Indiana University won the College Swimming League Wild Card on Thursday, November 5, 2026, at the Indiana University Natatorium in Indianapolis.
The Hoosiers advanced to the CSL Championship with a final score of 592 points, defeating Louisville (456), Stanford (357.5), and Cal (314.5). Scoring was conducted under the CSL Competition Rules (v7.1).
The victory was secured in the final event, the Men’s Super Skins, which Indiana won with 30 points to Louisville’s 56, Stanford’s 88, and Cal’s 54. Indiana’s dominance was evident throughout the meet, as they led the score progression from the first event, the Women’s 200 Back (15-11-6-5), to the very last. The Hoosiers amassed 335.5 women’s points and 256.5 men’s points, winning 23 of the 30 events and recording 34 top-3 finishes.
Indiana’s performance was marked by strong showings in both individual relays and the skins events. After the Men’s 200 Free, Indiana led with 479 points, ahead of Louisville’s 328. The Women’s Super Skins relay further solidified their lead, with Indiana’s A team (Grana, Bottazzo, Shackell, Paegle) winning with 67 points, compared to Louisville’s A team (Mishler, Gorbenko, Ogren, Larsen) at 60.
CSL Wild Card Match: Indiana Dominates Competition to Advance to Final – https://t.co/R4xrin696T pic.twitter.com/7VqsKFHSNv
Indiana’s stroke-specific scoring was also well-balanced, with the team leading in Freestyle (112 points), Backstroke (57), IM (55.5), Breaststroke (47), and Butterfly (45). Louisville was the only other team to win multiple events, securing five. Stanford and Cal each won one and two events respectively. In the Women’s Skins (50 Fly), Indiana scored 58.5 points, while Cal only managed 3. Similarly, the Men’s Skins (50 Back) saw Indiana score 50 points to Cal’s 7.
The match was the first College Swimming League postseason event, with the winner earning a spot in the championship match and a $25,000 award. The event featured four teams: #4 Indiana, #5 Cal, #6 Stanford, and #7 Louisville. The meet began at 5:30 PM ET and included both standard swimming events and unique skins and super skins formats.
CSL Wild Card Match: Indiana Dominating Competition, Set to Advance to Final – https://t.co/M0wNAFCpuS pic.twitter.com/ulL29gci9P
The skins events, which featured 50-yard dashes with multiple elimination rounds, saw large point differentials. In the Women’s Skins (50 Fly), Indiana scored 58.5 points, while Cal only managed 3. Similarly, the Men’s Skins (50 Back) saw Indiana score 50 points to Cal’s 7. Indiana’s total points were broken down as 316.5 in individual events, 54 in relays, 108.5 in skins, and 113 in super skins.
