Olivia Smoliga – “The walkout was longer than the race” (Interview)

^{Produced by Coleman Hodges.} 

^{Reported by Karl Ortegon.}

WOMEN’S 50 FREE

1. Olivia Smoliga, UGA – 21.67
2. Faith Johnson, Tennessee – 21.95
3. Madeline Banic, Tennessee – 21.96

Olivia Smoliga, 2014 NCAA champion as a freshman, looks to be back. She didn’t seem to live up to her freshman form as a sophomore, but now in her junior season, Smoliga blasted a 21.67 to take the victory. She didn’t even make the A final at SECs last season, but really took it to the competition tonight. Smoliga now holds the three fastest 50 free times in the entire NCAA this season, and this makes her perfect at SEC Championships in this event.

Tennessee was all over the place in this final, with Faith Johnson and Madeline Banic touching 2nd and 3rd. If that wasn’t enough for the Vols, Kira Toussaint and Harper Bruens touched 6th and 8th, respectively.

4th went to Florida’s Natalie Hinds, followed closely by Beryl Gastaldello of Texas A&M. LSU’s Leah Troskot touched just ahead of Bruens in 7th.