2019 NCAA Division II Women’s Championships – Day 3 Prelims

2019 NCAA Division II Women’s Swimming and Diving Championships

• Dates: Wednesday, March 13 – Saturday, March 16, 2019
• Swimming: prelims 10am, finals 6pm; Diving: 2pm
• Location: IU Natatorium, Indianapolis, Indiana (Eastern Time Zone)
• Defending Champions: Queens (4x) (results)
• Digital Program
• Official Psych Sheet
• Event Schedule
• Live Video
• Live Results │ Diving Results
• Championship Central

Day Three

Women’s 500 Yard Freestyle – Prelims

• NCAA DII: 4:39.28 3/11/2016 Patri Castro Ortega, Queens (NC)
• Meet: 4:39.28 3/11/2016 Patri Castro Ortega, Queens (NC)

Finals Qualifiers:

1. Georgia Wright, West Chester – 4:51.55
2. Erica Dahlgren, Drury – 4:52.69
3. Emma Sundstedt, Nova S’eastern – 4:52.94
4. Melina Goebel, Grand Valley – 4:53.07
5. Caroline Jouisse, Delta State – 4:53.36
6. Francesca Bains, Queens (NC) – 4:53.41
7. Josephina Lorda, Queens (NC) – 4:53.55
8. Emma O’Neill, West Chester – 4:53.78
9. Kate Agger, Wingate – 4:54.89
10. Sarah Reamy, Queens (NC) – 4:55.05
11. Morgan Fischer, Lindenwood – 4:55.21
12. Hayley Blaauw, Queens (NC) – 4:56.27
13. Colleen Quaglia, Saint Rose – 4:56.47
14. Becca Cubbler, Bloomsburg – 4:56.88
15. Nicole Smith, IUP – 4:56.99
16. Jana Hellenschmidt, Lindenwood – 4:57.02

Queens senior Hayley Blaauw destroyed her seed time (-5.04 seconds) to win the first heat of 500 frees with 4:56.27 and land a spot in tonight’s B final. West Florida freshman Ester Rizzetto followed in the next heat, improving her entry time by .95 and winning with 4:59.75. Heat 3 featured an exciting battle, with several lead changes, among Saint Rose sophomore Colleen Quaglia (4:56.47, -.93), IUP senior Nicole Smith (4.56.99, -.89), and Wingate junior Leticia Odorici (4:58.57). Odorici had held the lead over the first half but Quaglia motored home over the second half.

Drury junior Erica Dahlgren, who was 3rd in this event last year and 5th as a freshman in 2017, went 4:52.69 to win the first circle-seeded heat. Caroline Jouisse of Delta State improved her seed time by 2 seconds to place 2nd in the heat with 4:53.36. She sprinted home over the last 50 to just overtake Queens senior Josephina Lorda (4:53.55). Wingate freshman Kate Agger improved her seed time by 2.27 seconds to finish fourth in the heat with 4:54.89.

Heat 5 was another tight battle. Nova Southeastern sophomore Emma Sundstedt was out first, followed by West Chester’s Georgia Wright and UCSD’s Ciara Franke. At about the 350, Wright took over the lead and West Chester junior Emma O’Neill moved to the third spot. At the wall, Wright touched first with 4:51.55, improving her entry time by 2.6 seconds. Sunstedt went 4:52.94 for second. O’Neill held onto third with 4:53.78, a drop of 2.05 from her seed time. Wright placed 5th and Sundstedt was 6th in this event a year ago.

Francesca Bains of Queens, who’d come in with the top seed time, led for the first 450 yards. Swimming next to her in lane 3, Grand Valley junior Melina Goebel never let Bains get too far ahead. Just behind the leaders, swimming in lane 7, was Bloomsburg’s Becca Cubbler. Goebel edged Bains at the 450 wall and sprinted for home, winning the heat with 4:53.07. Bains touched in 4:53.41, and Cubbler went 4:56.88 for third.

Women’s 100 Yard Backstroke – Prelims

• NCAA DII: 52.07 3/14/2019 Polina Lapshina, Queens (NC)
• Meet: 52.07 3/14/2019 Polina Lapshina, Queens (NC)

Finals Qualifiers:

1. Polina Lapshina, Queens (NC) – 52.45
2. Rachel Massaro, Queens (NC) – 53.81
3. Frouke Beeksma, Queens (NC) – 53.87
4. Cassandra Wright, Sioux Falls – 54.28
5. Rachel Helm, NMU – 54.29
6. Laura Pareja, Drury – 54.33
7. Vladyslava Maznytska, Queens (NC) – 54.36
8. Bobbi Gichard, Queens (NC) – 54.67
9. Ashlen Michalski, Wayne State – 54.76
10. Olivia Parks, UCSD – 54.90
11. Anna Miram, Wingate – 55.11
12. Edda Skoric, Indy – 55.13
13. Karis Fuller, LIU Post – 55.17 / Jordan Phillips, UCSD – 55.17
14. –
15. Lexie Baker, Queens (NC) – 55.32
16. Isabelle Clark, Indy – 55.46

Queens sophomore Lexie Baker opened the heats of 100 backstroke with a drop of .48 to win with 55.32, becoming the first Royal to secure a spot in tonight’s finals. (She wouldn’t be the last; the Royals put 5 in the A final and 1 in the B final.) Teammate and classmate Rachel Massaro improved her seed time by .27 to take heat 2 in 53.81, edging Sioux Falls sophomore Cassandra Wright (54.28). Wright paced 3rd last year.

Heat 3 was an incredibly tight final, with Drury freshman Laura Pareja (54.33), Queens sophomore Vladyslava Maznytska (54.36, -.23), Queens freshman Bobbi Gichard (54.67), and UCSD freshman Olivia Parks (54.90) all coming to the wall in a wave.

Queens junior Polina Lapshina claimed the final heat with 52.45, just off the 54.07 she swam on Thursday night leading off the Royals’ 400 medley relay. Queens freshman Frouke Beeksma went .53 better than her entry time to come in second in the heat with 53.87. Behind her were Northern Michigan junior Rachel Helm (54.29) and Wayne State junior Ashlen Michalski (54.76). Helm won this event as a freshman in 2017 and was 4th last year.

Women’s 100 Yard Breaststroke – Prelims

• NCAA DII: 59.51 3/10/2017 Theresa Michalak, West Florida
• Meet: 59.51 3/10/2017 Theresa Michalak, West Florida

Finals Qualifiers:

1. Shelly Prayson, Queens (NC) – 1:00.52
2. Bailee Nunn, Drury – 1:00.73
3. Olga Tovstogan, Fresno Pacific – 1:01.57
4. Gracie Murphy, UCSD – 1:02.21
5. Natalie Galluzzo, Truman St. – 1:02.26
6. Anika Ellingson, Hillsdale – 1:02.32
7. Maria Rezhilo, Bridgeport – 1:02.38
8. Juliana Cifuentes, Oklahoma Baptist – 1:02.40
9. Lily Borgenheimer, MSU Mankato – 1:02.45
10. Caily Friel, Nova S’eastern – 1:02.53
11. Sophia Noren, Bellarmine – 1:02.60
12. Maddy Lavoie, Delta State – 1:02.63
13. Victoria Fonville, Oklahoma Baptist – 1:02.73
14. Maike Hoener, Wingate – 1:02.83 / Anne-sofie Nissen, Wingate – 1:02.83
15. –
16. Hanna Cederholm, Findlay – 1:02.87

Indiana University of Pennsylvania junior Claire Mikesell dropped .48 to win the first heat of breaststroke in 1:03.32. Wingate sophomore Sara Aringsmann improved her seed time by .08 in the next heat, winning a close one with 1:03.33 over Queens sophomore Sarah Jane Atkinson (1:03.46, -.13) and Grand Valley freshman Samantha Laurich (1:03.66).

UC San Diego sophomore Gracie Murphy won the next heat with a 1:02.21, beating her seed time by .48. She was followed in rapid succession by Bridgeport freshman Maria Rezhilo (1:02.38), Bellarmine sophomore Sophia Noren (1:02.60), and Delta State freshman Maddie Lavoie (1:02.63).

Queens senior Shelly Prayson slashed .38 off her seed time to win heat 4 with 1:00.52, the top time of the morning. Fresno Pacific junior Olga Tovstogan improved her entry time by .04 to touch second (1:01.57) ahead of Hillsdale senior Anika Ellingson (1:02.32, -.34) and Wingate sophomore Anne-Sofie Nissen (1:02.83).

Defending champion Bailee Nunn of Drury won the final heat by a body length, stopping the clock at 1:00.73. Truman State sophomore Natalie Galluzzo touched second (1:02.26), edging Oklahoma Baptist junior Juliana Cifuentes (1:02.40, -.13) and MSU Mankato sophomore Lily Borgenheimer (1:02.45).

Women’s 200 Yard Butterfly – Prelims

• NCAA DII: 1:56.89 3/16/2018 Mckenzie Stevens, Queens (NC)
• Meet: 1:56.89 3/16/2018 Mckenzie Stevens, Queens (NC)

Finals Qualifiers:

1. Jessie Gibson, Simon Fraser – 2:00.02 / Tori Sopp, Drury – 2:00.02
2. –
3. Hannah Kastigar, Northern State – 2:00.26
4. Aleksandra Maslova, Nova S’eastern – 2:00.67
5. Kaleigh Sharkey, Simon Fraser – 2:01.30
6. Marize Van Jaarsveld, Oklahoma Baptist – 2:01.40
7. Courtney Sherwood, TAMPA – 2:01.46
8. Ann Carozza, West Chester – 2:01.58
9. Darian Murray, Indy – 2:01.97
10. Celeste Turner, Delta State – 2:01.99
11. Ella Johnson, Sioux Falls – 2:02.02 / Caroline Oster, Nova S’eastern – 2:02.02
12. –
13. Cecilie Jensen, Carson-Newman – 2:02.12
14. Beatriz Olivieri, Rollins – 2:02.18
15. Charlott Knippenberg, Wingate – 2:02.64
16. Lindsay Clark, UCSD – 2:02.75

Simon Fraser sophomore Kaleigh Sharkey, who was 4th in this event last year, dropped nearly 3 seconds from her entry time to win heat 1 in 2:01.30 and qualify 5th overall. Nova Southeastern freshman Aleksandra Maslova won the following heat in 2:00.67, coming to the wall ahead of Tampa freshman Courtney Sherwood (2:01.46) and Sioux Falls freshman Ella Johnson (2:02.02).

Simon Fraser junior Jessie Gibson, runner-up in 2018, improved her seed time by 1.92 in heat 3, clocking a 2:00.02 to edge 2017 champion Hannah Kastigar of Northern State (2:00.26) and Oklahoma Baptist’s Marizel Van Jaarsveld (2:01.40, -.24). Gibson was out like a shot and led the field by half a body length at the 100. Kastigar began to chip away at her lead over the final 50 yards but it was too little too late, and Gibson held on for the heat win.

The final heat was full of intrigue. First out of the chutes was Rollins freshman Beatriz Olivieri. She led at the 50 from lane 6. Queens junior Georgia DaCruz moved to the front of the pack, turning first at the 100. DaCruz held onto her lead for the next 50 yards, but Drury freshman and top seed Tori Sopp began to make her move. Sopp powered home to finish with a heat-leading 2:00.02 and tie with Gibson for the morning’s top qualifying time. West Chester freshman Ann Carozza took .99 off her seed time to finish with 2:01.58 and nab the 8th spot in tonight’s A final. Indy junior Darian Murray took 3rd in the heat with 2:01.97, while DaCruz faded to 7th.

Women’s 800 Yard Freestyle Relay – Slower Heats

• NCAA DII: 7:12.96 2/10/2016 Queens (NC) (Castro Ortega, Arakelian, Lorda, Stevens)
• Meet: 7:14.69 3/13/2015 Queens (NC) (Castro Ortega, Gordy, Stevens, Arakelian)

Top 8 From Morning Session:

1. Nova S’eastern – 7:23.05
2. West Chester – 7:25.35
3. Colorado Mesa – 7:29.63
4. Florida Southern – 7:31.19
5. Indy – 7:32.44
6. Grand Valley – 7:35.14
7. Wayne State – 7:35.29
8. Carson-Newman – 7:43.82

Nova Southeastern freshmen Amilia Nusbaum (1:52.02) and Maslova (1:51.40) and sophomores Laurel Fink (1:51.81) and Sundstedt (1:47.82) took 2.33 seconds off their seed time to win the morning heat of women’s 800 free relays with 7:23.05. West Chester had led for the first 700 yards but Sundstedt’s anchor took the Sharks past the Golden Rams for the win. West Chester’s finals time of 7:25.35 was 3.8 seconds faster than their entry time. Sophomore Julia McCarthy (1:50.51), senior Megan Burns (1:50.41), junior O’Neill (1:52.49), and freshman Carozza (1:51.94) contributed legs. The all-sophomore Colorado Mesa quartet of Sierra Forbord, Madison Pressler, Natalie Saul, and Kennedy Bright went 7:29.63 for third.