Honors & Awards
- Four Letters (2020, 2021, 2022, 2023)
- Academic All-Big Ten (2021, 2022, 2023)
- Nebraska Scholar-Athlete Honor Roll (Fall 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022; Spring 2020, 2021)
- Tom Osborne Citizenship Team (2020, 2021, 2022, 2023)
- Junior Nationals Qualifier (2017, 2018)
- Sectional Champion (500 Free, 2016, 2017, 2018)
- Sectional Team Champion (2016, 2017)
- Sectional Team Runner-Up (2018)
- State Qualifier (500 Free, 2016, 2017, 2018)
- State Qualifier (200 Free, 2018)
2022-23 (Senior)
Molly Rosenthal consistently provided top finishes in the distance freestyle events throughout her senior season. She swam the mile for the first time of the season at the competitive Hawkeye Invite, powering herself to a third-place finish in 16:45.85. Rosenthal added a top-five finish in Iowa City, clocking a 4:53.33 in the 500 freestyle to take fifth.
Rosenthal opened the season with five straight 1,000 freestyle finishes within the top three, including runner-up finishes against Kansas (10:29.85) and Omaha (10:20.63). In the 500 freestyle, Rosenthal cruised to a win at the Omaha dual in 5:05.52, finished third at Kansas in 5:04.68 and took fourth against Iowa State (5:05.95), Minnesota and South Dakota (5:05.57) and Iowa (5:07.01).
The Illinois dual was marked by a third-place finish in the 500 freestyle (4:46.52) and a career-best 10:06.53 in the 1,000 freestyle to take fourth.
Rosenthal's top finish at the Big Ten Championships was in the mile, clocking a 16:57.11 to place 21st. In the 500 freestyle prelim, Rosenthal swam a career-best 4:50.72 to qualify for the C Final, where she went on to place 24th.
2021-22 (Junior)
Rosenthal grew to become one of NU’s top members of the distance corps during her junior season. At the Big Ten Championships, Rosenthal shaved an entire 10 seconds off her previous career-best time in the mile to place 21st with a 16:42.77. In the 500 freestyle, Rosenthal earned a spot in the C Final and went on to place 23rd with a 4:50.73. Rosenthal placed 17th and helped Nebraska to a first-place team finish. In the season-opening dual victory over South Dakota State, Rosenthal took third in the 1,000 freestyle and fifth in the 100 free. She provided the Huskers with greater contributions in a Big Ten dual win over Iowa (Oct. 23), when she swam to second-place finishes in the 200 free and 500 free before teaming with Beatriz Padron, Katilyn Barth and Emily Haimes for a victory in the 400 free relay against the Hawkeyes.
Rosenthal provided a solid showing in duals against Minnesota (Oct. 29) and Iowa State (Oct. 30), racing to a runner-up finish in the 500 freestyle against Iowa State and adding two fifth-place finishes against Minnesota in the 500 freestyle and the 1,000 freestyle. Against the Jayhawks, Rosenthal notched a third-place finish in the 1,000 free to complete the top-three Huskers sweep in the event.
At the mid-season Mizzou Invitational, Rosenthal raced to a 13th-place finish in the 500 freestyle (4:52.00). Rosenthal continued to provide depth to the distance corps as the dual season wrapped up, with a pair of third-place finishes at Illinois in the 500 free and 1650 free. She also nabbed a runner-up finish against Rutgers in the mile.
2020-21 (Sophomore)
Rosenthal continued to contribute in Nebraska’s talented distance freestyle corps in 2020-21. She finished 32nd in a season-best 16:58.50 in the 1,650 freestyle at the 2021 Big Ten Championships in Minneapolis. She also managed a 43rd-place finish in the 500 free in a season-best 4:55.75 at the conference meet.
During an abbreviated regular season, Rosenthal earned four top-five finishes, including a third-place showing in a career-best 10:06.80 in the 1,000 free in a tri-dual at Minnesota with Iowa (Feb. 6). She also finished third in the 1,000 free in NU’s lone home dual with Illinois (Jan. 23), after taking fourth in the event at Iowa (Jan. 16). Rosenthal also finished fifth in the 500 free against the Hawkeyes.
2019-20 (Freshman)
Rosenthal was a newcomer to a talented and deep Husker distance freestyle corps in 2019-20. As a freshman, Rosenthal finished 24th in the 1,650 with a time of 16:52.90 at the Big Ten Championships. Along the way, she also notched a time of 10:08.43 in the 1,000. She added a 47th-place finish in the 500 free (4:54.67) at the conference meet. Rosenthal also contributed a career-best 1:51.61 to finish 65th at the Big Ten Championships. Rosenthal produced seven top-five finishes on the season, including a pair of runner-up showings (500, South Dakota State; 1,000 vs. Omaha). She also raced to a time of 4:52.23 to finish 18th at the Mizzou Invitational. Outside the pool, Rosenthal earned spots on the Nebraska Scholar-Athlete Honor Roll in the fall and spring semesters.
Before Nebraska
Rosenthal came to Nebraska after a successful high school and club career. She was a three-time individual sectional champion and qualified for the state championships for three consecutive years. Rosenthal was an all-conference swimmer and was a member of two sectional championship teams, a sectional runner-up squad, and two teams that finished in the top 10 at the Illinois state championships. At the club level, Rosenthal swam for B.R. Ryall YMCA and qualified twice for Junior Nationals. At YMCA Nationals, Rosenthal earned top-25 finishes in several events.
Personal
The daughter of Paul and Christy Rosenthal, Molly was born on March 13, 2001. She has one sister, Abby. Molly is a food science and technology major who earned her bachelor's degree from Nebraska in May of 2023. She was a three-time Academic All-Big Ten selection and a six-time member of the Nebraska Scholar-Athlete Honor Roll. She was a four-time selection to the Tom Osborne Citizenship Team. She chose Nebraska over Connecticut and Missouri State.
Career-Best Times
| Event | Time | Meet (Date) |
| 50 Free | 25.87 | Omaha (2021) |
| 100 Free | 53.42 | Hawkeye Invite (2022) |
| 200 Free | 1:50.77 | Hawkeye Invite (2022) |
| 500 Free | 4:50.72 | Big Ten Championships (2023) |
| 1000 Free | 10:06.53 | Illinois (2023) |
| 1650 Free | 16:42.77 | Big Ten Championships (2022) |