Thursday, February 19
Minneapolis, Minn.
11:00 AM
Rutgers University
at
Big Ten Championships
Photo by: Craig Lassig
Vlachou's School Record Highlights Three Podium Finishes at B1G Day Two
Feb 19 | Women's Swimming & Diving
Bailee Sturgill (7th), Anna Vlachou (8th), Katerina Hoffman (8th) all Reach Finals
MINNEAPOLIS – Rutgers swimming and diving had three podium finishers and four finalists in a strong performance during the second day of action at the Big Ten Championship. Anna Vlachou set a new school record in the 100 butterfly to finish eighth and Bailee Sturgill (seventh) and Katerina Hoffman (eighth) gave RU two diving finalists for three podium spots. Additionally, Ana Hazlehurst reached the night session with an appearance in the B Finals in the 400 IM. RU had two new top-three all-time program times on the day.
Vlachou swam a 52.16 in the 100 butterfly in the preliminaries, setting the new school record in the event, which was previously set in 2019 by Francesca Stoppa. In the finals, she broke her own school record from the morning, touching the wall in 52.15, an NCAA Qualifying time. It was the first A Final in the 100 Butterfly for the Scarlet Knights since 2019, and the third swimmer overall to reach the Big Ten A Finals in the event.
Ana Hazlehurst also reached the finals in the 400 IM with her performance in the 400 IM. She touched the wall in 4:13.88 in the preliminaries, the third fastest time in school history. She qualified for the B final, where she placed 15th. It was the second straight year for RU with a swimmer in the 400 IM B final and tied for the second-highest Big Ten finish in the event for the program.
Katerina Hoffman and Bailee Sturgill advanced to the finals in the 1M Dive. Hoffman had a 288.90 in preliminaries to stand third, and Bailee Sturgill was seventh at 274.60, and both had NCAA Qualifying marks.
In the final session, Sturgill scored a 282.00 to place seventh, while Hoffman scored a 280.90, finishing eighth. Sturgill finished seventh in the 1M at the Big Ten Championships for the second straight year, while Hoffman reached her first Big Ten 1M finals after placing 11th in the event in the consolation final last year. Sephora Ford just missed the consolation finals, earning RU team points with an 18th place finish (247.10).
Rutgers also competed in the 200 Free Relay in the night session, placing 11th. Rutgers 'A' relay of Emilianna Gonzalez, Anna Vlachou, Chiara Alberti and Ana Hazlehurst swam a 1:30.61. The Scarlet Knights also had preliminary competitors on the day in the 200 Free and 100 Breast.
After eight events, the Scarlet Knights have 171.5 team points and stand in 10th place. Action resumes on Friday with the preliminaries beginning at 11 a.m. Eastern Time. RU will compete in the 100 Back, 200 Breast, 500 Free, 50 Free and the 3-Meter Dive.
Gallery: (2-19-2026) Swim/Dive Day 2 at Big Tens
Vlachou swam a 52.16 in the 100 butterfly in the preliminaries, setting the new school record in the event, which was previously set in 2019 by Francesca Stoppa. In the finals, she broke her own school record from the morning, touching the wall in 52.15, an NCAA Qualifying time. It was the first A Final in the 100 Butterfly for the Scarlet Knights since 2019, and the third swimmer overall to reach the Big Ten A Finals in the event.
Ana Hazlehurst also reached the finals in the 400 IM with her performance in the 400 IM. She touched the wall in 4:13.88 in the preliminaries, the third fastest time in school history. She qualified for the B final, where she placed 15th. It was the second straight year for RU with a swimmer in the 400 IM B final and tied for the second-highest Big Ten finish in the event for the program.
Katerina Hoffman and Bailee Sturgill advanced to the finals in the 1M Dive. Hoffman had a 288.90 in preliminaries to stand third, and Bailee Sturgill was seventh at 274.60, and both had NCAA Qualifying marks.
In the final session, Sturgill scored a 282.00 to place seventh, while Hoffman scored a 280.90, finishing eighth. Sturgill finished seventh in the 1M at the Big Ten Championships for the second straight year, while Hoffman reached her first Big Ten 1M finals after placing 11th in the event in the consolation final last year. Sephora Ford just missed the consolation finals, earning RU team points with an 18th place finish (247.10).
Rutgers also competed in the 200 Free Relay in the night session, placing 11th. Rutgers 'A' relay of Emilianna Gonzalez, Anna Vlachou, Chiara Alberti and Ana Hazlehurst swam a 1:30.61. The Scarlet Knights also had preliminary competitors on the day in the 200 Free and 100 Breast.
After eight events, the Scarlet Knights have 171.5 team points and stand in 10th place. Action resumes on Friday with the preliminaries beginning at 11 a.m. Eastern Time. RU will compete in the 100 Back, 200 Breast, 500 Free, 50 Free and the 3-Meter Dive.
Players Mentioned
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Diving
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Fly/IM
/ Women's Swimming & Diving
Diving
/ Women's Swimming & Diving
Diving
/ Women's Swimming & Diving
Free/Fly
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