The 2011 NCAA Women’s Championships are just over a week away, which means it’s time to start making predictions again.
We’ll break the events down day-by-day, and pick the top 3, with a “darkhorse” pick that nobody’s talking about; either because of their seed or where they come from, but with a great swim has a chance at a top-3, or even a win. For relays, because “darkhorses” aren’t as common, we’ll pick the top 5 finishers instead. Check back this week for more picks from the second and third days, as well as overall team finish predictions.
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200 free relay
1. Stanford
2. Auburn
3. Cal
4. Georgia
5. Texas
Rationale: Cal and Auburn have the two best sprinters in the country (Liv Jensen and Ariana Vanderpool-Wallace), but Stanford has the best 1-4. Unlike much of Stanford’s expected scoring at this meet, this is a veteran relay. They return more intact than anyone else from last year, having to likely slide Felicia Lee in for Julia Smit. Combined with the improvement of the other three swimmers, I think Stanford wins this. Auburn and Cal will be very tough, but with the potential of the fastest-ever relay split from Ariana Vanderpool-Wallace, I’ll take the Tigers. This isn’t Georgia’s best relay, but I still think they’re seeded 6th, and will be much faster than at SEC’s. Texas has two great freestylers, Kelsey Amundsen and Karlee Bispo, who I anticipate will lead them to a top 5 finish.
500 free
1. Allison Schmitt (Georgia)
2. Wendy Trott (Georgia)
3. Chelsea Nauta (Georgia)
Wildcard: Meredith Budner (Towson)
Rationale: The first of multiple sweep-opportunities for the Georgia women in this meet. Schmitt shouldn’t have much of a problem winning this race, and has a chance of breaking Caroline Burckle’s NCAA Record of 4:33.6. Her teammate, freshman Shannon Vreeland, has the top seed, but I don’t know if it’s her time to win yet. This is an event where Georgia needs to (and has a great opportunity to) improve off of their seeds. Budner was a top-8 finisher at NCAA’s last year, and is already 3-seconds faster this season. If she holds on to that time drop, she’s got the experience here to break up the Georgia stronghold.
200 IM
1. Katinka Hosszu (USC)
2. Morgan Scroggy (Georgia)
3. Karlee Bispo (Texas)
Wildcard: Alyssa Vavra (Indiana)
Rationale: Hosszu is so strong in the IM disciplines right now, has the durability, and is great on all four strokes. Scroggy is one of only two returning A-finalists (along with Caitlin Leverenz) from last season, and swam a 1:54 at SEC’s without being rested. Bispo has historically been known as strictly a freestyler, but she has serious chops in this IM. With how she’s been swimming, she could take a top-3 spot. I really love the way that Indiana’s Alyssa Vavra swims her IM. With some improvement and confidence in her butterfly leg, she’ll be able to contend with the big-girls.
50 free
1. Arianna Vanderpool-Wallace (Auburn)
2. Liv Jensen (Cal)
3. Lauren Perdue (Virginia)
Wildcard: Maggie Meyer (Wisconsin)
Rationale: To win this Race, Arianna V-W just needs to not screw up what she has. Her SEC performance was legendary, and included an SEC record in this event. There’s a good chance that she’ll take out Lara Jackson’s U.S. Open record, and this might be one of the more dominating 50 free performances that you’ll see at the college level. Jensen, as the defending champion, has looked like a strong second-place contender here, and Perdue had an off swim in this race at ACC’s, but looked fantastic in her other two swims. This sprint free is usually the last race to come around for her, and I think she’ll be much better here. Maggie Meyer skipped this event at Big Ten’s to focus on relays, but don’t let her 25th-seed fool you. She’s went a 22.5 mid-season, and split a 21.7 on a relay at Big Ten’s, where Wisconsin clearly was looking ahead to NCAA’s. I don’t know if she’s good enough to win a medal in a very competitive 50, but she can definitely make an A-final.
1-meter Diving
1. Kelci Bryant (Minnesota)
2. Tori Ishimatsu (USC)
3. Abby Johnston (Duke)
Wildcard: Lauren Figueroa (Missouri)
Rationale: Diving entries will not be settled until after this weekend’s Zone Championships are completed, but these three will have little concern about qualifying for NCAA’s. Bryant was the runner-up last year on the 1-meter, and with the defending gold and bronze medalists both out of contention this season, she’s a strong favorite. Beyond that, it’s difficult to compare across competitions, but I think that Tori Ishimatsu has improved by leaps and bounds this season. Duke’s Abby Johnston is also very good, and trains in a great program.
400 medley relay
1. Cal
2. USC
3. Wisconsin
4. Texas A&M
5. Texas
Rationale: The top 5 teams in this event from last season were all shredded by graduation. Regardless, the nation as a whole, has stepped up their collective games in this event this year, leaving a wide-open field. Cal has top-two ranked swimmers on every leg of this relay except for breaststroke, and Leverenz would probably be top 6 or 7 if she competed in the 100. USC and Wisconsin will both have to have big bounce-backs to make this prediction come true. Texas was a little better than A&M at Big 12’s, but historically A&M has had much bigger drops at NCAA’s. However, both squads are young , so anything can happen.
Texas !
Can’t believe you have Lauren perdue in the 50 at third over umd’s Annie fittin. I say she medals. Absolute stud.
Check out my recaps on the ACC Championships…I’m a huge Annie Fittin fan, trust me. There’s going to be really good swimmers left out of the top 3 one way or the other though, the country is REALLY fast this year.
For the 200 IM I think Maya Dirado is a real threat. From a whole team review it looked like Stanford was hardly tapered or rested at Pac-10’s, but Maya still went best times. I think she can be very dangerous at NCAA’s in all of her events. I think she’ll spoil Bispo’s and Leverenz’s chances at the podium and will get 3rd.
Agree that there’s a lot of potential upsets in this meet, and almost every event seems more wide open than in recent memory.
I think that Georgia leaves Schmitt in the 200 free relay, because they’re looking at National Championships this year. Having her in that relay probably earns them a lot more points than dropping in the 500 (which in and of itself is unlikely, given her margin, and the number of heats in between). Especially if that drop were mostly behind her teammates.
I know Leverenz is going to be a popular pick for the top 3 in the 200 IM, but I don’t see her being quite at that level in this particular race in short course…yet.… Read more »
Great analysis, Braden.
Here are my thoughts:
200 Free Relay: Last year, Allison Schmitt was taken off this relay at NCAA’s since she has the 500 immediately after. This year it looks like UGA will have to use her or sub someone like Kristen Shickora or Lauren English. If they do, I think they drop to the end of the A-Final. I don’t think Arizona can be forgotten here. I feel like the Arizona women were the most unrested team at any conference meet in the country, and I predict Geer and Flederbach on the front half of the relay leading the heat at the 100 mark.
500 Free: I see Elizabeth Beisel being dangerous here. My gut tells me… Read more »
200IM… big-girls*