We will update with a team photo as soon as one is available.
The Georgia Bulldogs have emerged as the 2016 NCAA Champions for the third time in the last four years, but this one was much harder-fought than any of the program’s most recent run of national titles, though it’s not their tightest ever.
Georgia’s previous margins of victory:
- 1999: Georgia 504.5, Stanford 441
- 2000: Georgia 490.5, Arizona 472
- 2001: Georgia 389, Stanford 387.5
- 2005: 508.5, Auburn 492
- 2013: Georgia 477, Cal 393
- 2014: Georgia 528, Stanford 402.5
- 2016 Georgia 414, Stanford 395
Every one of Georgia’s NCAA Championships to date except for 2005 have come with a Pac-12 team as the runners-up.
“Winning the national championship is a feeling that never gets old,” Georgia head coach Jack Bauerle said. “But this one ranks right up there in terms of pure satisfaction. We knew coming in that it was going to be a rugged meet and that it was going to take a near-perfect effort. Our ladies stood up and competed hard. They did everything we asked of them and this is truly a team championship.”
Georgia earned event national championships in the 50 free, 100 free, and the 200 free, with a huge 118 points coming from the freestyle events where this team has made its biggest mark for the last two decades. The 19-point margin is the closest at NCAAs in a decade (since Georgia came up just short as runners-up to Auburn).
It’s also the lowest scoring total since Cal had 412.5 in 2012, which is more evidence that this was an incredibly balanced and competitive meet: one that combined the excitement of a myriad of records with an exciting team battle.
The Bulldogs took a true team effort to win this race. Their head coach Jack Bauerle said in an interview on Friday that he almost scratched the 200 free relay because of how many races his team had to swim. He didn’t and the team wound up placing 3rd in that race – where a scratch would’ve been the difference. That, with a combination of a big bounceback year from gutsy senior Brittany MacLean, plus Olivia Smoliga pushing through to not only make her first 100 free A-final, but to win that A-final, lifted the Bulldogs to victory.
The full roster and staff for the 2016 NCAA Champions are listed below.
Women
| NAME | EVENT(S) | Class | Hometown/High School |
|---|---|---|---|
| Olivia Ball | Diving | SO | Powell, Ohio/Oletangy Liberty |
| Emily Cameron | Free/Breast/IM | JR | Lititz, Pa./Warwick |
| Caitlin Casazza | Breast/Fly | FR | High Point, N.C./Bishop McGuines |
| Madison Duvall | Diving | FR | Woodstock, Ga./Etowah |
| Samantha Fazio | Free/Back | FR | Scottsdale, Ariz./Pinnacle |
| Hali Flickinger | Free/Back/Fly/IM | SR | Spring Grove, Pa./Spring Grove |
| Allison Greene | Diving | FR | Tallahassee, Fla./Chiles |
| Kimberlee John-Williams | Free/Back/Fly | JR | Sevilla, Trinidad & Tobago/The Baylor School |
| Megan Kingsley | Fly/Back/IM | SO | Mount Pleasant, S.C./Wando |
| Elizabeth Ann Kirkland | Diving | JR | Moultrie, Ga./Colquitt County |
| Anna Kolanowski | Free/Fly | JR | Brinklow, Md./Mill Creek |
| Shauna Lee | Free/Fly | FR | Upper Caldecote, Great Britain |
| Brittany MacLean | Free | SR | Etobicoke, Toronto/Silverthorne Collegiate Institute |
| Ashley Mallon | Breast/IM | FR | Suwanee, Ga./Lambert |
| Anna McKenzie | Free | RS FR | Tuscaloosa, Ala./Tuscaloosa Academy |
| Stephanie Peters | Free | SO | Acworth, Ga./North Paulding |
| Meaghan Raab | Free | SO | Hummelstown, Pa./Hershey |
| Olivia Smoliga | Free/Back | JR | Glenview, Ill./Glenview |
| Kylie Stewart | Back/Fly | SO | Acworth, Ga./Westridge Christian |
| Kelly Thatcher | Diving | JR | Downingtown, Pa./Downington |
| Chantal Van Landeghem | Free/Fly | SR | Winnipeg, Manitoba/Vincent Massey Collegiate |
| Natalie Wallace | Diving | RS FR | Athens, Ga. |
| Courtney Weaver | Free/Fly | SO | Davison, Mich./Davison |
| Annie Williamson | Free | FR | Watkinsville, Ga./Oconee County |
| Annie Zhu | Breast/IM | SR | Brooklyn, N.Y./Brooklyn Technical |
| Rachel Zilinskas | Free/IM/Back | JR | Indiana, Pa./Germantown Academy |
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So proud of the Dawgs! Outstanding job ladies, see you in Brazil!!!
Congrats to Georgia!
They stepped up once again when it counts the most.
Brittany MacLean back at her best plus Olivia Smoliga on fire all meet have been the driving forces of that tem.
Hard 2nd place for Stanford. They can regret for a long time that DQ but they know this is part of the game.
Very well fought. Ella Eastin as big star.
Next season Katie and Simone!
Cal 3rd. Logical place. Most of their girls were unable to change gear after Pac-12 championships.
Solid meet but not a great meet.
It was tough without Katie McLaughlin. She will be back next season with Abbey Weitzeil!
Some records will be crushed next season!
Congrats Bulldogs! Way to go! And Congrats to Indiana and NC STATE for most improved teams making it into the TOP TEN!!
Congrats to Georgia as well very well fought meet!
I would add Michigan into the conversation of most improved…
2012- 31st
2013- 36th
2014- 30th
2015- 22nd
2016- 10th