The 2015 NAIA Women’s Swimming and Diving National Championship will get underway on Wednesday, March 4 at the Oklahoma City Community College. With 25 schools and 215 athletes competing in the women’s meet, it should be an exciting four days.
Two-time defending champion Oklahoma Baptist University, which won 13 of 20 events last year, is once again the team favorite. The Bison have both breadth and depth, and are one of only three teams with divers. Senior Laura Galarza, who earned Swimmer of the Year honors during two consecutive years, will be back for her final appearance. Galarza won the 50/100/200 frees last year; and she was an integral member of OBU’s relays, two of which (200 free and 400 free relays) set meet records.
Last year’s Swimmer of the Year, senior Christine Tixier of Biola University, will also compete in her last NAIA nationals. Tixier won the 200 IM, 100 fly, and 200 fly last year and set the meet record in the 100 fly.
Other returning event winners include Brenau University’s Courtney Hayward (500 free, 400 IM); OBU’s Kerryn Mullin (100 breast); SCAD Savannah’s Caroline Lepesant (1650 free); and Ines Remersaro of OBU (200 back).
4-Day Schedule
Wednesday:
1-Meter Diving (women)
3-Meter Diving (men)
(postponed until March 7 due to inclement weather)
Thursday:
200 Medley Relay
500 Freestyle
200 Individual Medley
50 Freestyle
800 Freestyle Relay
Friday:
200 Freestyle Relay
400 Individual Medley
100 Butterfly
200 Freestyle
100 Breaststroke
100 Backstroke
3-Meter Diving
400 Medley Relay
Saturday:
1-Meter Diving
1650 Freestyle
200 Backstroke
100 Freestyle
200 Breaststroke
200 Butterfly
400 Freestyle Relay
Stars
Diving
There are only three schools with divers in the meet, so they all jump out to early leads from Day One: OBU, Cumberlands, and Concordia.
500 free
Defending champion Courtney Hayward of Brenau and 2014 runner-up Caroline Lepesant of SCAD are favorites in the 500, along with top-seeded freshman Baliee Blankemeier of Concordia. Other 2014 A finalists include Hayley Ronci (Olivet Nazarene University), Emma McKinley (SCAD), and Mikala Nelson (Concordia). Promising newcomers include freshmen Ella Kleinschmidt (Brenau), Shannon Brouk (SCAD), Jessica Wilson (Concordia), and Eugenia Sebastiani (ONU).
200 IM
2014 champion Christine Tixier of Biola and 2013 champion Charlotte Parent of Cumberland are both entered in the 200 IM, as is Tixier’s younger sister Lisa Tixier, who also swims for Biola. Ines Remersaro (OBU), Tiffany Ray (ONU), and McKayla Stevens (College of Idaho) are all returning championship finalists. Two newcomers to keep an eye on are WVU Tech’s Kendra Monnin and Fran Meyer.
50 free
With five sprinters in the top eight, the 50 free was one of OBU’s highest-scoring events last year. The Bison return winner Laura Galarza as well as Emma Forbes-Milne and Andrea Antonissen; other 2014 A finalists include Brooke Roy (Concordia) and Heather Partlow (SCAD). Others to watch out for are Julie Woody (SCAD), Michelle Billeaud (Brenau), and Blandine Tantart (Cumberlands).
400 IM
2014 champion Courtney Hayward of Brenau is back to defend her title, along with championship finalists Tiffany Ray (ONU) and Victoria Peskova (OBU). Challenging last year’s top eight will be 2013 champion Charlotte Parent of Cumberlands, top seeded Baliee Blankemeier (Concordia), Lisa Tixier (Biola), Rebecca Justus and Caroline Lepesant (SCAD), and Madison Osterlund (Thomas University).
100 fly
Meet record-holder Christine Tixier of Biola is back to defend her title; she’ll be up against Michelle Billeaud (Brenau) , Mikala Nelson (Concordia), Laura Stephenson (Lindsey Wilson), and Heather Partlow (SCAD) from last year’s championship final, plus, Alisha Hodgetts (Brenau), Fran Meyer (WVU Tech), and Shannon Cummings (SCAD).
200 free
Defending champion Laura Galarza of OBU, Callie Harrigan of Union College, Shelby Rumker (Brenau), and Haley Thompson (SCAD) are all returning from last year’s A final. Eugenia Sebastiani (ONU), Ella Kleinschmidt (Brenau), and McKayla Stevens (College of Idaho) also have a shot at the title.
100 breast
OBU’s Kerryn Mullin, the 2014 champion, will compete against Brenau’s Mary Katherine Jabbia and Michelle Billeaud, Jule Stein (Union), Kendra Monnin (WVU Tech), Alle Ragland (SCAD) and Jessica Wilson (Concordia). The Tixier sisters are both entered in this event, too. However, their names appear in a total of 12 events, so it’s hard to guess where they will wind up.
100 back
Last year’s runner-up, Talia Sola of Brenau, comes in with the fastest seed time. OBU’s Alena Titekova and Ines Remersaro were A finalists last year, as were Hannah Legg (SCAD) and MacKenzie Anderson (ONU). Some of the newcomers eager to break into the winners’ circle include Tammy Price (OBU), Shelby Rumker (Brenau), Hristina Krasteva (Lindenwood), and Julie Woody (SCAD).
1650 free
Seven of the eight fastest finalists in last year’s mile are back: two-time champion Caroline Lepesant (SCAD), top-seeded Courtney Hayward (Brenau), Samantha Leanza (Concordia), Alice Oggionni (SCAD), Grace Van Ryckeghem (Cumberlands), Hayley Ronci (ONU) and Laura Bryant (ONU). Shannon Brouk (SCAD), and Ella Kleinschmidt (Brenau) are looking to move in on the leaders.
200 back
The psych sheet for the women’s 200 back reads like the podium of last year’s championship: defending champion Ines Remersaro (OBU), runner-up Talia Sola (Brenau), Tiffany Ray and MacKenzie Anderson (ONU), and Alena Titenkova (OBU). Moreover, 2013 champion Hannah Legg of SCAD is back to retake her crown, while Bailee Spivey (Life University), Brittany Litke (Cumberlands), and Tammy Price (OBU) should add some competition to the top group.
100 free
Double defending champion Laura Galarza of OBU will be shooting for a third straight victory in the 100 free, but last year’s finalists, and a few newcomers, will try to end her streak. They include: Callie Harrigan (Union), Andrea Antonissen (OBU), Brooke Roy (Concordia), Shelby Rumker (Brenau), Haley Thompson (SCAD), Eugenia Sebastiani (ONU), Melissa Peplinski (Cumberlands), and Emma Forbes-Milne (OBU).
200 breast
2014 runner-up Kerryn Mullin of OBU is going to have a tough race on her hands this year with top seeded Kenra Monnin (WVU Tech), Lisa Tixier (Biola), Jule Stein (Union), Mary Katherine Jabbia (Brenau), Jessica Wilson (Concordia), Safiyyah Abdullah (Columbia College), and Alle Ragland (SCAD) all coming in with competitive seed times.
200 fly
Defending champion Christine Tixier of Biola is the top seed in this year’s event, ahead of freshman Baliee Blankemeier (Concordia) and Rebecca Justice (SCAD). 2014 finalists Emma McKinley (SCAD) and Mikala Nelson (Concordia) are in the mix, as are freshmen Samantha Benson and Cadie Crow (SCAD), Samantha Dammann (Biola), Allison Zalinski (ONU), and Triniti Counter (St. Andrews).
Standings
Even without the diving points, Oklahoma Baptist has an enormous amount of depth, plus all those extra diving points, so it is unlikely anyone will dethrone the Bison this year. But the race for second place, and third, fourth, fifth, and sixth, while we’re at it, should be quite close. Here are our picks for the top ten:
Women
- Oklahoma Baptist
- SCAD Savannah
- Brenau University
- Concordia University
- University of the Cumberlands
- Biola University
- Olivet Nazarene University
- Union College
- West Virginia University Institute of Technology
- Lindsey Wilson College
“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.”