ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Northwestern saw a school record fall and a silver medal grabbed in the final day of the 2016 Big Tens Women's Swimming & Diving Championships.

After competition, the Wildcats ended in eighth place with 467 team points — more than 50 points higher than the next-closest competitor.

Melissa Postoll (Acworth, Ga./Kennesaw Mountain) continued her tremendous pace by swimming a career-best 'B' qualifying time in the 200 back preliminary session and then proceeded to break the NU record in the finals session.

In diving action, Olivia Rosendahl (Los Angeles, Calif./Immaculate Heart) dazzled with a pair of performances in the preliminaries and finals which left the freshman with a silver medal in hand.

Finals Sessions
Beginning the afternoon in a combined prelim/finals 1,650 free race, Ellen Anderson (Montgomery Village, Md./Gaithersburg) picked up the top Wildcat spot, finishing 22nd with a career-best 16:43.73 and grabbing three points for Northwestern.

Melissa Postoll broke her second Northwestern record at the Championships, swimming the 200 back in a seventh-place 1:55.99 and topping Genny Szymanski's historic mark. That was her third 'B' qualifying swim in the event this year and seventh overall. In the 'C' heat, Lacey Locke (Carmel, Ind./Carmel) also grabbed points for the #B1GCats, with her 'B' qualifying time of 1:58.32.

Northwestern picked up another seventh-place finish in a championship final as Annika Winsnes touched in at 49.72 in the 100 free. The time was her second-fastest this season, trailing only her preliminary performance in the race.

The 'Cats had a pair of swimmers in the bonus final of the 200 breast and Peyton Greenberg (Louisville, Ky./duPont Manual) and Julianne Kurke (Atlanta, Ga./Parkview) went back-to-back. Greenberg swam a 'B' cut of 2:14.05 and Kurke also swam a 'B' qualification — and a career-best — in 2:14.47.

Ellen Stello (Shorewood, Wis./Shorewood) put on a strong performance in the consolation final of the 200 fly, recording a season-best of 1:59.15. Her swim was good for a 14th-place finish and 13 points for the Wildcats. In the 'C' final, Alex Grimes (Los Gatos, Calif./Los Gatos) narrowly missed a 'B' cut, but finished in a strong 1:59.79 (19th place).

From the platform, Olivia Rosendahl grabbed a silver medal by scoring 321.45 points, which is her second-best point total of her career. The freshman steadily climbed the ranks in the Championships, proceeding from an eighth place finish to a fourth place finish to a second place finish.

Wrapping up competition, Northwestern's 'A' 400 free relay squad swam the fourth-fastest time in school history (3:19.65).

Preliminary Sessions

Melissa Postoll's 1:56.51 pace in the 200 back was more than two seconds faster than her previous season-best and almost three seconds faster than the NCAA 'B' qualifying threshold. The time was also second-best in NU history, and only .28 seconds slower than the program record held by Genny Szymanski. She finished in eighth place to earn a spot in tonight's 'A' heat.

After her surprise performance yesterday, Annika Kollevoll (McLean, Va./The Bolles School) set a season-best time in the 200 back (2:02.17). Her performance made her the third-fastest Wildcat in the event this season.

200 Backstroke Preliminary Results
8th (Championship Final) - Melissa Postoll, 1:56.41 (NCAA 'B' Qualifier, career-best)
40th - Annika Kollevoll, 2:02.17 (career-best)
45th - Jackie Doyle, 2:04.14 (season-best)
55th - Chelsea Soderholm, 2:11.29 (season-best)

Continuing her trend of being one of Northwestern's most prolific freestylers, Annika Winsnes logged her second 'B' qualifying time this season in the 100 free at 49.41, which was good for eighth place of the entrants in the event. She will swim in the championship final tonight.

Mary Warren (Hartland, Wis./Arrowhead) just narrowly missed a second swim opportunity with her 27th-place swim of 50.24, which was also a season-best for the sophomore. Julia Pratt (Vincennes, Ind./Vincennes Rivet) notched a career-best with her time of 51.11.

100 Freestyle Preliminary Results
8th (Championship Final) - Annika Winsnes, 49.41 (NCAA 'B' Qualifier, season-best)
27th - Mary Warren, 50.24 (season-best)
46th - Julia Pratt, 51.11 (career-best)
71st - Aja Malone, 52.03 (season-best)
71st - Katherine Senseman, 52.03 (career-best)
79th - Anna Keane, 52.38 (season-best)

The #B1GCats locked up two second swims in the 200 breast with Julianne Kurke and Peyton Greenberg swimming times good enough to earn a spot in tonight's 'C' heat. Originally, Greenberg was tied for the 24th spot, forcing a swim-off for the freshman. She proceeded to beat her opponent by almost eight-tenths of a second, touching in at 2:13.34, which is the third-best time in Northwestern history.

Katie Branch (Phoenix, Ariz./Horizon Honors) was able to swim well enough to get a 'B' cut, but fell short of qualifying for a second swim with her 2:15.65 time.

200 Breast Preliminary Results
17th (Bonus Final) - Julianne Kurke, 2:14.85 (NCAA 'B' Qualifier, season-best)
24th (Bonus Final) - Peyton Greenberg, 2:15.38 (NCAA 'B' Qualifier)
Greenberg tied for the 24th spot and participated in a swim-off.
1st/2 - Peyton Greenberg, 2:13.34 (NCAA 'B' Qualifier, career-best)
28th - Katie Branch, 2:15.65 (NCAA 'B' Qualifier, career-best)
45th - Georgie Pettibone, 2:19.08 (season-best)

Northwestern closed out the preliminary swimming session with the 200 fly, with two 'Cats guaranteed a second swim. Ellen Stello (Shorewood, Wis./Shorewood) and Alex Grimes (Los Gatos, Calif./Los Gatos) both swam times in the top 24, with Stello picking up a 'B' qualifer. Maddy Sims (Downers Grove, Ill./Downers Grove North) swam a career-best time of 2:00.86, but fell just short of a guaranteed finals berth. She is the first alternate for tonight's competition.

200 Butterfly Preliminary Results
15th (Consolation Final) - Ellen Stello, 1:59.44 (NCAA 'B' Qualifier, season-best)
24th (Bonus Final) - Alex Grimes, 2:00.79 (career-best)
25th (1st Alternate) - Maddy Sims, 2:00.86 (career-best)
29th - Emily Launer, 2:01.50 (season-best)
47th - Georgie Pettibone, 2:07.79 (season-best)
51st - Chelsea Soderholm, 2:10.67 (season-best)

Olivia Rosendahl will be diving in the finals session of day four. She put up a dazzling second-place performance from the platform, scoring a career-best 329.95 points which is far above the NCAA zone diving standard of 225.

Platfiorm Diving Preliminary Results
2nd (Championship Final) - Olivia Rosendahl, 329.95 (career-best)
30th - Eryn Scannell, 210.15 (career-best)
32nd - Mashal Hashem, 207.05 (career-best)
34th - Monique Demaisip, 202.20 (career-best)

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School Record Drops in Day Four of Big Ten Championships

•••••

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Ellen Anderson

Katie Branch

Monique Demaisip

Jackie Doyle

Peyton Greenberg

Alex Grimes

Mashal Hashem

Anna Keane

Annika Kollevoll

Julianne Kurke

Emily Launer

Lacey Locke

Aja Malone

Georgie Pettibone

Melissa Postoll

Julia Pratt

Olivia Rosendahl

Eryn Scannell

Katherine Senseman

Maddy Sims

Chelsea Soderholm

Ellen Stello

Mary Warren

Annika Winsnes

Northwestern University Athletics

School Record Drops in Day Four of Big Ten Championships

•••••

Related News

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Ellen Anderson

Katie Branch

Monique Demaisip

Jackie Doyle

Peyton Greenberg

Alex Grimes

Mashal Hashem

Anna Keane

Annika Kollevoll

Julianne Kurke

Emily Launer

Lacey Locke

Aja Malone

Georgie Pettibone

Melissa Postoll

Julia Pratt

Olivia Rosendahl

Eryn Scannell

Katherine Senseman

Maddy Sims

Chelsea Soderholm

Ellen Stello

Mary Warren

Annika Winsnes

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