PHILADELPHIA – It is an historic day for the University of Pennsylvania women's swimming & diving team, as the Quakers are sending a trio of student-athletes to the NCAA Swimming & Diving Championships for the first time in program history.

Senior Lia Thomas and juniors Catherine Buroker and Anna Kalandadze will represent the Red and Blue on the national stage as announced by the NCAA earlier today. Thomas will swim the 100 free, 200 free and 500 free while Buroker and Kalandadze will take part in both the 500 free and the 1,650 free.

Buroker qualifies for the NCAA Championships for the third time in her young career and she becomes just the second Quaker in program history to receive multiple bids to the NCAA Championships, joining Shelby Fortin. Buroker was the 2022 Ivy League champion in both the 1,000 free and the 1,650 free. This past weekend, she won the 500 free at the ECAC Championships with a career-best time of 4:41.84.

Thomas has had a record-breaking season in the pool for Penn. During the season she has set program records in the 100 free (47.63), 200 free (1:41.93), 500 free (4:34.06), 1,000 free (9:35.96) and the 1,650 free (15:59.71). She was the Ivy League champion in the 100 free, 200 free and 500 free and she was also part of Penn's 400 free relay that won an Ancient Eight title with a program record time of 3:17.80. 

Kalandadze has impressed in her first season as a Quaker. She came in fourth place in the 500 free and earned a bronze medal in the 1,650 free at the Ivy Championships. Kalandadze also earned second-team All-Ivy honors with a second-place finish in the 1,000 free. She won the 1,650 free and finished second in the 500 free this past weekend at the ECAC Championships.

The 2022 NCAA Women's Swimming & Diving Championships will be held in Atlanta from March 16-19 on the campus of Georgia Tech.