By Anya Pelshaw on SwimSwam
The transfer portal has opened for women’s swimming and diving and a flood of athletes have already entered as of Wednesday morning. Highlighting the list is Big Ten runner up and NCAA qualifier Ava Whitaker who is in her sophomore season with the Hoosiers.
With roster cuts already taking place, the transfer portal is expected to flood, and this morning’s rush already shows that.
Morning Update:
Eight women from Indiana have entered the portal already including Whitaker. Whitaker is slated to compete for the Hoosiers at NCAAs next week and scored 44 individual points at Big Tens last month, the 13th most of the team. She finished 2nd in the 200 fly, 11th in the 100 fly, and 50th in the 200 IM.
Other names in the portal for Indiana include Claire Stuhlmacher, Lucie Delmas, Justine Delmas, Ana Hazlehurst, Adrianna Lojewski, James Jones, and Daniela Karnaugh. The Delmas twins deferred their enrollment a year but did not compete for the Hoosiers at all this season. Lojewski originally committed to Houston and Northeastern before landing at Indiana.
Hawaii’s Dorottya Dobos also highlights names in the portal. Dobos won the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) title in the 200 backstroke swimming a 1:57.33 in finals, although she was faster in prelims with a 1:56.53. She also swam to 3rd in the 200 back in a 54.66.
ASUN runner-up Isabelle Gomez of Liberty is also in the portal. Gomez swam to a 16:55.79 in the 1650 free to finish 2nd in the event. She also was 9th in the 400 IM in a lifetime best 4:23.93 while she was 15th in the 500 free.
Indiana is not the only school with numerous women in the portal as South Carolina has nine members in the portal, Virginia Tech has five, and Auburn has eight.
South Carolina:
- Sofia Krstolic
- Sterling Burd
- Hannah Wachendorfer
- Eva Tzouvelekas
- Sianna Savarda
- Reagan Phillips
- Grace Tuchi
- Aubrey Finn
Virginia Tech:
- Sofia Salvato
- Norah Guillot
- Yasmine Hassan
- Christine Datovech
- Camille Weiss
- Augusta Ness (Afternoon Update)
- Amanda Aidar (Afternoon Update)
Auburn:
- Olivia Stewart
- Ashlyn Morr
- Lawson Ficken
- Kara West
- Aislyn Barnett
- Audrey Olen
- Amie Perna
- Taylor Grimley
Kentucky:
- Anastasia Tichy
- Delaney Sullivan
- Samantha Hamilton
- Mary Freiburger
- Lily Delong
Among the names in the portal for Auburn is Lawson Ficken who swam for the team at SECs. The sophomore notably just missed out on scoring in the 100 fly as she was 25th in prelims in a 52.93. Her personal best from a dual meet of a 52.43 in January against Alabama would have been 17th in prelims.
After their program was cut last week effective immediately, Cal Poly already has nine women in the portal.
Lunchtime Update:
Texas A&M had a group of women join the portal in this update. The four include Rachel Love, Ellis Fox, Abigail Hood, and Paula Warren. Love and Hood did not compete for the team this season.
Fox did not swim at SECs but swam to numerous lifetime bests at the Last Chance Meet including a 52.53 in the 100 back, 1:54.62 in the 200 back, and 52.63 in the 100 fly. Those were not far off what it took to make NCAAs as it took a 1:53.31 in the 200 back and 51.87 in the 100 fly. Warren also swam numerous best times at last chance including 54.3/1:57.5 backstrokes.
Ivy League Champion Morgan Lukinac has not competed since US Olympic Trials last summer but entered the portal. She won the 2024 Ivy League title in the 200 free with a 1:45.49.
Late Lunch Update:
Cal Poly now has 12 women in the portal, meaning almost half of the team that included 29 this season are in the portal. With six seniors on the roster, 23 women would have returned for next year.
Helena Pinto Coelho Lopes of Georgia has also entered the portal. She did not compete for the Bulldogs this season after being slated to arrive this past fall. She was a member of Brazil’s Junior National team.
Afternoon Update:
More swimmers from Virginia Tech and Indiana (see list above) have entered the portal. Indiana’s addition is Avery Spade, who scored 2o points at Big Tens and was highlighted by a 10th place finish in the 200 fly (1:57.14).
After her sister entered the portal this morning with Indiana, Isabella Lojewski of Houston has also entered the portal. Isabella transferred to Houston after spending her freshman season with Tulane. She also committed to Tulane after originally verbally committing to Florida.
Evening Update:
Arizona State has two women in the portal, Haiden Schoessel and Kaitlyn McMorrow. The defending NCAA Champions of Virginia has their first entry into the portal from Elise Clift. Clift was a “Best of the Rest”recruit coming out of high school. Clift was off her high school best times during her freshman season and did not swim at ACCs. She finished her season at the Cavalier Invite last month swimming season bests in the 500 free, 1650 free, and 200 back.
Read the full story on SwimSwam: Women’s Swimming and Diving Transfer Portal: Day 1 Live Updates