2016 Women’s DI NCAA Championships: Day 2 Finals Live Recap

2016 WOMEN’S NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS

• Wednesday, March 16 – Saturday, March 19
• McAuley Aquatic Center – Atlanta, GA
• Prelims 10AM/Finals 6PM (Eastern Time)
• Defending Champion: Cal – Results
• Championships Central
• SwimSwam Link Sheet
• Live stream: All prelims, Wednesday finals, & Thursday finals (Other sessions will be on ESPN3)
• Live results

Prelim spectators witnessed tons of fast swimming this morning and many records are at risk in the finals session here at the Women’s NCAA Championships. Earlier, Tennessee claimed the fastest 200 free relay in 1:27.20 over Georiga’s 1:27.53 and NCAA record-holder Arizona’s 1:27.67. Kelsi Worrell threw down the fastest 100 yard fly split of all time (49.25) and the second fastest 50 yard free relay split of all time (20.84), so be on the lookout for Louisville’s weapons tonight. In the 500 free, Leah Smith and Brittany MacLean will face-off side-by-side, each pushing each other to swim under 4:30 and for the national title. Georiga’s Olivia Smoliga recorded her fastest 50 free in the relay send-off, but adding just a tenth of a second in the flat start keeps her at the top of the list in finals. Florida has a great shot at some diving points with senior Kahlia Warner as the highest scorer at 329.90. And finally, the 400 medley relay will pit the NCAA record-holder Stanford (3:28.10) against Louisville (3:28.24) and Indiana (3:29.85).

200 FREE RELAY – FINALS

• NCAA Record: Arizona (Lara Jackson, Lindsey Kelly, Justine Schluntz, Taylor Baughman), 1:26.20
• American Record: Arizona (Lara Jackson, Lindsey Kelly, Justine Schluntz, Taylor Baughman), 1:26.20
• U.S. Open Record: Arizona (Lara Jackson, Lindsey Kelly, Justine Schluntz, Taylor Baughman), 1:26.20
• 2015 NCAA Champion: California (Kaylin Bing, Missy Franklin, Rachel Bootsma, Farida Osman), 1:26.41

The leaders of the B final changed owners four times. First off the blocks was Liz Li of Ohio State (21.62), then on the second leg Kelsi Worrell popped off a slower-than-this-morning leg of 21. Mizzou took charge on the third exchange, but was out touched by Wisconsin’s anchor, Annie Tamblyn, who stopped the clock at 1:28.86.

The A final race, however, was neck-to-neck throughout the race with a seemingly even field. Faith Johnson led the charge for the Lady Vols on the first 25, then Olivia Smoliga of Georgia split a 21.46 to give the Bulldogs the edge at the quarter mark. Janet Hu of Stanford blasted off the blocks to give the Cardinal the lead and her teammates carried it the last 100 yards for the unofficial win. Unfortunately, Stanford’s relay was disqualified due to an early take-off on the anchor, resulting in California taking the gold in 1:26.80. Kira Toussaint brought it home in 22.14 to seal Tennessee’s silver medal finish (1:27.42), moving up the Bulldogs up to bronze (1:27.53).

200 Free Relay A Final

1. Stanford 1:26.71
2. California 1:26.80
3. Tennessee 1:27.42.
4. USC  1:27.57
5. Arizona 1:27.81
6. Virginia 1:27.85
7. NC State 1:27.85

500 FREE – FINALS

• NCAA Record: Leah Smith, Virginia, 4:30.37
• American Record: Katie Ledecky, PV-Unattached, 4:26.58
• U.S. Open Record: Katie Ledecky, PV-Unattached, 4:26.58
• 2015 NCAA Champion: Leah Smith, Virginia, 4:31.54

Leah Smith of Virginia was well under NCAA record pace up until the last 50 yard. The junior defended her 2015 NCAA title with a new(er) Georgia Tech Pool Record of 4:31.33. Runner-up Brittany MacLean posted a 4:33.05 swimming at the ankles of Smith the entire race while also besting distance teammate, Hali Flickinger (4:33.35).

After the front-runners emerged from the rest of the pack, Haley Lips of Indiana stepped out as the outside smoke to take fourth in 4:34.86. Michigan’s Rose Bi (4:35.76), NC State’s Hannah Moore (4:38.12), Ohio State’s Lindsey Clary (4:38.44), and Louisville’s Mallory Comerford comprised the remaining spots in the final.

Gillian Ryan of Michigan captured the B final out of Lane 6 in 4:38.43, just a second quicker than her prelims swim.

200 INDIVIDUAL MEDLEY – FINALS

• NCAA Record: Caitlin Leverenz, California, 1:51.77
• American Record: Caitlin Leverenz, California, 1:51.77
• U.S. Open Record: Caitlin Leverenz, California, 1:51.77
• 2015 NCAA Champion: Missy Franklin, California, 1:52.11

Kathleen Baker of California open the first half of the race at 52.00, but that couldn’t stop Ella Eastin from charging down the pool in the breaststroke leg. The freshman from Stanford rocketed home in 32.52/26.94 to break Caitlin Leverenz’s existing records with a new NCAA, American, U.S. Open Record, and Georgia Tech Pool Record of 1:51.65.

Read more about Eastin’s record-breaking swim here.

Baker finished the race with new personal best of 1:52.95 for second and Kirsten Vose of USC snagged third in 1:54.27. The top three finishers in this event are also all freshmen and train in the state of California in the Pac-12 Conference, which sets up for four years of big battles out west.

Top seed Madisyn Cox (1:54.80) finished fourth with Texas A&M’s Lisa Bratton (1:55.89), Cal’s Kelly Naze (1:55.89), Texas A&M’s Sydney Pickrem (1:56.13), and Cal’s Celina Li (1:56.16) closing the final.

Courtney Bartholomew (1:55.44) held a tight grip on the B final, but was eclipsed by Aggie swimmer and outside smoke, Bethany Galat (1:55.26), in the last 50 yards.

50 FREE – FINALS

• NCAA Record: Lara Jackson, Arizona, 21.27r
• American Record: Abbey Weitzeil, Canyons Aquatic, 21.12
• U.S. Open Record: Abbey Weitzeil, Canyons Aquatic, 21.12
• 2015 NCAA Champion: Simone Manuel, Stanford, 21.32

Georgia’s sprinting star, Olivia Smoliga, clocked a 21.21 for her fourth 50 free of the day and managed to reset the NCAA and Georgia Tech Pool Records. She flipped at the 25 in 10.25 and closed with a 10.96, solidifying her performance as the second fastest 50 yard freestyler in history.

Cal’s Farida Osman finished second to Smoliga in 21.46, but actually out split her 10.96 to 10.95 on the second length. Osman’s time also ties Natalie Coughlin’s prior pool record.  Ohio State’s Zhesi Li was the only swimmer in this final to be close to Smoliga’s 25 touch at 10.34 and with that opening split, she held on for third place with a time of 21.48. Kelsi Worrell tacked on a little bit from her prelims swim, but 21.75 was good enough for the event’s fourth place finish. Texas A&M’s Beryl Gastaldello (21.82) and Stanford’s Lia Neal (21.99) were the last two under the 22 second barrier while Tennessee freshmen, Madeline Banic, capped the top-eight at 22.02

In consolations, USC’s Anika Apostalon, a San Diego State transfer, posted a 21.82. That time would have tied her for 5th place with Gastaldello in the A final.

ONE-METER DIVING – FINALS

• NCAA Record: Cassidy Krug, Stanford, 361.55
• 2015 NCAA Champion: Samantha Pickens, Arizona, 345.90

Sharae Zheng, a freshman from Nevada, made the jump from third in prelims to first in finals. The China native dove for a total score of 344.95 between six dives, a tally significantly higher than her morning score (315.35). Another freshmen, Eloise Belanger, took second for the UCLA Bruins in 336.00 and pushed this morning’s top qualifier, Pei Lin of Miami Ohio, to third in 332.20.

400 MEDLEY RELAY – FINALS

• NCAA Record: Stanford (Ally Howe, Sarah Haase, Janet Hu, Lia Neal), 3:26.25
• American Record: Stanford (Ally Howe, Sarah Haase, Janet Hu, Lia Neal), 3:26.25
• U.S. Open Record: Stanford (Ally Howe, Sarah Haase, Janet Hu, Lia Neal), 3:26.25
• 2015 NCAA Champion: Stanford (Ally Howe, Katie Olsen, Janet Hu, Simone Manuel), 3:26.41

Keeping with their original record-breaking relay squad, the Stanford crew of Ally Howe, Sarah Haase, Janet Hu, and Lia Neal shattered their Pac-12 performance with new American, U.S. Open, and NCAA Records with a 3:26.14. Courtney Bartholomew’s 50.95 gave the Virginia Cavaliers the early edge and they held it until the halfway mark. Haase gave a tremendous effort to close the gap, but it was Hu’s underwaters on the fly that made the difference.

Kelsi Worrell‘s fly split of 49.31, now the third fastest split of all time,  pushed the Cardinals to second place, but Neal’s closing 100 free (46.58) eliminated any hope of catching them. Louisville garnered silver medal finishes with their time of 3:27.58 and Virginia settled for third with a 3:28.22. Additionally, Lilly King dropped a 56.74 breast leg for Indiana, improving her leg from earlier this morning. Now the freshman owns the two fastest splits of all time.

In the consolations, Alexia Zevnik pounced on the backstroke leg (51.14 ) for an early NC State lead, however, California’s butterfly leg, Noemie Thomas, gave the Bears full control with a 100 to go. Texas A&M’s anchor, Beryl Gastaldello, closed in 47.37  for an Aggie console win. The Bears and the Wolfpack finished in 3:30.36 and 3:30.52, respectively.

Stanford’s Record-Breaking Swim: 51.89/57.02/50.65/46.58 = 3:26.14

400 Medley Relay A Final

1. Stanford 3:26.14
2. Louisville 3:27.58
3. Virgina 3:28.22
4. Georgia 3:29.54
5. USC 3:29.69
6. Missouri 3:29.70
7. Indiana 3:30.13
8. Arizona 3:31.09

  Women - Team Rankings - Through Event 7 - 400 Medley Relay                   
 
  1. Georgia                           174   2. California                      144.5
  3. Southern Cali                   121.5   4. Virginia                          118
  5. Texas A&M                       110.5   6. Stanford                          110
  7. Louisville                         94   8. Arizona                            71
  9. Indiana                            66   9. NC State                           66
 11. Tennessee                          54  11. Michigan                           54
 13. Ohio St                            42  14. Missouri                           40
 15. Texas                              39  16. UCLA                               37
 17. Nevada                             29  18. Wisconsin                          25
 19. UNC                                22  20. Florida                          19.5
 21. South Carolina                     17  22. Miami University (Ohio)            16
 23. Kentucky                           10  24. Alabama                             8
 24. Purdue                              8  26. University of Nebraska-Lincoln      7
 27. Penn St                             6  27. Virginia Tech                       6
 29. University of Hawaii (W)            4  29. Air Force (W)                       4
 31. Denver                              3  32. Minnesota                           2