INDIANAPOLIS (March 21, 2026) – Tufts University seniors
Madeleine Dunn and
Madison Hagberg capped their careers with their highest NCAA finishes ever on Saturday evening as the Division III Women's Swimming & Diving national championship meet ended at IU Natatorium.
Dunn placed third in the 1650 freestyle and Hagberg was fourth in the 200 backstroke tonight. The two performances helped the Jumbos finish 12th in the NCAA team standings (104 points).
In the 200 backstroke preliminaries on Saturday morning, Hagberg swam a 2:00.18 time that was just 0.02 off the Tufts school record. The mark got her into the 200 backstroke championship final for the second time in her career. She then swam 1:59.79 in the final to earn fourth place and a school record. She broke the former mark of 2:00.16 set by Abby Claus in 2022. It's Hagberg's third career All-American honor (two first team). She was eighth in the 2024 NCAA 200 back.
Hagberg's performance tonight capped a historic week in the backstroke events for the Jumbos. Her fourth-place finish in the event is Tufts' best since at least 1984. Corinne Schippert was an All-American in the 200 back that year, but the NCAA Championship results from that season are not readily available and Schippert's finish is unknown. On Friday, Tufts first-year
Abby Davis broke the school record and became the first All-American in the 100 backstroke also since 1984.
Dunn, swimming her 1650 freestyle in the evening, earned her third top-eight finish of the meet by placing third in the event with a 16:52.42 time. Tufts' best NCAA finish since
Jillian Cudney was third in the 2024 100 freestyle, it replaces Dunn's fifth-place finish in the 500 freestyle on Wednesday as her best-ever national finish. She earned her 12th All-American award (five first team), tied for eighth all-time at Tufts. She is the lone 1650 freestyle All-American in Tufts history, achieving the feat three times.
The Jumbos did have the misfortune of their 400 freestyle relay being disqualified in the finals tonight. The foursome of senior
Isa Chambers, senior
Katharine Skelly, first-year
Alec Lazorisak and senior
Quinci Wheeler had advanced to the consolation final with a 3:23.74 preliminary time.
Also in the 200 backstroke for the Jumbos today were sophomore
Noa Chambers, who was 23rd in 2:02.29, and Davis, who timed 2:09.32 (42nd).
Tufts had its most competitors in any one event this year with four in the 100 freestyle preliminaries on Saturday morning. Wheeler led the Tufts quartet with a 51.15 mark that was 29th. Lazorisak placed 36th (51.66), junior
Sydney Stasz was 48th (52.07) and junior
Elena Harrison swam a 52.74 lifetime best for 58th place.
Eleven Jumbos won All-American awards at the NCAA meet, led by Dunn and Wheeler's four each. Harrison had three, Davis, Skelly and Stasz earned two and
Isa Chambers, Lazorisak, sophomore
Angel Smyrniou, sophomore
Sweeney Su and Hagberg had one each.
The Jumbos broke four school records at the meet, by the 400 medley relay (3:43.52 by Davis, Stasz, Harrison and Wheeler), Dunn in the 400 individual medley (4:23.04), Davis for the 100 backstroke (55.48) and Hagberg in the 200 back (1:59.77).
--JUMBOS--
