Big 12 women’s swimming and diving: Can young Cougars find their stride in Power Five league?

Editor’s note: Eighth in a series of articles examining how each BYU program will stack up against its new conference foes. Today’s program: women’s swimming and diving.

The BYU women’s swimming and diving team has a strong tradition: the Cougars have scored 16 different years at nationals, finishing as high as 11th in 1991. BYU has also claimed 18 conference titles, placing first or second in conference every year from 1980-2013.

Individually, LeLei Fonoimoana Moore won a silver medal with the U.S. 4x100 medley relay team at the 1976 Montreal Olympics in addition to placing seventh in the 100-meter butterfly. She then began her BYU career and would go on to claim 11 All-America honors as a Cougar. Most recently, Rachelle Kunkel placed ninth in springboard diving at the 2004 Athens Olympics representing the United States.

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And at the NCAA championships, Courtney Nelson won the 1990 and 1991 national titles in platform diving and Vanessa Thelin won the 1994 national title on the 1-meter dive.

The last dozen years, however, have been less fruitful, with little to speak of in the postseason and only one top-two finish (in 2021) at a conference championship.

Hoping to turn around the Cougars as they enter the Big 12 era is Shari Skabelund, now in her third season at the helm of the women’s swimming team in addition to leading the men’s program. Tyce Routson, a six-time MPSF Diving Coach of the Year winner (four for men, two for women) is in his ninth year coaching the divers.

The Cougars are a younger team this year, but still boast experience. Last year’s top diver in the MPSF, Alexia Jackson, returns after a stellar freshman season saw her win the conference 3-meter and platform diving titles before competing at NCAA zones.

Sophomore Megan Bergstrom earned All-MPSF first-team honors in the 1,650 freestyle and was All-MPSF second team in the 500 freestyle last season. Junior Halli Williams (first team 50 freestyle, second team 100 freestyle) and sophomore Regan Geldmacher (first team 200 freestyle, second team 1,650 freestyle) were also two-time honorees.

Other all-conference swimmers back this season include sophomore Mackenzie Miller (100 and 200 breaststroke) and sophomore Emma Marusakova (100 butterfly, 100 backstroke and 200 backstroke).

They’ll be joined by freshmen contributors Rachel Ballard from Colorado (freestyle sprints), Tatum Cooley from Arizona (freestyle sprints) and Kara Martinson (freestyle and backstroke) from North Carolina. Local products Ellie Boyer from Springville (butterfly), Nia Vuniwai from Provo (freestyle sprints) and Annie Reichner from Provo (backstroke), are also new to the roster. Reicher is the oldest grandchild of former BYU men’s basketball coach Dave Rose.

Big 12 women’s swimming and diving

As opposed to just five Big 12 universities sponsoring men’s programs, eight sponsor women’s swimming and diving teams: BYU, Cincinnati, Houston, Iowa State, Kansas, TCU, Texas and West Virginia.

Texas has won 11 consecutive conference titles dating back to 2013. Last year, the Longhorns almost doubled second-place Iowa State’s point total, 1,105 to 564.5. TCU finished third, West Virginia fourth and Kansas fifth.

Houston finished out its time in the American Athletic Conference last year with its seventh-straight conference title. Cincinnati placed fifth.

Nationally, the Longhorns finished second at the 2023 NCAA championships and had two individual national champions: Big 12 Newcomer of the Year Lydia Jacoby in the 100 breaststroke and Big 12 Swimmer of the Year Emma Sticklen in the 200 butterfly. Both are among a cadre of returning All-Americans.

Texas also finished second in 2022 and has seven national titles to its name with the latest coming in 1991.

No other Big 12 team has done much on the national scene lately. Houston was the last team to score at the NCAA meet, doing so in 2021.

How will BYU fare?

There’s no reason to doubt Texas will cruise to yet another Big 12 championship in 2024. BYU has struggled in the MPSF and will have some growing pains in the new conference. The Cougars will finish in the middle to bottom of the pack this year, but Cougars’ young talent will only keep improving. Whether they can improve enough to eventually challenge the rest of the Big 12 remains to be seen.