Kenosha, Wis. -- After tests against non-conference and Division I opposition to begin the 2026-27 schedule, the first CCIW meet of the new season arrived for the Thunder swimming & diving teams this afternoon. Wheaton headed up to Wisconsin to face its old rival Carthage College in a dual, and the two schools split the meet, with the Thunder men and the Firebird women claiming head-to-head victories on Saturday. Carthage's women's team topped Wheaton by a score of 180-117 to continue the pattern of the hosting program winning the last five meets between the two sides.

Isabelle Fitzpatrick was the lone Thunder diver to compete on both boards this afternoon, but Wheaton had plenty of representation in the 1-meter field, as five participants leaped off the pedestal in the 10-woman competition. Renata Marantz was the team's highest finisher, as she came in fourth place via a 157.10 total after six dives. Her fellow senior Fitzpatrick earned a score of 127.95, while Nora Lee registered a 120.77 mark from one meter up. Nana O'Byrne logged a score of 113 even, and Kate Tukiendorf received a 97.65 tally.

Fitzpatrick accumulated a mark of 135.10 from six dives off of the 3-meter board on Saturday.

The Thunder's swimmers began the meet in impressive fashion, as Kate Zurowski, Lydia Hansen, Tess Boyer, and Aubrey Swanson combined to win the 200-yard medley relay with a CCIW-leading time of 1:51.32, completing the event a comfortable 2.33 seconds ahead of Carthage's runner-up quartet.

Boyer, the reigning conference Swimmer of the Week, continued her flawless start to her senior campaign with a first-place showing in the 200-yard freestyle, posting a 1:54.88 line that is the fastest in the league this year.

Zurowski (pictured right) logged an individual win of her own in the women's 100-yard backstroke via a 1:03.51 mark, touching the wall just .08 second ahead of the Firebirds' second-place finisher. 

Fellow sophomore Hansen topped the 11-swimmer 100-yard breaststroke standings thanks to a 1:10.48 count that ranks second in the conference.

Swanson then completed the run of Wheaton's victorious relay teammates scooping up solo event wins with her performance in the 50 free, registering a 25.04 time to finish the race .35 second ahead of Rebecca Darter in second place.

Swanson wasted no time in doubling up in the freestyle category, topping the podium in the 100-yard edition through a 55.76 line to win the 15-woman event.

Boyer then maintained her 100% win record in individual swims thus far in 2026-27 with a first-place finish in the 200 back, clocking a 2:01.78 count that leads the conference by a whopping 12.43 seconds and currently ranks as the fourth-fastest time in Division III.

Allison Henschel earned a runner-up placement in the 10-woman 500 free field courtesy of a 5:27.35 time, creating a 9.57-second gap between herself and the Firebirds' swimmer in third place.

The Wisconsin hosts had already secured their team win heading into Saturday's final event, but Wheaton made sure to grab another relay victory before hitting the road back to Illinois. Swanson, Darter, Lizzy Ziegler, and Boyer teamed up to win the 200-yard freestyle swim with a combined mark of 1:39.55 that also ranks first in the CCIW this season.

After starting their conference competition, the Thunder squads will return to the Badger State just five days from now for the Carthage Invitational. The three-day event is set to begin on Thursday afternoon in Kenosha and will run through Saturday.