gophers.
The Maroon and Gold added to the count at the B1G Championships where the team added two gold, four silver and three bronze medals to Minnesota's season total.
With both Bacon and Nack claiming individual Big Ten Titles in Three-Meter Diving and the 500 Freestyle respectively, 2018-19 marks the first season since 2014-15 that the Maroon and Gold had multiple individual B1G Champions in the same year.
The fourth-place-finishing Maroon and Gold notched two First Team All-Big Ten athletes in Bacon and Nack, while Waddell, Zoe Avestruz and Mackenzie Padington collected All-Big Ten Second Team honors. Senior breaststroker Rachel Munson earned the final honor of the championships when she represented Minnesota as this year's Sportsmanship Award Honoree
Minnesota once again supplemented the season medal count at the NCAA Championships as Bacon successfully defended her previous national title and became the 2019 NCAA One-Meter Diving Champion, making the junior the first female Gopher to win a title in the same event in back-to-back seasons. Bacon's winning score of 363.20 set a new NCAA meet record, besting the previous mark of 361.55 that had stood for 12 years. Teammate Padington added two more bronze medals to the team's total with her third-place finishes in the 500 Freestyle and 1650 Freestyle.
The Gophers had four student-athletes earn All-America honors in six different individual events. The 400 Medley Relay team of Waddell, Emily Cook, Kozelsky and Avestruz also returning to Minneapolis as All-Americans after their seventh-place finish in the race. In addition to those who snagged All-America honors, the Maroon and Gold saw two more Gophers earn Honorable Mention All-America accolades for their individual events. The 200 Free Relay and the 800 Free Relay teams also joined the list of those who picked up NCAA awards with their Honorable Mention All-America finishes.
All-Americans
Chantal Nack // 500 free
Mackenzie Padington // 500 free // 1650 free
Tevyn Waddell // 400 medley relay
Zoe Avestruz // 400 medley relay
Lindsey Kozelsky // 100 breast // 400 medley relay
Emily Cook // 400 medley relay
Sarah Bacon // 1-meter dive // 3-meter dive
Honorable Mention All-Americans
Chantal Nack // 800 free relay // 200 free // 200 back
Mackenzie Padington // 800 free relay
Lindsey Kozelsky // 200 medley relay // 200 breast
Tevyn Waddell // 800 free relay // 200 medley relay
Emily Cook // 200 medley relay
Rachel Munson // 100 breast
Zoe Avestruz // 800 free relay // 200 medley relay
Kristen Hayden // 3-meter dive
Final Career All-America Count for Seniors - Total (Honorable Mention)
Women
Chantal Nack 6 (4)
Rachel Munson 1 (1)
Zoe Avestruz 6 (3)
In other notable NCAA news, the team earned an NCAA finish of 11th with 158.5 points, which is the second most in program history. Also, the Gophers have placed 13th or better in 13 of the last 14 years, and this year is the 14th straight season in which Minnesota has sent 10 or more student-athletes to the national championships.
New Program Record Times/Scores Achieved This Year
200 Free: Chantal Nack, 1:43.16
500 Free: Mackenzie Padington, 4:35.21
200 Back: Chantal Nack, 1:51.42
1-Meter Diving (6 dives): Sarah Bacon, 363.20
3-Meter Diving (6 dives): Sarah Bacon, 430.60
The upcoming 2019-20 season promises to be a banner year for the Gophers as it will be the 50th competition year for the women's program. Be sure to follow Gopher Swim and Dive on Twitter, Instagram and like us on Facebook to stay up-to-date with everything Maroon and Gold in the offseason.
Five different student-athletes collected weekly awards from the Big Ten Conference this season. Kristen Hayden and Mariam Khamis each took a turn in the spotlight as Diver of the Week in 2018-19. Lindsey Kozelsky added to her list of Swimmer of the Week awards while Chantal Nack picked up the first of her career. Abbey Kilgallon was the lone Gopher freshman to pick up a Freshman of the Week nod.
The team recorded six dual-meet wins, and an impressive performance in the inaugural ACC/B1G Challenge in which the Big Ten emerged victorious. Head coach Kelly Kremer was selected to serve as an assistant coach to the Big Ten team at the meet and brough seven Gopher women along to represent the conference.
Another notable win on the Gophers 2018-19 schedule was their first-place finish at the mid-season Invitational where the Gophers defeated 11 other programs to take the top spot. The women notched 13 event wins including all five Gopher relays. Junior Tevyn Waddell alone recorded nine first-places finishes, winning four individual events (200 IM, 100 Back, 100 Fly, 200 Back) and swimming in each winning relay.
Hayden and Sarah Bacon both competed at the USA Diving Winter Trials this past December, diving for the possibility to represent their country on an international stage. Bacon finished the meet with a silver medal for her performance in the One-Meter competition, kicking off the season's medal count for the Gophers.
The Maroon and Gold added to the count at the B1G Championships where the team added two gold, four silver and three bronze medals to Minnesota's season total.
With both Bacon and Nack claiming individual Big Ten Titles in Three-Meter Diving and the 500 Freestyle respectively, 2018-19 marks the first season since 2014-15 that the Maroon and Gold had multiple individual B1G Champions in the same year.
The fourth-place-finishing Maroon and Gold notched two First Team All-Big Ten athletes in Bacon and Nack, while Waddell, Zoe Avestruz and Mackenzie Padington collected All-Big Ten Second Team honors. Senior breaststroker Rachel Munson earned the final honor of the championships when she represented Minnesota as this year's Sportsmanship Award Honoree
Minnesota once again supplemented the season medal count at the NCAA Championships as Bacon successfully defended her previous national title and became the 2019 NCAA One-Meter Diving Champion, making the junior the first female Gopher to win a title in the same event in back-to-back seasons. Bacon's winning score of 363.20 set a new NCAA meet record, besting the previous mark of 361.55 that had stood for 12 years. Teammate Padington added two more bronze medals to the team's total with her third-place finishes in the 500 Freestyle and 1650 Freestyle.
The Gophers had four student-athletes earn All-America honors in six different individual events. The 400 Medley Relay team of Waddell, Emily Cook, Kozelsky and Avestruz also returning to Minneapolis as All-Americans after their seventh-place finish in the race. In addition to those who snagged All-America honors, the Maroon and Gold saw two more Gophers earn Honorable Mention All-America accolades for their individual events. The 200 Free Relay and the 800 Free Relay teams also joined the list of those who picked up NCAA awards with their Honorable Mention All-America finishes.
All-Americans
Chantal Nack // 500 free
Mackenzie Padington // 500 free // 1650 free
Tevyn Waddell // 400 medley relay
Zoe Avestruz // 400 medley relay
Lindsey Kozelsky // 100 breast // 400 medley relay
Emily Cook // 400 medley relay
Sarah Bacon // 1-meter dive // 3-meter dive
Honorable Mention All-Americans
Chantal Nack // 800 free relay // 200 free // 200 back
Mackenzie Padington // 800 free relay
Lindsey Kozelsky // 200 medley relay // 200 breast
Tevyn Waddell // 800 free relay // 200 medley relay
Emily Cook // 200 medley relay
Rachel Munson // 100 breast
Zoe Avestruz // 800 free relay // 200 medley relay
Kristen Hayden // 3-meter dive
Final Career All-America Count for Seniors - Total (Honorable Mention)
Women
Chantal Nack 6 (4)
Rachel Munson 1 (1)
Zoe Avestruz 6 (3)
In other notable NCAA news, the team earned an NCAA finish of 11th with 158.5 points, which is the second most in program history. Also, the Gophers have placed 13th or better in 13 of the last 14 years, and this year is the 14th straight season in which Minnesota has sent 10 or more student-athletes to the national championships.
New Program Record Times/Scores Achieved This Year
200 Free: Chantal Nack, 1:43.16
500 Free: Mackenzie Padington, 4:35.21
200 Back: Chantal Nack, 1:51.42
1-Meter Diving (6 dives): Sarah Bacon, 363.20
3-Meter Diving (6 dives): Sarah Bacon, 430.60
The upcoming 2019-20 season promises to be a banner year for the Gophers as it will be the 50th competition year for the women's program. Be sure to follow Gopher Swim and Dive on Twitter, Instagram and like us on Facebook to stay up-to-date with everything Maroon and Gold in the offseason.
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