2019 NAIA National Championships – Women’s Meet
- Dates: Wednesday, February 27 – Saturday, March 2; prelims 9 am, finals 5 pm
- Location: Columbus Aquatic Center, Columbus, Georgia (Eastern Time Zone)
- Defending Champions: SCAD Savannah (results)
- Psych Sheets: Available here
- Fan Guides: Available here
- Live Results: Available here
- Live Video: Available here
- Championship Central
Day Three
It was a big day for the Keiser University Seahawks who earned their first two national titles and kept a solid hold on the number 2 position. SCAD Savannah, meanwhile, continued to charge ahead in the team standings. The Bees are poised to repeat as national champions tomorrow.
Women’s 200 Yard Medley Relay – Finals
- Meet Record: 1:41.40, 2012, Fresno Pacific, Fresno Pacific (Coffman/Malthaner/Swanson/Brown)
- Keiser – 1:43.86
- SCAD – 1:45.40
- Cumberlands – 1:46.22
- College of Idaho – 1:46.50
- Arizona Christian – 1:48.18
- Indiana Wesleyan – 1:48.84
- Brenau – 1:49.11
- Lindenwood-Belleville – 1:49.61
Keiser earned its first-ever national relay title, as junior Meagan Abad (26.56) and freshmen Ori Freibach (29.12), Anna Herbst (24.87), and Emma Sofie Augustsson (23.31) combined for 1:43.86 to beat SCAD by 1.54 seconds. The Bees, swimming in lane 1 after having qualified 7th in morning heats, touched in 1:45.50 with legs from freshman Allie Rassenfoss (27.37), senior Sara Lacusky (29.38), freshman Kaylen Hou (25.09), and freshman Anna Kate McGinty (23.56).
Cumberlands took third, one place better than in 2018, and nearly 2 seconds faster. Senior Christina Klouda (27.57), sophomores Julia Hnidenko (29.94) and Mendy De Rooi (24.77), and senior Katy Smeltzer (23.94) went 1:46.22, coming to the wall just ahead of College of Idaho (1:46.50).
Women’s 400 Yard Individual Medley – Finals
- Meet Record: 4:24.03, 1993, Laurette Hakansson, Drury
- Karla Islas, Olivet Nazarene – 4:26.46
- Paige Carter, Loyola New Orleans – 4:30.08
- Annamaria Zombai, Keiser – 4:31.22
- Christina Klouda, Cumberlands – 4:31.48
- Kiana Molina, Thomas – 4:36.20
- Kaylen Hou, SCAD – 4:36.45
- Abigail Tankersely, SCAD – 4:38.33
- Nikoletta Alvanou, Brenau – 4:38.75
Top-seeded ONU sophomore Karla Islas defended her title in the 400 IM with 4:26.46. Last year she narrowly missed the meet record when she won the event in 4:24.42, coming within .39 of the national mark set in 1993 when Drury was part of the NAIA. Loyola junior Paige Carter improved on her fourth-place finish of 2018 with the silver medal in tonight’s race. Carter went 4:30.08, 1.2 seconds faster than last year. Keiser junior Annamaria Zombai edged Cumberlands senior Christina Klouda, 4:31.22 to 4:31.48, for third.
Women’s 100 Yard Butterfly – Finals
- Meet Record: 53.70, 2017, Lisa Tixier, Biola
- Mendy De Rooi, Cumberlands – 54.41
- Anna Herbst, Keiser – 56.21
- Sydney Darnell, Indiana Wesleyan – 56.35
- Madison Kelly, College of Idaho – 56.67
- Lydia Reinhardt, SCAD – 57.20
- Kamryn Gallowich, Keiser – 57.44
- Claire Goodrum, Asbury – 58.00
- Katy Smeltzer, Cumberlands – 58.08
Cumerlands sophomore De Rooi avenged her second-place finish in this event a year ago going almost 1.9 seconds faster to win in 54.41. Keiser freshman Anna Herbst held off Indiana Wesleyan freshman Sydney Darnell for second place, 56.21 to 56.35. The College of Idaho’s Madison Kelly who finished 6th last year, came to the wall 4th in 56.67.
Women’s 200 Yard Freestyle – Finals
- Meet Record: 1:49.58, 2011, Alex Peters, Concordia
- Spencer Sheridan, SCAD – 1:53.23
- Jessica Axford, Union College – 1:53.58
- Jessica Macdonald, Lindsey Wilson – 1:53.79
- Julie Henninger, SCAD – 1:53.87
- Shayna Salzman, SCAD – 1:54.17
- Sarah Dostie, SCAD – 1:55.08
- Hope Clark, Asbury – 1:56.05
- Ulrike Tovilla, Loyola New Orleans – 1:56.56
SCAD freshman Spencer Sheridan won the most exciting race of the evening, coming from behind to snatch victory away from Union sophomore Jessica Axford, the defending champion in the event. Axford took it out hard, leading by nearly a body length at the 50. Sheridan began to chip away at Axford’s lead from the second 50. She pulled within a half body length at the 150 wall and powered home in 28.5 to Axford’s 29.1. At the touch, Sheridan eked it out by .02, winning 1:50.85 to 1:50.87.
sophomore from Union, put up 1:53.58. Axford has been 1:51.26 this year and had the top seed time coming into the meet
Lindsey Wilson junior Jessica Macdonald, who finished 4th last year, moved up to 3rd this time with 1:52.96. she was followed by a trio of SCAD seniors: Julie Henninger, Shayna Salzman and Sarah Dostie.
Women’s 100 Yard Breaststroke – Finals
- Meet Record: 1:02.09, 2012, Catherine Duquet, SCAD
- Andrea Vega, Olivet Nazarene – 1:03.25
- Sara Lacusky, SCAD – 1:04.34
- Julia Hnidenko, Cumberlands – 1:04.68
- Caroline Yannelli, College of Idaho – 1:05.11
- Vitke Labanauskaite, Arizona Christian – 1:05.24
- Anna Martens, Lindenwood-Belleville / Kirsten Coetzee, Life University – 1:05.37
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- Yanne Toussaint, Brenau – 1:06.89
ONU senior Andrea Vega picked up her second title of the meet with a 1:03.25 win in the 100 breast. That makes 2 years in a row she has won this event, and two years in a row that SCAD senior Sara Lacusky has been runner-up. The roles were reversed in 2017 when Lacusky took home the gold and Vega earned silver. Lacusky touched in 1:04.34 this year, about 7/10 off her time from 2018. Cumberlands sophomore Julia Hnidenko was third, mirroring the 2018 podium when she also finished third behind Vega and Lacusky.
The next wave of finishers was all bunched up. College of Idaho’s Caroline Yannelli (1:05.11) moved to 4th this year after finishing 6th in 2018. Arizona Christian’s Vitke Labanauskaite (1:05.24) was 5th, and there was a tie for 6th between Life’s Kirsten Coetzee and Lindenwood-Belleville’s Anna Martens.
Women’s 100 Yard Backstroke – Finals
- Meet Record: 52.76, 2012, Cheyenne Coffman, Fresno Pacific
- Anna Herbst, Keiser – 57.07
- Meagan Abad, Keiser – 57.28
- Lindsay Dowling, Brenau – 57.35
- Allie Rassenfoss, SCAD – 57.42
- Kamryn Gallowich, Keiser – 57.65
- Margaret Halloran, Milligan – 58.14
- Julie Henninger, SCAD – 58.98
- Sara Farmer, Milligan – 59.39
Keiser’s Herbst won her first national title with 57.07 in the 100 back, just a little over an hour after her runner-up performance in the 100 fly. The Seahawks went 1-2-5 in the 100 back, making it their highest-scoring event of the night. Junior Meagan Abad touched 2nd in 57.28 while her classmate Kamryn Gallowich clocked a 57.65 for 5th.
2018 runner-up Lindsay Dowling of Brenau came in 3rd with 57.35, just ahead of SCAD freshman Allie Rassenfoss (57.42).
Women’s 3 Meter Diving – Finals
- Meet Record: 444.81, 1987, Cynthia Miller, Wisconson-Milwaukee
- Andrea Adam, St Ambrose – 222.00
- Taylor Madison, St Ambrose – 202.90
St. Ambrose’s Andrea Adam, who won 1-meter diving on Thursday, repeated her national title on the 3-meter board with 222.00 points. Her teammate Taylor Madison was second with 202.90. They were the only official competitors in the event.
Team Scores – Day 3
- SCAD Savannah – 452
- Keiser University – 315
- University of the Cumberlands – 269.5
- Olivet Nazarene University – 204.5
- The College of Idaho – 177
- Loyola University New Orleans – 137
- Indiana Wesleyan University – 135
- Lindsey Wilson College – 124
- Brenau University – 122
- Lindenwood University-Belleville – 102.5
- St Ambrose University – 96
- Asbury University – 85
- Arizona Christian University – 82
- Milligan College – 59
- Thomas University – 57
- Union College – 37
- Life University – 35.5
- Midland University – 28
- College of Saint Mary – 17
- Soka University of America – 5
- The Master’s University – 4
- Bethel University – 3
- Morningside College / Point University / St. Andrews University – 2
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- –
- Columbia College – 1
“The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), headquartered in Kansas City, Mo., is a governing body of small athletics programs that are dedicated to character-driven intercollegiate athletics.
In 2000, the NAIA reaffirmed its purpose to enhance the character building aspects of sport. Through Champions of Character, the NAIA seeks to create an environment in which every student-athlete, coach, official and spectator is committed to the true spirit of competition through five core values.”