2019 Women’s NCAA Championships: Day 3 Finals Live Recap

2019 WOMEN’S DIVISION I NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS

• Wednesday, March 20th – Saturday, March 23rd
• Lee & Joe Jamail Texas Swimming Center — Austin, Texas
• Prelims 9 a.m./Finals 5 p.m. (Central Time)
• Defending Champion: Stanford (2x) – 2018 results
• Championship Central
• Psych Sheet
• Live Results
• Full livestream schedule

Day 3 finals of the 2019 Women’s NCAA Championships in Austin, Texas will see swimmers compete for titles in 5 individual events: the 400 IM, 100 fly, 200 free, 100 breast, and 100 back. Divers will then compete in the 3-meter finals before swimmers step up to close the session with the 200 medley relay.

In the women’s 400 IM, defending champion Ella Eastin of Stanford will look for redemption after being upset in the 200 IM last night. Eastin is far ahead of the field in terms of best times, but teammate Brooke Forde has been on fire. We’ll see the NCAA Record holders compete in all 3 stroke 100s, with Wisconsin’s Beata Nelson in the 100 back, Indiana’s Lilly King in the 100 breast, and USC’s Louise Hansson in the 100 fly. Defending champ Mallory Comerford of Louisville is eyeing Missy Franklin’s record in the 200 free.

WOMEN’S 400 IM:

• NCAA Record: Ella Eastin (Stanford), 3:54.60 – 2018
• American Record: Ella Eastin (Stanford), 3:54.60 – 2018
• Meet Record: Ella Eastin (Stanford), 3:54.60 – 2018

CHAMPIONSHIP FINAL RESULTS:

1. GOLD: Ella Eastin, 3:57.03
2. SILVER: Sydney Pickrem, 3:58.23
3. BRONZE: Brooke Forde, 3:59.26
4. Calypso Sheridan, Northwestern, 4:01.35
5. Emma Barksdale, South Carolina, 4:03.51
6. Bailey Andison, Indiana, 4:03.87
7. Allie Raab, Stanford, 4:03.87
8. Kelly Fertel, Florida, 4:06.11

Northwestern’s Calypso Sheridan jumped out to an early lead on the first 50, but American record holder Ella Eastin quickly fought back to have the lead after fly. She built her lead on back, with Sheridan close behind. Eastin held onto her lead with 55.59 final 100. Her 3:57.03 is the 4th fastest performance ever and she’s won the event all 4 years of her NCAA career.

Texas A&M’s Sydney Pickrem caught up to Sheridan on the first 50 of breast with a 33.0 split, while Stanford’s Brooke Forde, the 500 free champ, starting to track down Sheridan, who was 34.0 on that split. Pickrem dropped almost a full second from her best time as she placed 2nd, now tying Julia Smit as the 6th fastest performer ever in 3:58.23.

In the race for 3rd, Forde fully ran down Sheridan on the first 25 of free, taking her first 50 out in 27.73, nearly 2 full seconds faster than Sheridan. Forde gained some ground on Pickrem as well, with the fastest final 100 of the field (54.57). At the finish, Forde clipped her best time for 3rd in 3:59.26 and remains #9 all-time. Sheridan ended up 4th in 4:01.35, a best time by almost 3 seconds.

Tennessee’s Tess Cieplucha led the B-final after 300 yards by just .05, then built a larger lead over the last 100, taking the heat in 4:04.88. Penn State’s Ally McHugh, the 2018 U.S. National Champion in this race last summer, stormed back on the final 50 to touch second in 4:05.78.

WOMEN’S 100 FLY:

• NCAA Record: Louise Hansson (USC), 2019- 49.34
• American Record: Kelsi (Worrell) Dahlia (Louisville), 2016- 49.43
• Meet Record: Kelsi (Worrell) Dahlia (Louisville), 2016- 49.43

CHAMPIONSHIP FINAL RESULTS:

1. GOLD: Louise Hansson, USC, 49.26
2. SILVER: Maggie MacNeil, Michigan, 49.66
3. BRONZE: Katie McLaughlin, Cal, 49.97
4. Erika Brown, Tennessee, 50.38
5. Aly Tetzloff, Auburn, 50.61
6. Izzy Ivey, Cal, 50.82
7. Morgan Hill, Virginia, 50.84
8. Grace Oglesby, Louisville, 51.10

USC’s Louise Hansson was right on her own record pace at the 50 in 23.03. She held on to her lead, posting the fastest time in history to repeat as champion with a new NCAA Record of 49.26. Behind her, Michigan freshman Maggie MacNeil was within about 2 tenths of the American Record with a 49.66, which is just hundredths shy of her best from Big Tens. MacNeil’s swim was the 4th fastest performance in history.

Cal’s Katie McLaughlin broke 50 for the first time, making her the 5th swimmer ever to break that barrier with a 49.97. That breaks Natalie Coughlin’s former Cal school record of 50.01. Tennessee’s Erika Brown, the 4th fastest performer ever, was 4th here in 50.38.

SEC runner-up Aly Tetzloff of Auburn clipped a few tenths off her best time for a top 5 finish, clocking in at 50.61. Cal freshman Izzy Ivey hit the wall in 50.82 for her first sub-51 swim. Virginia’s Morgan Hill also broke 51 for the first time, just 2 hundredths behind Ivey for 7th in 50.84. Both Tetzloff and Ivey will compete in the 100 back later tonight.

WOMEN’S 200 FREE:

• NCAA Record: Missy Franklin (Cal), 2015 – 1:39.10
• American Record: Missy Franklin (Cal), 2015 – 1:39.10
• Meet Record: Missy Franklin (Cal), 2015 – 1:39.10

CHAMPIONSHIP FINAL RESULTS:

1. GOLD: Mallory Comerford, Louisville, 1:40.26
2. SILVER: Taylor Ruck, Stanford, 1:40.37
3. BRONZE: Siobhan Haughey, Michigan, 1:40.70
4. Abbey Weitzeil, Cal, 1:42.29
5. Paige Madden, Virginia, 1:43.03
6. Catie Deloof, Michigan, 1:43.17
7. Katie McLaughlin, Cal, 1:43.54
8. Robin Neumann, Cal, 1:43.72

Michigan’s Siobhan Haughey took control from the start, turning in 48.08 at the halfway point. It was a 3-woman race to the finish between Haughey, Louisville’s Mallory Comerford, and Stanford’s Taylor Ruck as they started to close in on Haughey going into the final stretch. Comerford, the defending champion, shot off the final wall to edge ahead, defending her title in 1:40.26. That was the 3rd fastest performance in history.

Ruck was just a nail behind Comerford at the touch, taking 2nd in 1:40.37. That ties her with Simone Manuel as the 4th fastest woman in history, and is just a hundredth away from Katie Ledecky’s Stanford school record. Ruck’s swim is also tied as the 7th fastest performance in history. Michigan’s Haughey was just a hundredth short of her lifetime best, taking 3rd in 1:40.70.

Cal’s Abbey Weitzeil, the Pac-12 champion in this event, was within 3 tenths of her best to take 4th in 1:42.29. Teammate Katie McLaughlin, who had a breakthrough in this event this morning with her first best 200 free time since 2015, was 7th tonight in 1:43.54. That was a back-to-back double for McLaughlin, who just had a big swim in the 100 fly.

Virginia’s Paige Madden, the 500 free runner-up, clipped her best from prelims to take 5th in 1:43.03. The 5th fastest time of the night, however, came from the B final, as Stanford’s Lauren Pitzer put up a lifetime best 1:42.84.

WOMEN’S 100 BREAST:

• NCAA Record: Lilly King (Indiana), 55.88 – 2019
• American Record: Lilly King (Indiana), 55.88 – 2019
• Meet Record: Lilly King (Indiana), 56.25 – 2018

CHAMPIONSHIP FINAL RESULTS:

1. GOLD: Lilly King, Indiana, 55.73
2. SILVER: Delaney Duncan, EMU, 57.83
3. BRONZE: Sophie Hansson, NC State, 57.90
4. Lindsey Kozelsky, Minnesota, 58.09
5. Ida Hulkko, FSU, 58.58
6. Alexis Wenger, Virginia, 58.64
7. Miranda Tucker, Michigan, 58.83
8. Ema Rajic, Cal, 59.43

Indiana’s Lilly King was way under record pace at the 50, splitting a 25.98. She continued to dominate on the 2nd 50, breaking her American Record by just over a tenth in 55.73. That’s the 2nd time in history we’ve seen a sub-56, as King first broke the barrier at the 2019 Big Ten Championships last month. King now owns 9 of the 10 fastest performances ever. Fellow Rio Olympian Molly Hannis is the only other person remaining on that list at #7.

Eastern Michigan’s Delaney Duncan moved ahead of NC State freshman Sophie Hansson and Minnesota’s Lindsey Kozelsky on the back half. Duncan finished 2nd in 57.83, making her the 10th fastest performer in history. That was EMU’s highest finish in program history. Hansson, the ACC Champion and 7th fastest all-time, was just over a tenth shy of her best to take 3rd in 57.90. Kozelsky, who was #10 on the all-time top performers list before Duncan bumped her out of the top 10, finished 3rd tonight in 58.09. She was out in 26.95 to challenge for 2nd, but lost some steam coming home.

There were 3 freshmen from the ACC in tonight’s final. Florida State freshman Ida Hulkko, who broke 59 for the first time this morning, dropped a few more tenths off her best to take 5th in 58.58.Virginia freshman Alexis Wenger was a few tenths shy of her best to take 6th in 58.64.

San Diego State sophomore Klara Thormalm broke 59 for the first time to win the B heat in 58.93.

WOMEN’S 100 BACK:

• NCAA Record: Beata Nelson (Wisconsin), 2018- 49.67
• American Record: Regan Smith, 2019- 49.66
• Meet Record: Ally Howe (Stanford), 2018- 49.70

CHAMPIONSHIP FINAL RESULTS:

1. GOLD: Beata Nelson, Wisconsin, 49.18
2. SILVER: Amy Bilquist, Cal, 50.05
3. BRONZE: Taylor Ruck, Stanford, 50.34
4. Izzy Ivey, Cal, 50.42
5. Asia Seidt, Kentucky, 50.68
6. Maggie MacNeil, Michigan, 50.98
7. Sherridon Dressel, Florida, 51.03
8. Aly Tetzloff, Auburn, 51.33

Wisconsin’s Beata Nelson was flying under record pace with a 23.76 at the 50. Nelson followed through with the fastest time in history, crushing the American Record by almost half a second in 49.18. That makes her 2-for-2 in individual titles here. Nelson broke her own NCAA Record tonight, but took back the American Record after Regan Smith broke Nelson’s mark earlier this month. Nelson has now broken 50 for the 5th time in her career and owns 5 of the all-time top 10 performances.

Cal’s Amy Bilquist took almost half a second off her best, closing in on the 50-barrier with a 50.05 for 2nd. She’s now the 10th fastest in history. Stanford freshman Taylor Ruck took 3rd here, posting another lifetime best on the back end of her double. Ruck reached in in 50.34, just out-touching Cal freshman Izzy Ivey, who also swam a best time on the back end of a double in 50.42. There was a 3rd freshman to swim this as their 2nd individual race tonight. Michigan’s Maggie MacNeil finished 6th in 50.98.

Kentucky’s Asia Seidt nabbed a school record, dropping a couple of tenths from her best in 50.68 for 5th place. Florida’s Sherridon Dressel was just a tenth shy of her best to give the Gators their highest finish since 2016, placing 7th in 51.03. Auburn’s Aly Tetzloff, the SEC champion, was 8th in 51.33. Tetzloff also competed in the 100 fly earlier.

A tight race into the finish in the B final saw Cal’s Keaton Blovad come from behind to win it in 51.39. That was just 5 hundredths slower than her best time from Pac-12s this year.

WOMEN’S 3-METER DIVING

1. GOLD: Maria Polyakova, UCLA, 396.00
2. SILVER: Brooke Schultz, Air Force, 380.50
3. BRONZE: Alicia Blagg, Miami, 379.80
4. Eloise Belanger, UCLA, 378.75
5. Sarah Bacon, Minnesota, 373.65
6. Delaney Schnell, Arizona, 368.75 (T-6)
7. Alison Gibson, Texas, 368.75 (T-6)
8. Vicky Xu, Kansas, 358.60

UCLA picked up big points here with Maria Polyakova winning the title and Eloise Belanger taking 4th. Minnesota was bumped from 8th to 5th in the team standings as Sarah Bacon took 5th in this event. Texas got some points to boost them in the top 10 team battle as Alison Gibson took 7th. They’ve now moved from 10th to 6th.

WOMEN’S 200 MEDLEY RELAY:

• NCAA Record: Stanford (Howe, Williams, Hu, Manuel), 2018 – 1:33.11
• American Record: Stanford (Howe, Williams, Hu, Manuel), 2018 – 1:33.11
• Meet Record: Stanford (Howe, Williams, Hu, Manuel), 2018 – 1:33.11

CHAMPIONSHIP FINAL RESULTS:

1. GOLD: Tennessee- 1:34.10
2. SILVER: Cal- 1:34.43
3. BRONZE: NC State- 1:34.80
4. Indiana- 1:35.18
5. Louisville- 1:35.57
6. Michigan- 1:35.85
7. Stanford- 1:36.13
8. Virginia- 1:36.16

The Vols hit their stride in this one, as Tennessee’s Meghan Small took it out with a 24.05 back split. Nikol Popov took over with a 26.51 on the breast leg, while Maddy Banic turned in a 22.58 on the fly. It came down to Erika Brown vs. Cal anchor Abbey Weitzeil. Brown got the job done with a 20.98 to seal it for the Vols in 1:34.10. The Bears wound up 2nd in 1:34.43, with 50 free champion Weitzeil tying the fastest relay split in history with a 20.45 free leg.

NC State took 3rd in 1:34.80, with Elise Haan posting the 2nd fastest backstroke split of the heat in 23.90. The only backstroke split faster in the championship heat came from Caroline Gmelich of Virginia (1:36.16) in 23.85. Indiana (1:35.18) was 4th with Lilly King dominating on the breast leg in 25.62.

Arizona and USC had initially tied for the B final win in 1:36.41, but the Trojans were ultimately DQed for a false start on the anchor leg. The Wildcats got a boost from Madison Blakesley‘s 27.06 breast split. Duke’s Alyssa Marsh had a big split in the consol final, posting a 22.16 on the fly. Auburn (1:37.30) had the fastest anchor split of the B heat with Claire Fisch‘s 21.23. The fastest backstroker in that heat was Missouri’s Haley Hynes (23.66), while Minnesota’s Lindsey Kozelsky came through with the fastest breast split in 26.65.

TEAM SCORES THROUGH DAY 3:

  1. California                        328   2. Stanford                        299.5
  3. Michigan                          233   4. Louisville                        163
  5. NC State                          141   6. Tennessee                         138
  7. Minnesota                         131   8. Virginia                          128
  9. Texas                           127.5  10. Indiana                           122
 11. Southern Cali                     103  12. Auburn                             93
 13. Arizona                          86.5  14. Texas A&M                        72.5
 15. Wisconsin                          70  16. UCLA                               66
 17. Kentucky                         49.5  18. Arkansas                           46
 19. Florida                            44  20. Missouri                           42
 21. Arizona St                         35  21. Duke                               35
 23. Georgia                            34  24. South Carolina                   27.5
 25. Kansas                             22  26. Ohio St                            21
 27. Lsu                                20  28. University of Miami                19
 29. Eastern Mich                       17  30. Northwestern                       15
 31. Florida St                         14  32. San Diego St                        9
 33. Purdue                              7  33. Penn St                             7
 35. Akron                               6  36. Virginia Tech                       5
 37. Nebraska                            2  37. Alabama                             2
 37. UNC                                 2  37. Notre Dame                          2
 41. Univeristy of Conneticut            1