2017 WOMEN’S NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS
- Wednesday, March 15 – Saturday, March 18
- IUPUI Natatorium – Indianapolis, IN
- Prelims 10AM/Finals 6PM (Eastern Time)
- Defending Champion: Georgia (results)
- Championship Central
- Psych Sheet
- Event Previews
- Live stream: Wednesday/Thursday Prelims & Finals, Friday/Saturday Prelims / Friday/Saturday finals on ESPN3
- Live Results
Swimming fans have gathered in Indianapolis, Indiana to check out the fast swimming at the 2017 Women’s NCAA Championships at the IUPUI natatorium. Tonight, swimmers will be competing in the finals of the 400 IM, 100 fly, 200 free, 100 breast, 100 back, and 200 medley relay, while divers compete in the 3-meter finals.
One of the top races to watch tonight is the 200 free, which will feature a battle between Stanford’s star freestylers Katie Ledecky and Simone Manuel. Louisville’s Mallory Comerford and Virginia’s Leah Smith will look to pull off an upset while swimming on either side of them.
WOMEN’S 400 IM
- NCAA record: Katinka Hosszu (2012)- 3:56.54
- American record: Katie Ledecky (2017)- 3:57.68
- U.S. Open record: Katinka Hosszu (2012)- 3:56.54
- Championship Record: Katinka Hosszu (2012)- 3:56.54
- 2016 NCAA Champion: Ella Eastin (Stanford)- 3:58.40
- Ella Eastin (Stanford)- 3:57.57
- Sydney Pickrem (Texas A&M)- 3:59.36
- Madisyn Cox (Texas)- 4:00.97
Stanford’s Ella Eastin certainly redeemed herself tonight, rocking a new American Record time of 3:57.57 to win back-to-back titles in the 400 IM. Texas A&M’s Sydney Pickrem joined her under the 4:00-mark, becoming the 8th fastest performer of all time, while Texas’ Madisyn Cox busted out a personal best 4:00.97 for 3rd place, running down Texas A&M’s Bethany Galat (4:01.06).
Denver’s Bailey Andison had a big swim to place 5th in a personal best 4:03.09, while Ohio State’s Lindsey Clary posted a 4:04.69 for 6th.
WOMEN’S 100 FLY
- NCAA record: Kelsi Worrell (2016)- 49.43
- American record: Kelsi Worrell (2016)- 49.43
- U.S. Open record: Kelsi Worrell (2016)- 49.43
- Championship Record: Kelsi Worrell (2016)- 49.43
- 2016 NCAA Champion: Kelsi Worrell (Louisville), 49.43
- Farida Osman (Cal)- 50.05
- Hellen Moffitt (UNC)- 50.37
- Louise Hansson (USC)- 50.45
USC freshman Louise Hansson got out to the early lead, but Cal’s Farida Osman hammered it home on the final 25 to win the race in 50.05. That makes Osman the 3rd fastest performer in history. Hansson held on for 3rd, but UNC’s Hellen Moffitt just ran her down at the finish for 2nd place.
Texas A&M’s Sarah Gibson (50.63) threw down a 26.74 split on the 2nd 50 to out-touch Cal’s Noemie Thomas (50.65). Stanford’s Janet Hu was also sub-51, clocking in at 50.81 for 6th place.
Auburn’s Haley Black put up a blistering 51.08 in the B final to set a new Auburn school record, finishing 9th ahead of Cal’s Maddie Murphy (51.15).
WOMEN’S 200 FREE
- NCAA record: Missy Franklin (2015)- 1:39.10
- American record: Missy Franklin (2015)- 1:39.10
- U.S. Open record: Missy Franklin (2015)- 1:39.10
- Championship Record: Missy Franklin (2015)- 1:39.10
- 2016 NCAA Champion: Brittany MacLean (Georgia)- 1:42.42
- (*T-1*) Mallory Comerford (Louisville)- 1:40.36
- (*T-1*) Katie Ledecky (Stanford)- 1:40.36
- Simone Manuel (Stanford)- 1:40.70
While swimming fans expected a Ledeckian back-half surge out of lane 5, it was Louisville’s Mallory Comerford who really tore it up on the back half, running down Katie Ledecky to tie her for the title in 1:40.36. Stanford’s Simone Manuel tore through the front half to take the early lead, but wound up 3rd by less than 4 tenths.
Lost in the madness was a huge swim from Michigan’s Siobhan Haughey, who put up a 1:41.26 to place 4th ahead of Virginia distance standout Leah Smith (1:42.66). Wolverine teammate Gabby DeLoof touched in a personal best 1:43.11to take 6th.
Winning the B final was Cal’s Katie McLaughlin (1:43.17), who ran down Stanford’s Lia Neal (1:43.19) on the final 50.
WOMEN’S 100 BREAST
- NCAA Record: Lilly King (2017)- 56.30
- American Record: Lilly King (2017)- 56.30
- U.S. Open Record: Lilly King (2017)- 56.30
- Championship Record: Lilly King (2016)- 56.85
- 2016 Champion: Lilly King (Indiana)- 56.85
- Lilly King (Indiana)- 56.71
- Lindsey Horejsi (Minnesota)- 58.03
- Laura Simon (Virginia)- 58.20
Indiana’s Lilly King wasn’t quite as fast as she was at the Big Ten Championships, but she still downed her own Championship Record to dominate the 100 breast in 56.71. Minnesota’s Lindsey Horejsi blasted the 8th fastest performance of all time to take 2nd in 58.03, while Virginia’s Laura Simon just out-touched FSU’s Natalie Pierce (58.25) for 3rd.
Louisville’s Andee Cottrell was also 58-low, rounding out the top 5 in 58.39. UMBC’s Emily Escobedo had a big swim in the B final, putting up the 6th fastest time of the night in 58.49 to place 9th.
WOMEN’S 100 BACK
- NCAA record: Ally Howe (2017)- 49.69
- American record: Ally Howe (2017)- 49.69
- U.S. Open record: Ally Howe (2017)- 49.69
- Championship Record: Kathleen Baker (2017)- 49.80
- 2016 NCAA Champion: Rachel Bootsma (Cal)- 50.28
- Kathleen Baker (Cal)- 49.84
- Olivia Smoliga (Georgia)- 50.04
- Hannah Stevens (Missouri)- 50.57
Cal’s Kathleen Baker roared to a 23.97 split en route to a 49.84 victory, putting up the 3rd fastest performance of all time. Georgia’s Olivia Smoliga touched in 50.04, making her the 6th fastest performer of all time to take the runner-up spot ahead of Missouri’s Hannah Stevens.
Stanford’s Ally Howe, the American Record holder, touched 4th in 50.58 ahead of teammate Janet Hu (50.73). Texas freshman Claire Adams cleared the 51-barrier for the first time, clocking in at 50.95 for 6th place.
Cal’s Amy Bilquist had the 6th fastest swim of the night, touching in 50.86 to win the B final.
WOMEN’S 3-METER DIVING
- Yu Zhou (Missouri)- 392.75
- Pei Lin (Miami OH)- 385.50
- Kassidy Cook (Stanford)- 372.30
Minnesota picked up big points in the 3-meter diving event, as Yu Zhou won the title and teammates Lexi Tennenbaum and Sarah Bacon finished 4th and 6th respectively. Stanford got a boost with Kassidy Cook‘s 3rd place finish behind Miami (OH)’s Pei Lin.
WOMEN’S 200 MEDLEY RELAY
- NCAA record: Stanford (2016)- 1:34.15
- American record: Stanford (2016)- 1:34.15
- U.S. Open record: Stanford (2016)- 1:34.15
- Championship Record: Cal (2012)- 1:34.24
- 2016 NCAA Champion: Stanford (Howe, Haase, Hu, Neal)-1:34.81
- Cal- 1:34.10
- Texas A&M- 1:34.85
- Stanford- 1:34.90
Cal got their medley relay redemption in tonight’s 200 medley relay final, roaring to a new NCAA Record time of 1:34.10. Abbey Weitzeil was almost second faster than she’s been all season with a 26.67 on the breast leg, while Farida Osman brought them from behind to win it with a 21.11 free split.
Texas A&M’s Sarah Gibson put up the fastest fly split of the field, posting a 22.43 to help her team take 2nd ahead of Stanford, who got a 20.95 anchor split from Simone Manuel. The fastest breast split came from Indiana’s Lilly King (25.62)
Fastest Splits of the Field:
- Fly- Sarah Gibson (Texas A&M)- 22.43
- Back- Olivia Smoliga (Georgia)- 23.52
- Breast- Lilly King (Indiana), 25.62
- Free- Simone Manuel (Stanford), 20.95
TEAM SCORES THROUGH DAY 3:
1. Stanford 374.5 2. California 255 3. Texas A&M 209 4. Georgia 170 5. Texas 168 6. Louisville 141.5 7. Minnesota 134 8. Indiana 125 9. Southern Cali 117 9. NC State 117 11. Missouri 116 12. Michigan 111 13. Virginia 88 14. Arizona 78.5 15. Kentucky 61 16. Wisconsin 59 17. UNC 53 18. Ohio St 52 19. Auburn 38 20. UCLA 36 21. Miami (Oh) 29 22. Tennessee 27 23. Nevada 25 24. Florida St 21 25. Denver 18 26. Virginia Tech 17 27. Lsu 14 27. Umbc (W) 14 29. Iowa 13 30. Cincinnati 12 31. Northwestern 11 32. Boise St 10 33. Purdue 7 34. Arizona St 6 35. Miami (Fl) 5 36. Florida Gulf 4 36. South Carolina 4 36. Pittsburgh 4 39. Alabama 3.5 40. Penn St 3 41. Massachusetts 2 41. Notre Dame 2 41. San Diego State University 2 44. Rutgers 1 44. Drexel 1 44. Air Force (W) 1
Lauren Neidigh, please check your facts. On the ESPN3 feed, Rowdy Gaines indicated that Farida Osman is not a US citizen, so Cal’s 200 Medley Relay time does not qualify for an American record. I suggest you correct your text (or tell me I’m wrong).
M_T- Yes, that’s true. But the article was corrected to reflect this days ago, shortly after it happened. Please read the article and refer to the section on the 200 medley relay.
“Cal got their medley relay redemption in tonight’s 200 medley relay final, roaring to a new NCAA Record time of 1:34.10.”
Rowdy reached a new level of annoying when he said “nobody, NOBODY, expected Comerford to win that race.” obviously Ledecky and Manual were big favorites to go 1-2, but the fact that Rowdy could say NO ONE expected Comrford to break up the Stanford duo shows how little he pays attention to lesser-known swimmers. Comerford has been swimming lights-out all season and she had the fastest split in the 800 free relay. Her co-win was no doubt an upset but that “the voice of USA Swimming” completely wrote off Comerford’s chances is disappointing and embarrassing.
Ok. Quick thoughts about a very interesting day 3 of competition. And hopefully all finals will be posted one day on youtube so that international swim fans can watch that meet.
What I’m gonna say can look a little bit weird because Stanford will easily win the title but I have the feeling that most of Cal girls peak at the right time while some Stanford girls were much faster 3 weeks ago. KL has a great meet so far (500 free American record and new PB in the 200 free) and she will attack the 15-minute barrier in the 1650 free. Ella Eastin has broken the 400 IM American record. At the opposite I wondered if Ally Howe… Read more »
Thanks for a thorough, thoughtful report. Loved it!
Someone get Farida entered in a 200 fly ASAP!
So I am a little tardy to the party tonight (not that any of you noticed LOL). I called this a month ago… KL and SM needed to watch out for Comerford. Without a doubt, THE most improved swimmer in college swimming (which is saying something when she was the reigning NCAA runner-up in the 200).
I am pretty impressed by Sydney Pickrem she was what, a 4:07/4:08 400IMer out of high school?
OK, folks. 100 free gonna be STACKED tomorrow! how many sub-47 splits do we foresee in the final? I imagine that, best case scenario, we can see the first final that is ALL sub-47. First off, Simone gonna be mad with the 3rd place and you know she is gunning for 45 point. Comerford, Smoliga, Neal will be sub-47 no doubt. So will Weitzeil. Hansson may. And with that NASTY back-half she unleashed in the 100 fly, Osman might too. Exciting thing about this race (whether they final or not) is that it’s full of HUNGRY swimmers– with something to prove, wanting redemption, wanting a win, wanting a top 3. I don’t think they’ll catch Manuel but that race between… Read more »
is it just me, or has NSCU’s relays been choaking come finals? I mean, you had the second fastest time from prelims in the relay tonight…..but end up placing seventh!
I know teams like Stanford and Cal had drastic changes….but watching the stream…Haan was just behind from the get-go and they couldn’t recover. Disappointing, considering they rocked it at ACCs and the finals time was over a second slower from their seed.
Choking? How’s many of their girls were top recruits out of high school compared to their competitors of UGA Stanford and Cal? They’re having a great meet, yes they probably went big at ACC’s to win the conference title but for this team to be in the top 10 with a very favorable event set tomorrow is huge for their women’s program
NCSU stays with their same line up while a lot of teams (Cal) switch out swimmers from morning to evening
Their finals time was 0.81 slower than their seed. Please check your facts.
0 points for UF….they won 6-7 years ago? ouch!