2023-24 TCU Women’s Swimming and Diving Season Recap

The Frogs finished third in the Big 12 and won the National Invitational Championship

TCU Women’s Swimming and Diving had a very solid 2023-24 season which culminated in a third-place finish at the Big 12 Championship and a National Invitational Championship win.

The season started with a trip to Tallahassee for the FSU Classic where Anna Kwong earned the first win of the season for the Frogs as she took home gold in the 3-meter dive thanks to a score of 297.35. Kwong picked up her second medal of the meet with a second-place finish in the 1-meter dive with a score of 246.30. Olivia Rhodes won the 100-yard freestyle for the Frogs behind a time of 51.57. Tania Quaglieri earned a silver medal in the 100-yard backstroke with a strong time of 55.27 and won the 200-yard backstroke with a great time of 2:02.56. The relay team of Serena Gould, Mikayla Popham, Rhodes and Quaglieri won both the 200-yard and 400-yard freestyle thanks to times of 1:33.91 and 3:25.38 respectively. The Frogs finished second out of a field of four teams with a team score of 191.

The next meet for the Frogs was a home matchup with BYU to open their conference schedule. The Frogs picked up their first team win of the season thanks in part to Quaglieri, Nina Vadovicova, Jeanne Dahmen and Gould who combined to win the 400-yard medley relay with a time of 3:40.51. Kara Church was the next winner for the Frogs as she took first in the 1000-yard freestyle thanks to a time of 10:07.11. Kwong continued her strong start to the season with a win in platform diving with a score of 243.15. Vadovicova picked up her first individual win of the meet in the 400-yard individual medley with a time of 4:26.01. The 400-yard freestyle relay team of Gould, Popham, Alexis Drap and Rhodes earned a win for the Frogs with a time of 3:23.47.

TCU continued to dominate the relays with a win from Quaglieri, Vadoicova, Dahmen and Rhanishka Gibbs in the 200-yard medley relay. Kwong earned her second straight win in the 1-meter with a score of 276.05. Quaglieri won the 100-yard backstroke with a time of 55.34 and Vadovicova won the 100-yard breaststroke and 200-yard breaststroke thanks to times of 1:00.75 and 2:11.30. Alessandra Senis was the next winner for TCU in the 200-yard butterfly with a time of 2:02.01. Rhodes picked up a win in the 50-yard freestyle with a very solid time of 22.78 and the 100-yard freestyle with a time of 50.31. Popham earned a win for the Frogs in the 200-yard backstroke thanks to a time of 2:01.62. Church earned her second medal of the meet in the 500-yard freestyle with a time of 4:54.33. Gould, Gibbs, Popham and Rhodes picked up the final win of the meet for the Frogs in the 200-yard freestyle relay with a time of 1:32.93.

The Frogs dropped a tough meet to Texas on the road in Austin before hosting New Mexico State in Fort Worth for the next meet. The Frogs bounced back well, taking down the Aggies by a score of 185-56. It was a dominant performance for the Frogs as they took first in all 13 events. Rhodes took first in both the 50-yard and 100-yard freestyle thanks to times of 23.57 and 51.59 respectively. Church won both the 500-yard and 1000-yard freestyle with times of 4:59.86 and 10:15.63 respectively. Kwong was the third Frog to win multiple events as she won both the 1-meter dive and the 3-meter dive with scores of 271.05 and 312.38.

The Frogs continued their strong performances with a second-place finish in their next meet in Columbia, Missouri with a team score of 837. Kwong won the 1-meter dive with a great score of 321.15. Quaglieri was the next winner for the Frogs with a first-place finish in the 100-yard backstroke thanks to a time of 52.61. The next meet for TCU was Senior Day in Fort Worth where they fell to Texas A&M by a score of 176-116. Vadovicova picked up a win for the Frogs in the 100-yard breaststroke with an excellent time of 1:03.65 and another win in the 200-yard breaststroke with a time of 2:17.49. Rhodes earned the next win for the Frogs in the 50-yard freestyle thanks to a great time of 23.33. The Frogs bounced back well on a trip to Ames, Iowa where they took down the Cyclones by a score of 162-138.

Jordan Edwards won the 1000-yard freestyle for the Frogs with a time of 10:22.39. Popham took first in the 200-yard freestyle thanks to a time of 1:53.00. Quaglieri picked up her first win of the meet in the 100-yard backstroke with a time of 55.06. Claire Chahbandour won the 100-yard breaststroke for the Frogs with a very good time of 1:04.28. Rhodes earned a win for TCU in the 50-yard freestyle behind a time of 23.59. Emma Lacarda Herrera won the 3-meter dive with a good score of 311.85. Quaglieri’s second win of the meet came in the 200-yard backstroke thanks to a time of 2:02.37. Georgia Vavalle’s time of 2:21.99 in the 200-yard breaststroke landed her in first place for the Frogs. Quaglieri continued her outstanding stretch of swimming with a win in the 100-yard butterfly thanks to a time of 55.91.

The Frogs wrapped up their regular season in Austin with another meet against UT and the Sterkel Classic meet that took place the next day. The Frogs dropped the meet to the Longhorns despite Senis winning the 200 butterfly with a time of 2:16.74. Quaglieri won the 200-yard freestyle in the Sterkel Classic with a great time of 1:48.82.

The Frogs started their postseason campaign at the Big 12 Championships in Morgantown, West Virginia where they placed a very solid third as a team. The 200-yard medley relay team of Quaglieri, Chahbandour, Dahmen and Rhodes won the first medal for the Frogs, finishing second with a time of 1:37.64. The Frogs picked up a medal in the 800-yard freestyle relay with the team of Quaglieri, Popham, Church and Gould finishing with a time of 7:15.82 that landed them in third place. Church earned the first medal of day two for the Frogs with a third place finish in the 500-yard freestyle thanks to a time of 4:46.12. Kwong picked up a bronze medal in the 1-meter dive thanks to a great score of 336.30.

The Frogs stayed hot in the relays with Quaglieri, Vadovicova, Rhodes and Dahmen earning a third place finish thanks to a time of 3:37.27. The 200-yard freestyle relay team of Rhodes, Popham, Gould and Chahbandour picked up a silver medal thanks to a great time of 1:30.13. Kwong placed second in the 3-meter diving final with a solid score of 369.75. Quaglieri picked up an individual medal with a third place finish in the 200-yard backstroke behind a time of 1:56.04. Church earned a medal for the Frogs with a third place finish in the 1000-yard freestyle with a time of 16:33.13. Quaglieri, Gould, Rhodes and Popham won the final medal of the meet for the Frogs with a second place finish in the 400-yard freestyle relay thanks to a time of 3:16.33.

The Frogs wrapped up the season in impressive fashion, winning the National Invitational Championship. Quaglieri picked up a bronze for the Frogs in the 50-yard backstroke with a time of 24.65. The 400-yard medley relay team of Rylee Moore, Chahbandour, Dahmen and Rhodes earned bronze with a time of 3:37.91. Quaglieri, Chahbandour, Dahmen and Rhodes took gold in the 200-yard medley relay thanks to a time of 1:37.94. Quaglieri, Popham, Gould and Rhodes won gold medals in the 400-yard freestyle relay thanks to a great time of 3:17.43.

The Frogs will have a great chance to build off of their third place finish at the Big 12 Championship and contend for a conference championship in 2024, especially with the return of major contributors such as Anna Kwong, Olivia Rhodes, and Nina Vadovicova.