Fresh off a CCIW championship in 2021-22, the Augustana Vikings women's swimming & diving team kept their momentum rolling into the new year, placing second in the CCIW and boasting five individual conference champions and one relay team. This season marked the first time the Vikings have finished in the top two at the conference meet since 1995-97.

Augie entered Saturday with just a one-point lead after outstanding performances Wednesday-Friday. The four-day meet began on Wednesday with Kaite Zaborenko earning a conference championship in both the 1-meter and 3-meter dives. Zaborenko beat out five others in the 1-meter dive, securing a score of 305.30 to take first. It is the second consecutive year she has won the event. The junior also took first in the 3-meter dive, beating out teammate Kate Kucera in second with a score of 309.30. Kucera's second place finish came with a score of 287.95. She also took third in the 1-meter with a score of 293.15. Both earned all-conference in each event.

On Thursday, the Vikings saw a balanced attack to pull into first after Thursday's events. In relays, the team of Hailey Glasnovich, Brooke Walker, Zoe Heiar, and Isabelle Sansom took first in the 400 medley race to win conference, grabbing a time of 3:57.77. The 200-yard freestyle relay team of Heiar, Olivia White, Dominique Valentine, Sansom took second with a time of 1:38.40 to earn 30 points for the team.In the 500-free, Walker notched second place, finishing at 5:08.89, just .08 out of first. In the same event, Bryanna Matkovich earned first in the B final with a time of 5:21.12. Augie also benefited from a second place finish from Emily Martin in the 200-IM, clocking a time of 2:09.47. Glasnovich rounded out the balanced success with a win in the 50-free B final.

Friday's action brought more success for the women as Glasnovich continued her big weekend, winning the 100-back with a finals time of 58 seconds. Valentine was the B final winner in the same event. In the 100-fly prelims, Heiar set a school record with a time of 58.12, eventually coming in second in the finals with a mark of 58.61. Martin took second in the 400-yard IM, with teammate Bella Casanovas coming right behind in third. The night capped off with the 800-free relay team of White, Walker, Valentine, and Martin placing second and setting a school record with a time of 7:51.59.

On the final day, the team continued to swim well. Walker won the mile race with a time of 17:53.53, over 14 seconds faster than the second-place finisher. Glasnovich earned second in the 200-back, just .13 out of first. She set a school record in the race with a time of 2:06.45. The Vikings also earned places 4-6 in the 200-breast as Walker, Heiar, and Martin cracked the top six. Casanovas was the event winner in the 200-fly with a time of 2:14.65, while Genevieve Ryan and Matkovich took first and second in the B final. 

Glasnovich was named the CCIW Elite 26 Award winner. Stephanie Melendez earned the RESPECT Award. Augie finished with 713.5 total points, which was over 100 more than the third-place finisher.

The 2022-23 season started with a dominating road dual meet win over Monmouth before the Vikings grabbed first place in their first invitational of the season at the IWU Halloween Invite. One week later, the Vikings traveled back to Bloomington, making it two wins in as many duals with a 176.5-102.5 win over the Titans. Augie enjoyed multiple first-place finishers, including Walker in the 200 free, White in the 1,000 free, Heiar in the 100 breast, Casanovas in the 200 fly, Sansom in the 50 and 100 free, and Martin in the 200 IM. The Vikings also had 1-4 finish in the 100 fly, led Heiar. Valentine, Genevieve Ryan, and Jenna Hale were close behind to put the finishing touch on the meet. In diving, Zaborenko won both the 1-meter and 3-meter diving events.

Following a pair of competitive invites, the Vikings improved to 3-0 on the season with a Senior Day win in their lone home competition of the season. Augustana defeated Monmouth for the second time, winning by a score of 183-34. A total of 10 different events were won by Augie in the victory.

The Vikings rounded out their regular season with a third-place finish at the Grinnell Invitational and a win over St. Ambrose at a late-season diving invitational. 

Three records were set this season as Glasnovich sits atop the 200 backstroke list with her time of 2:06.45, while Heiar's time of :58.12 is No. 1 in the 100 fly. The 800-free relay team of White, Walker, Valentine, and Martin placing own the third record broken this season with their mark of 7:51.59. Zaborenko also posted an Anne Greve Lund Natatorium best in the 3-meter dive with a score of 347.55.

A total of 18 different marks this season landed in the all-time top ten lists in the Augie record book, which can be viewed here. 

In February, the women were named to the College Swimming & Diving Coaches Association of America (CSCAA) Scholar All-America team list for the seventh straight year. Three Vikings - Casanovas, Glasnovich, and Sansom - were named to the College Sports Communicators Academic All-District Team. Alison Ogden was recognized at the 2023 Blanket Awards ceremony for owning the second highest GPA among Blanket Award recipients. 
 
TEAM AWARDS
MVP - Brooke Walker
Most Improved - Mykenzie James
Spirit Award - Addison Larson
Top Relay Performer - Emily Martin
Golden Golves Fight to the Finish Award - Olivia White

Academic Excellence Award
Hailey Glasnovich
Stephanie Melendez
Alison Ogden
Kaitlyn Yee

Academic All-Conference
Bella Casanovas
Megan Frost
Hailey Glasnovich
Jenna Hale
Zoe Heiar
Mykenzie James
Micaela Koeppen
Addison Larson
Melinda Levandowski
Emily Martin
Stephanie Melendez
Alison Ogden
Isabelle Sansom
Bella Valenti
Brooke Walker
Kaitlyn Yee

Hale, Martin, and White have been selected by the team to serve as captains for next season.