NCAA Division III Day One Team Recaps

Carleton Men: Marschall Adds Another All-America Award
Senior Ted Marschall (Burnsville, Minn.) earned All-America distinction for the seventh time in his illustrious collegiate career by placing fifth in the 200-yard individual medley at the 2009 NCAA Division III Swimming and Diving Championships.

He began his fourth trip to the national championships by qualifying for the finals with the fourth-fastest time (1:50.89) during the morning swim. He improved upon that standard in he championship round, posting a season-best time of 1:50.49.

“Ted did a great job,” said Carleton head coach Andy Clark. “It is hard to come back and improve on your morning time and this should give him a boost of confidence going into tomorrow’s 400 IM.”

Marschall was seventh after the opening butterfly leg, but a strong backstroke propelled him into fifth, a spot he held onto the remainder of the race.

He placed 13th in the event as a rookie back in 2006 before notching fourth-place and second-place finishes in 2007 and 2008 respectively.

Marschall, the sole representative for the Carleton College men’s team at this year’s championships, has two more events remaining in the four-day competition. He will race in the 400-yard individual medley on Thursday followed by the 200-yard breaststroke on Saturday. The preliminary rounds begin at 10 a.m. each day with the finals contested at 5:30 p.m.

Carleton Women: Five Knights Earn All-America Honorable Mention
All five members of the Carleton women’s swimming team competing at the 2009 NCAA Division III Championships earned All-American honorable mention during the first day of racing at the University of Minnesota Aquatics Center. Maggie Alexander (Fy./Tigard, Ore./Tualatin) was 16th in the 500-yard freestyle while the Knights 200-yard medley relay placed 13th.

Maggie Alexander slashed 1.38 seconds off her own school record as she posted a time of 4:58.53 during the preliminary round. She finished fifth in her heat with the ninth-best time of the morning swim. The top eight swimmers qualify for the championship finals with the next eight grabbing spots in the consolation finals. In the evening race, she recorded her third-best time ever at 5:02.03, becoming the first Carleton female to finish among the top 16 racers in this event at the national level.

She then cheered on the 200-yard medley relay, which featured the other four Knights swimming at this year’s national meet—including two of her older sisters. After securing a spot in the consolation finals with a time of 1:47.46 in the preliminary round, the quartet of Kale Zicafoose (So./Omaha, Neb./Westside), Kate Alexander (Jr./Tigard, Ore./Tualatin), Kaarin Taylor (Sr./Gainesville, Fla.) and Becky Alexander (Sr./Tigard, Ore./Tualatin) posted the second-fastest time in school history, 1:46.86, good for 13th-place. Each member of the relay either held or dropped time from their splits in the prelims.

Also in the morning’s preliminary round, Becky Alexander recorded the second-fastest 50-yard freestyle swim of her collegiate career, with a time of 24.36. That time was good for third in her heat but did not qualify her for the finals. She tied for 40th among 60 of the nation’s fastest swimmers.

The Knights will be busy on Thursday, the second day of the four-day competition. They will compete in both the 200-yard freestyle and 400-yard medley relays. Additionally, all five will swim in individual events: Kate Alexander races in the 400-yard individual medley, Taylor and Zicafoose compete in the 100-yard butterfly, and Maggie Alexander and Becky Alexander in the 200-yard freestyle.