Diving into a dynasty: Swim team claims second national championship

COURTESY OF NSU ATHLETICS
Hailey Williams begins the 1000 yard freestyle at the NCAA Division II National Championships.

During the 2023-2024 season, the women’s swim team won its second consecutive NCAA Division II National Championship.

With a previous national title already under its belt, the team knew that repeating such success would be a challenge.

“We knew we were more of an underdog this year because we had a target on our backs having already won the national championship, and it’s a lot harder to defend the title,” said Emily Trieschmann, NSU alumna who led NSU to the title for the second straight year, brought home five national titles, and earned two-time SSC Female Athlete of the Year honors.

The Sharks finished the regular season with a 7-2 record and made adjustments heading into the postseason, inspired by its national championship experience. These changes proved to be instrumental in the team’s performance.

“Towards the end of the season we focused a lot more on event specific strategies and practices to emulate the national championship meet, and it added a level of specificity we haven’t seen in our program,” said head coach Ben Hewitt, six-time SSC Women’s Swimming Coach of the Year. “The team adapted well to it and were focused, which made a huge difference heading into the national championships.”

The team started the national championship by breaking the national record for the 800 Freestyle relay.

“Getting that result so early on was really important for the team because it helped us control our nerves and set the tone for the rest of the meet,” Trieschmann said.

The strong start gave the team extra motivation and energy, which was felt by not only them, but also their opponents.

“Throughout the whole meet we were cheering really loudly for each other, and the other teams were noticing it, some even came up to us to let us know they felt how energetic we were,” said Rafaela Raurich, senior entrepreneurship major and team member. “That really set us apart and gave us more motivation to win.”

The Sharks earned seven individual national championship titles—Trieschmann won the 1000, 200, 500 and 1650 Freestyles, Raurich won the 100 and 200 Butterflies, and May Lowy and Emilia Ronningdal joined Trieschmann and Raurich in winning the 800 Freestyle Relay. These individual wins ultimately gave the women’s swim team its second consecutive team title.

“Winning back-to-back felt amazing and validating because all the work we’ve put in over the last few years has started to pay off. As a program, we’ve put ourselves in a great position to sustain long-term success,” Hewitt said.

The women’s swim team aims to maintain its success this upcoming season.

“The goal for us is to keep winning, and we are all very motivated and excited to do so,” Raurich said.