NCAA Women's Division I Championships Team Recaps - Day One

Alabama: Women’s Swimming and Diving Gets Started at the NCAA Championships
The Alabama women’s swimming and diving team got the 2009 NCAA Championships underway with a pair of events Thursday here at the Student Rec Center Natatorium on the Texas A&M campus.
 
Freshman diver Carrie Dragland finished 34th off the one-meter board after scoring 244.40 points in preliminaries Thursday afternoon. Dragland returns to action on Friday with the three-meter board, the event she won at the Southeastern Conference Championships and finished second at the NCAA Zone B Championships.
 
Sophomore Kate Shannon Gray, also making her first NCAA Championship appearance, finished 47th in the 200 IM with a time of 2:00.58. Gray returns to action Friday with the 400 IM, the event she finaled in at the SEC Championships.
 
“There’s no doubt that we’re going to get stronger as the meet goes along,” Alabama head coach Eric McIlquham said. “Our best events are still ahead of us, both on Friday and Saturday.”
 
In addition to Dragland and Gray, junior All-American Agustina de Giovanni will compete in the 100 breaststroke on Friday. 

Auburn: Tigers Finish Day One Of The 2009 NCAA Championship In Fifth
The Tigers finished day one of the 2009 NCAA Championships in fifth place at the Texas A&M Student Rec Center Natatorium in College Station, Texas on Thursday. 

Auburn accumulated 91.5 points on the day, trailing Arizona (141.5), Georgia (133), Cal (126) and Stanford (105).  Texas finished in sixth with 75 points ahead of host Texas A&M with 71.

The opening day itinerary included prelims and finals for the 200 FR, 500 free, 200 IM, 50 free, 1-meter springboard and the 400 MR.  Preliminaries began at 11 a.m. CST followed by finals at 7 p.m.

Auburn’s relay got the finals going for the Tigers in Thursday’s afternoon session.  The team of Vanderpool-Wallace (22.10), Emily Ewing (21.81), Melissa Marik (21.90) and Caitlin Geary (21.67) finished third in the 200 FR behind Arizona and Cal.  The same Tiger lineup set the new Auburn 200 FR record in prelims, hitting the wall in 1:27.45, an improvement by over a second from the previous mark of 1:28.50 set at SECs last month.   

Vanderpool-Wallace’s leadoff split was the fastest 50 free swam by any Tiger this season and moves the 2008 Olympian to fourth in the Auburn record books.

“Those four women have worked very well together all year,” said Auburn co-head coach Dorsey Tierney-Walker.  “Also, Maggie Bird had a great 500 tonight.  I think in the finals she came out a little quick but she was competing with a couple of Olympic finalists.”

After swimming an Auburn record 4:36.62 in preliminaries, Maggie Bird earned a third-place finish in finals.  The junior out of Muncie, Ind., has recorded three top-10 finishes in the 500 free at the NCAA Championships including a second-place finish in 2008.  The previous Auburn record was a 4:36.96 set by Adrienne Binder in 2007.

Bird held the lead until the 350-yard mark before she was chased down by Georgia’s Allison Schmitt who touched in at 4:35.17 for the win.

Chelsea Haser swam a top-time of 4:42.18 to finish 24th in prelims while sophomore Micah Martindale hit a new top-time of 4:45.80 to place 42nd. 

Junior Ava Ohlgren placed third in the 200 IM finals, recording a season-best time of 1:54.08.  The 2008 NCAA 200 IM Champion finished behind Stanford’s Julia Smit and Texas’ Kathleen Hersey.  Smit’s time of 1:52.79 set new US Open and NCAA records, surpassing her own record time of 1:53.11.

“Ava gave us another great IM tonight said Tierney-Walker.  “This was a tough field.  She was competing against two Olympians, as well.  That’s what this meet is all about.”

Sophomore Caitlin Geary placed 11th with a 200 IM time of 1:56.77.

The Tigers were in third place after the third event with 70 points and trailing Georgia with 86 and Arizona with 78.

Freshman Arianna Vanderpool-Wallace was the lone representative for the Tigers in the 50 free, after junior Melissa Marik and senior Emile Ewing just missed qualification.  The 2008 Olympian tied for 13th with a time of 22.30. 

Marik (22.41) and Ewing (22.44) placing 21st and 22nd, respectively. The pair were the only Auburn swimmers to hit a new top-time in the event in either prelims or finals.

Junior Alana Dillette placed 45th in prelims with a 22.69 followed by senior Rachel Goh in 49th with a 22.80.

Following the 50 free, Stanford (75) and Cal (92) jumped the Tigers, who fell to fifth with 73.5 points.  Georgia maintained its slim, 103-101.5, lead over Arizona.  Unfortunately for Auburn, its ninth-place finish in the 400 MR prelims and subsequent seed in B finals took away any chance the Tigers had of a late climb back toward the top of the pile.

The 2009 SEC Champion Auburn 400 medley relay team was unable to secure a spot in Thursday night's A finals after it missed its previous top-time by over two seconds in preliminaries.  The team of Goh (52.64), Lawrence (1:00.59), Ohlgren (52.39) and Vanderpool-Wallace (47.77) clocked in at 3:33.39 to advance as the ninth seed on the psyche sheet.

The rearranged squad of McCawley (51.79), Lawrence (59.80), Dillette (52.48) and Geary (47.43) went on to take ninth, winning the B final with a 3:31.50.  Had the Tigers been in the A final, their time would have given them a fourth-place finish in the event.

The Tigers did not advance any divers as freshmen Anna Aguero and Vennie Dantin were narrowly edged out in NCAA Diving Zone qualification.

Action in the three-day meet continues Friday with prelims for the 200 MR, 400 IM, 100 fly, 200 free, 100 breast, 100 back, 800 FR and 3-meter springboard.

Cal: Golden Bears Sit in Third Place after First Day of NCAA Championship Competition
The California women’s swimming team had a very productive first day of competition, including a school record in the 200-yard freestyle at the 2009 NCAA Swimming Championships at the Student Rec Center Natatorium. Cal garnered 126 points – good enough to stand in third place after six events. Arizona leads the overall competition with 141.5 points, followed by Georgia with 133. Stanford is in fourth place with 105 points.
 
“We’re really pleased with our efforts tonight,” said head coach Teri McKeever. “We had three swimmers in the top-8 of the 50 free – the first time that has ever happened. You can’t say enough about the performances of the team tonight. Everyone is in good spirits and we want to be ready for another good day of competition tomorrow.”
 
California’s foursome of Liv Jensen, Hannah Wilson, Madison Kennedy and Dana Vollmer lowered their school record in the Championship final of the 200-yard freestyle relay with a second-place finish time of 1:26.48. The same foursome swam a then school-record 1:27.05 in the morning preliminaries.
 
Arizona barely edged the Golden Bear quartet with a winning time and NCAA record 1:26.20.
 
Freshman Sara Isakovic, who broke Natalie Coughlin’s 2003 record in the 500-yard freestyle in the morning prelims with a time of 4:36.79, placed fourth in the Championship final to earn All-America honors with a time of 4:37.79. Lauren Boyle reached the ‘B’ Consolation final and finished 11th with a personal-best time of 4:38.02 – good enough for honorable mention All-America honors. Isakovic’s fourth place finish was the highest for a Cal swimmer since Erin Reilly’s third place finish in 2006.
 
Blake Hayter garnered an overall 22nd-place finish in the 500 free with a personal-best time of 4:41.81, eclipsing her previous best time of 4:42.05 set in 2007.
 
Though she did not qualify for the Championship final, junior Heather White swam a personal-best time of 1:58.43 in the morning preliminaries of the 200-yard IM, surpassing her previous best time of 2:0046 set at the Pac-10 Championship.
 
Cal boosted its point total and added to its All-American count after having three swimmers in the Championship final of the 50-yard freestyle. Kennedy nearly broke her own school record (21.87) with a fifth-place showing of 21.94. Jensen touched the wall in seventh with a time of 22.17 and Wilson followed in eighth with a time of 22.35. Wilson set a personal-best time of 22.06 in the morning preliminaries.
 
The Bears only had one swimmer (Kennedy) reach the finals of the 50 free at last year’s NCAA Championship.
 
Tara Thomas, who didn’t reach the Championship final, did swim a personal-best mark of 22.47 in the 50 free prelims. Erica Dagg also swam in the prelims of the 50 free and clocked a time of 22.57. Lauren Rogers swam a time of 22.78.
 
In the final event of the evening, Cal garnered another 134 points with a second place finish in the 400-yard medley relay with a second place time of 3:30.27. The quartet of Rogers, Alexandra Ellis, Wilson and Vollmer nearly broke the school record time of 3:30.18 set in 2007. The Bears had a fifth place showing (with a time of 3:34.05) in the 400 medley relay at last year’s NCAA Championship.
 
The action continues on Friday with morning prelims beginning at 9:00 a.m. PT and finals starting at 5:00 p.m. PT. Friday’s slate include the 200-yard medley relay, the 400 IM, 100 butterfly, 200 freestyle, 100 breaststroke, 100 backstroke and 800 free relay.

UC Davis: KUCERA OPENS NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS FOR UC DAVIS
Junior Heidi Kucera swam the prelims of the 200-yard individual medley and became the first UC Davis swimmer to compete at the NCAA Division I Championships during the opening day of the event at the Student Rec Center Natatorium on the campus of Texas A&M.

Kucera went 2:01.12 in the event  to finish 54th overall. Kucera's time was her second-fastest in the event this season. She went 1:58.36 at the Big West Conference Championships to win the event in B-cut fashion.

Kucera returns tomorrow to compete in the 100 breaststroke. Prelim swims begin at 11 a.m. with finals set for 7 p.m.

UC Santa Barbara: May Earns Honorable Mention All-American honors on First Day of NCAA Championships
Junior Anne Marie May placed 15th in the 50 freestyle on Thursday evening, during the first day of the 2009 NCAA Swimming & Diving Championships, which are being held through Saturday at Texas A&M. The top-16 finish earned the junior Honorable Mention All-American honors, marking the fourth All-American honor of her career.

During the preliminary heats, May was unable to make the event’s finals, finishing tenth during the morning swim with a time of 22.13. In the event’s consolation final, May clocked in at 22.37 seconds, finishing 15th overall. Arizona’s Lara Jackson won the event in 21.40, a new NCAA meet record.

Last season, May took third in the event with a school record-setting time of 22.00. She broke her own record earlier this season at the Husky Invite, where she finished the event in 21.96 seconds.

May will be back in action tomorrow as the anchor leg in the Gauchos’ 200 medley relay and she will also swim in the 100 free on Saturday.

The Gaucho 400 medley relay team finished 19th overall during the morning’s prelims and missed making the evening’s final in the event. The team, which consisted of Naomi Javanifard, Sara Nicponski, Erin Yamamoto and May, finished in 3:38.74.

The Gauchos will continue action at the 2009 NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships on Friday. UCSB will have swimmers competing in the 200 medley relay and the 100 breaststroke during the second day of the meet.

Duke: Johnston Opens Competition At NCAA Championships
Duke’s Abby Johnston wasted no time in reaching the national stage in her collegiate career, as the freshman opened competition today at the 2009 NCAA Women’s Swimming & Diving Championships with just one season under her belt.
 
Johnston participated in the one-meter in the first day of the meet, finishing 37th overall in this afternoon’s preliminary competition with a six-dive score of 202.60.
 
Johnston is Duke’s first-ever diver to advance to the NCAA Championships.

Tomorrow will see her take to her strongest event, the three-meter springboard, after taking both the ACC and NCAA Zone B titles on the board earlier this season. Friday’s competition begins with prelims at 1:30 p.m., followed by finals at 7 p.m. All times are central. The top eight divers advance to finals, and the top 16 score and earn All-America status.
 
Sophomore freestyler Ashley Twichell was a scratch in today’s 500 free event, suffering from an illness. The 2008 All-America honoree will be back in time for Saturday’s 1650 free, the event in which she is ranked fourth in Division I and is the only Duke female in history to break 16 minutes.

Florida: Spofforth Captures UF Record, Finishes Fourth in 200 IM; Florida in 11th After Day One at NCAAs
Junior Gemma Spofforth (West Sussex, England) swam to a fourth-place finish in the 200-yard individual medley (1:54.73), re-setting her own UF record, as the Lady Gators stand in 11th place (43 points) following the first day of competition at the 2009 NCAA Championship Meet from the Student Rec Center Natatorium in College Station, Texas.

Spofforth held the lead through the breaststroke leg of the race when Stanford’s Julia Smit closed the gap in the eight-man field. Spofforth rallied for fourth place, setting a career-best mark in the event and improving her existing UF record (1:55.39) set at the 2009 SEC Championship meet. At last year’s NCAA meet in Columbus, Ohio, Spofforth placed 13th in the 200 IM.

In distance freestyle action, Florida’s Laurabeth Guenthner (Wellington, Fla.) competed in the consolation final of the 500-yard free, clocking a 4:42.76, 14th-place finish, improving from her 16th-place prelims seed.

The Gators’ 200-yard free relay, composed of junior Stephanie Napier (Chattanooga, Tenn.), Spofforth, and freshmen Lily Ramirez (Gainesville, Fla.) and Sarah Bateman (Orlando, Fla.) swam to a ninth-place tie in the consolation finals of the event, tying for first in the heat with the team from Wisconsin. The Gator quartet swam to a 1:29.21, the second-fastest time in UF history.

Florida closed out day one of competition with a 14th-place (3:33.75) finish in the 400-yard medley relay consolation final. The quartet, composed of Spofforth, freshman Lindsay Rogers (Fishers, Ind.), freshman Jemma Lowe (Hartlepool, England) and junior Liz Kemp (Potomac, Md.) improved upon their morning preliminary mark (3:33.79) with the swim.

Directly after competing in 1M diving preliminaries early Thursday afternoon, junior diver Kara Salamone (Hollywood, Fla.) hit the diving boards for the consolation final of the one-meter springboard. Salamone improved her score from the prelim round, achieving 289.65, good for a 14th-place finish overall in the event.

Indiana: Loukas Earns Silver at NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships
Senior Christina Loukas opened her final NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships on a high note, taking second in the one-meter springboard to lead the Hoosiers on day one of the meet at the Student Rec Center in College Station, Texas.

Indiana is currently in 12th place with 38 points. Arizona leads the way with 141.5 points, followed by Georgia (133), California (126), Stanford (105) and Auburn (91.5).

Loukas tallied 339.80 points in the one-meter final, her second-highest score in the event this season. She was just 11.35 points away from her first national title and will go after the three-meter title on Friday.

“It was a great performance,” said head diving coach Dr. Jeff Huber. “She was one dive away from winning it, but that is the way our sport is. I like how she competed and how she stepped up. I am excited about tomorrow based on what I saw today.”

The Hoosiers’ 400 medley relay team of Kate Zubkova, Sarah Stockwell, Donna Smailis and Margaux Farrell finished third in the consolation final and 11th overall with a time of 3:32.96 in the evening session. That is the second-fastest time in school history, just off the record of 3:31.26 the quartet set at the Big Ten Championships last month.

Zubkova led off with a time of 51.76 on her 100-yard backstroke leg, which is the fifth-fastest time in school history. In the morning session they finished fifth in their heat and 15th overall with a time of 3:34.63.
 
“We had a better night than we did a morning,” said head swimming coach Ray Looze. “But at NCAAs, the morning decide most of everything and we had a rough one, so it limited us to two things tonight. There is a lot of meet left. If we come in and have the kind of morning we are capable of having, we can get right back on track. But we have a long way to go.”

Sophomore Amanda Smith qualified for the consolation final of the 500 freestyle, placing 12th with a time of 4:40.83, the fifth-fastest time in school history and Smith’s second-fastest time as a Hoosier. Last season Smith placed 14th in the 500 free at the NCAA meet.

Smith had the best time of the morning for IU, touching the wall in 4:40.97 for fourth in her heat. Swimming in lane four in the seventh of nine heats, freshman Nikki White was fifth with a time of 4:42.19 and placed 25th overall. Freshman Brittany Strumbel went a lifetime best of 4:42.64 to finish fourth in her heat and 26th overall. Cassie Luhrsen finished eighth in her heat with a time of 4:51.26, placing 58th.

Zubkova finished second in her heat of the 200 IM with a lifetime best of 1:58.38, which is the third-fastest time in school history and put her 23rd overall. Donna Smailis took sixth in her heat with a time of 1:58.95 (32nd), while Ashley Jones was eighth in her heat, coming home in 1:59.89 (41st).

Brittney Feldman took fifth in the consolation final of the one-meter diving event and 13th overall. She tallied 290.35 points for her six-dive set in the consols. Loukas placed second in the morning prelims with a score of 316.40. Feldman placed 12th in the prelims with a score of 277.20. Making her first NCAA Championships appearance, freshman Gabby Agostino placed 22nd with a score of 265.95.


Kansas: Mertz Places Seventh to Become KU's First All-American Diver Since 1996
Kansas sophomore Erin Mertz earned All-American status with her seventh place finish on the one-meter board at the Swimming and Diving NCAA Championships in College Station, Texas Thursday night. Mertz scored 298.40 points.

Mertz became the first Jayhawk to earn All-American status since Kristin Nilsen accomplished the feat in 1998 with her 15th place performance in the 200 yard breaststroke. Mertz is the first diver to earn the honor since Michelle Rojohn won the three-meter diving event in 1996. The top eight divers at the NCAA Championships earn All-American status.

Mertz's 298.40 points on the one-meter board were the best by any Jayhawk diver this year. She qualified for the finals with a seventh-place finish earlier in the day when she tallied 284.35 points.

Houston's Anastasia Pozdniakova won the competition with 351.15 points. Kathryn Kelly of Texas finished with 300.10 points, just 1.70 points ahead of Mertz for sixth-place and the top finish from the Big 12 Conference.

On Friday, senior Maria Mayrovich will participate in the 200 yard freestyle and sophomore Iuliia Kuzhil will participate in her lone NCAA Championships event, the 100 yard backstroke. Mertz will dive on the three-meter board Friday and the platform on Saturday.

LSU: Women's Relay Earns Honorable Mention All-America Honors

The LSU women’s 200-yard freestyle relay foursome of Jane Trepp, Katie Gilmore, Monica McJunkin and Katherine Noland captured honorable mention All-America honors Thursday night in the opening session of the 2009 NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships in College Station, Texas.

After improving its school-record time with a mark of 1 minute, 29.09 seconds to take 10th in the preliminaries, the team swam a time of 1:29.31 to tie for third in the consolation final and place 11th overall.

McJunkin, a senior making her first NCAA appearance, spearheaded her squad with a pair of blistering 50-yard splits from the third leg of the relays in both the prelims and finals. The Charlotte, N.C., native recorded a split of 21.68 in the morning before swimming a 21.76, the second-fastest split of the consolation final, in the evening.

The Lady Tigers’ 400 medley relay squad finished 17th with a time of 3:38.09.

In individual racing, Trepp and Gilmore each placed in the top-35 of the 50 freestyle. Trepp finished 31st overall with a time of 22.55, just six one-hundredths of a second off her school-record mark, while Gilmore tied for 33rd-place with a new career best of 22.57, the second-fastest sprint in program annals.

Miami: Jenna Dreyer Finishes Eighth at NCAA Championships
University of Miami senior diver Jenna Dreyer finished in eighth place of the 1-meter springboard diving event Thursday evening, collecting her third career All-America honor in the NCAA Women’s Swimming & Diving National Championships at College Station, Texas.  This year’s event is hosted by Texas A&M University inside the Student Recreation Natatorium.
 
Dreyer, a fifth-year senior from Port Elizabeth, South Africa, was sidelined for the entire 2007-08 season with injury.  But she has bounced back with an amazing work ethic and determination in 2008-09, to continue the diving tradition instilled at the University of Miami under head coach Randy Ableman.
 
Dreyer finished the finals of the 1-meter springboard with a score of 296.25 to collect her third All-America award at UM.  She also received the award in 2005 and again in 2007 for the 1-meter event.  She would finish as an honorable mention All-American on the 3-meter springboard in 2007.
 
In the preliminaries of this year’s 1-m championship, Dreyer stood in eighth place after her final dive, posting a score of 282.70 in the round.  She would sit in sixth place after her first two dives of the finals, but remarkable performances by Anastasia Pozdniakova (Houston) and Christina Loukas (Indiana) allowed them to push the scores higher up the board, making room for Kathryn Kelly (Texas) to move ahead of Dreyer on her third attempt.
 
Pozdniakova, with a score of 351.15, took the title for the event, followed by Loukas (339.80) and Emma Friesen of Hawai’i (331.365) rounded out the top three performers in the event finals.
 
Brittany Viola, a junior diver for UM from Orlando, finished in 16th position after the preliminary rounds, forcing her into the consolation finals of the event.  After collecting a score of 270.55 in the prelims, Viola bounced back to net a 301.60 score in the consolation finals.  Viola would bounce back to finish second on the round.
 
A year ago, Viola finished seventh in the 1-meter springboard, earning All-American status in the process.
 
The diving action continues for the Hurricanes tomorrow as both Dreyer and Viola will take part in the 3-meter springboard event.

North Carolina: Whitney Sprague Snares ACC Record In 500-Yard Freestyle
Senior Whitney Sprague claimed first-team All-America status for the third straight year and regained the Atlantic Coast Conference record with a seventh-place finish in the 500-yard freestyle at the 2009 NCAA Division I Women’s Swimming and Diving Championships Thursday night at Texas A&M University.
 
It was the first time the senior from Bronxville, N.Y. has been a Top 8 finisher in the 500 free. She was a consolation finalist two years ago.  In the preliminaries, Sprague regained the school record in the event she had held until just last month as she attained the sixth seed in the championship field with a time of 4:38.72, beating her own career best of 4:41.09.  At the same time, she claimed the ACC record which teammate Katura Harvey had set at the ACC Championships last month at 4:39.12.
 
“Whitney was incredible this morning.  She had the fastest swim of her career and looked great in the water,”  said UNC Head Coach Rich DeSelm.  “Tonight she was out a little slower than this morning but she finished stronger at the end that she did in the prelims.  Nevertheless, she got the two best times of her career today and she was significantly faster than a month ago.
 
“I’m very proud of her. She has fought back hard to have these kind of swims on her first day of her last NCAA Championships. It’s been a long road for her since her knee surgery in November.  With this effort, she set herself up well for the mile on Saturday.”
 
Sprague went on to finish seventh in the championship final to earn the Tar Heels 12 team points. She was not quite able to equal her morning swim, going 4:40.06, but that was still more than a second faster than her previous best coming into the meet.
 
The Tar Heels started out the preliminary session with an 18th-place finish in the 200-yard freestyle relay as sophomore Rebecca Kane (22.46, just .06 off the school record in the 50-yard freestyle), junior Megan Steeves (22.42), junior Eliza Butts (22.61) and sophomore Katura Harvey (23.25) swam their way to a time of 1:30.74.
 
UNC had four swimmers in the preliminaries of the 500-yard freestyle led by Sprague’s brilliant prelim swim.  Other finishers were Katura Harvey in 33rd place at 4:44.42, freshman Katelyn Martin in 45th place at 4:4745 (just .24 of a second off her career best) and junior Ashley Howard in 50th place with a career best clocking of 4:48.16, eclipsing the time she achieved last month at the ACC Championships.
 
In the 200-yard individual medley, freshman Layne Brodie snared 34th place with a time of 1:59.10.
 
Sophomore Rebecca Kane came within one-tenth of a second of matching her career best time in the 50-yard freestyle as she finished in 22.51, placing 30th. Junior Megan Steeves was 59th in 23.02, just .32 short of a personal best.
 
Finally, the 400-yard medley relay team took 21st place in 3:38.94.  Steeves swam the backstroke leg in 54.62 (just .25 off her career best), Laura Moriarty swam the breaststroke leg in 1:00.82, Layne Brodie took over the butterfly leg in 54.60 and Rebecca Kane anchored the relay by going 48.90 in the freestyle leg.

Ohio: Bower Finishes 35th in 50 Free at NCAA Championships
Junior Chelsey Bower placed 35th of 63 in the 50 freestyle Thursday at the NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships hosted by Texas A&M University. Bower (Bethel Park, Pa.) became the first Bobcat to swim at the NCAA Championships since Kim van Selm did so in 2001.

Bower touched in  22.58 in her preliminary heat, just one-tenth of a second off her lifetime-best, school-record and qualifying time of 22.48, which she set in the prelims of the 50 free at the MAC Championships, an event she went on to win. The 2009 First Team All-Mid-American Conference selection entered the National Championships as the 38th seed, but improved three spots at the meet to finish 35th. Bower’s time was the third-fastest of seven swimmers from mid-major conferences, including Miami’s Alyson Schmidt, who placed 61st in a time of 23.15, the only other MAC swimmer in the event.

“Overall, we thought it was a solid first swim for her first NCAA Championships,” Ohio head coach Greg Werner said. “We were hoping for a lifetime best, but it was certainly a good performance and we got a lot of positives out of it. We felt like we could’ve made up a bit of time on the turn and she missed a bit on her touch, but she had a good start and closed strong.”

Bower did not qualify for tonight’s 50 free finals, which takes place at 8 p.m. ET (7 p.m. local), but will swim again Saturday, as she qualified for the NCAA Championships in the 100 free, as well. Lara Jackson, from the University of Arizona, swam the top prelim time in the 50 free with a 21.75 and will be the top seed in tonight’s 50 free finals.

“(Assistant coach) Brian (Peresie), who’s been working with Chelsey a lot, feels like he’s got her more geared for the 100 free, so we feel good about today and that she moved up a few spots based on her seed, but we hope she’s even better in the 100,” Werner said. “We’re excited for her prospects in 100 free.”

Bower swims in the 100 free Saturday, March 21, with the day’s prelims beginning at 12 p.m. ET (11 a.m. local) and the finals at 8 p.m. ET (7 p.m. local). She enters the 100 free meet as the 41st seed, after swimming a school-record time of 49.16 in the MAC 100 free finals Feb. 28, where she finished second, just .18 out of first. Seventy swimmers will compete for the 100 free NCAA crown, with only seven hailing from mid-majors, including Miami's Schmidt.

Senior Jenny Lewis Takes 51st-Place Finish in Day One of NCAA Championships
After a record-setting performance at the Big West Championships solidified her a spot to compete in the NCAA Championships, senior Jenny Lewis (Hesperia, Calif.) turned in a 51st-place finish among the nation's elite swimmers on Thursday, March 19.

Lewis, who qualified with a seed of 22.46, could not match her school-best time in the event and finished with a 22.81 time. That was only .01 of a second shy of tying for 49th place, as Megan Pulskamp and Rachel Goh from Kentucky and Auburn, respectively, turned in a 22.80 finish.

63 women competed in the preliminary heat of the event.

Lewis is back to the pool on Friday, March 20, when she will compete in the 100 Back.

USC: HOSSZU, ISHIMATSI, SONI, LAHEY, WALLER EARN ALL-AMERICAN HONORS FOR USC ON FIRST DAY OF 2009 NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS
A pair of freshmen – Katinka Hosszu and Victoria Ishimatsu – became individual All-Americans while Hosszu and seniors Kristen Lahey, Rebecca Soni and Rachael Waller turned in the two fastest 400y medley relays in school history to lead No. 10 USC on the first day of finals at the 2009 NCAA Women’s Swimming and Diving Championships on Thursday (March 19) at Texas A&M’s Student Rec Center Natatorium in College Station, Texas.

USC, under third-year head coach Dave Salo, is in eighth after the first day with 57 points. Defending champion Arizona is in first (141.5) and is followed by Georgia (133), Cal (126), Stanford (105), Auburn (91.5), Texas (75), Texas A&M (57), USC, Wisconsin (46.5) and Tennessee (46).

Hosszu became the first Trojan woman to final in the 500 free since Kaitlin Sandeno in 2003 (though Kalyn Keller also reached the final of the 400m free  in 2004). She finished eighth in 4:40.20 after going 4:38.52 in prelims, the second-fastest time ever for a Trojan. Keller holds the record (4:37.76).

Ishimatsu became the seventh different diver under USC 10th-year head diving coach Hongping Li to earn All-American honors when she finished fifth on 1-meter with 3:04.45. She qualified for the final by taking fourth in prelims.

Lahey, Soni, Hosszu and Waller finished third in the championship final of the 400 medley relay in 3:30.67 as part of a four-school sweep by the Pac-10. Arizona won the race (3:28.31), Cal was second (3:30.27) and Stanford was fourth (3:31.97). It was Troy’s best finish since a second in the event in 2006.

The same Trojan quartet of swimmers broke the school record in prelims, smashing the short-lived, three-week-old standard (set at the 2009 Pac-10s in a title-winning swim) in 3:30.59.

Lahey got off the relay to a big start by breaking her school record in the 100 back. She led off the race in 51.71, going under the 52.15 she set at the 2009 Pac-10 Championships.

Lahey broke a third school record in prelims in the 50 free. Though she missed qualifying for a second swim by 0.02 (finishing 18th overall), her time of 22.27 broke her previous mark of 22.38, also set at the 2009 Pac-10s.

Also in prelims, senior Katy Houston just missed earning a second swim in the 200 IM, finishing 17th in 1:57.40, setting a personal best. It was her best NCAA finish of her career and bodes well for her prospects in her better events, the 100 and 200 breast.

Sophomore Ellie Doran, in her NCAA debut, was 63rd in the 500 free (4:54.06). Soni, the defending champion in the 100 and 200 breaststroke, warmed up in the 200 IM, taking 39th (1:59.66).

The meet continues Friday and Satuday with prelims at 11 a.m. and finals at 7 p.m.

SMU: Mustang Relays Earn Points At NCAA Championships
SMU women's swimming and diving collected two points for their efforts in the 200 free and 400 medley relays at NCAA Championships held in the Student Rec Natatorium in College Station, Texas on Thursday, March 19.

A 200 free relay team of senior Candace Blackman, senior Petra Klosova, sophomore Sascha Van den Branden and sophomore Elzanne Werth clocked a `B' final time of 1:30.95 for an eighth place finish. In prelims, the Mustangs swam a season-best 1:29.85.

In the final event of the night, SMU placed eighth in the 400 medley relay `B' final, with freshman Therese Svendsen, junior Devon Callaghan, Werth, and Klosova touching in at 3:36.69.

In other NCAA action, Van den Branden and Blackman swam in the 50 free prelims, while sophomore Audra Egenolf and junior Britney Yancey dove in the one-meter springboard prelims.

Stanford: JULIA SMIT LOWERS OWN AMERICAN RECORD AND WINS 2009 NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP IN 200 IM
Stanford junior Julia Smit continued her remarkable run in IM events this evening, winning the 2009 NCAA championship in the 200 IM with a time of 1:52.79 – a swim that lowered her own American, U.S. Open and NCAA record by .32-second.  Smit is now a two-time NCAA champion, as she won the 400 IM as a sophomore in 2008.

Behind Smit’s championship effort and a pair of top-five relays, Stanford finished day one of the 2009 NCAA Women’s Swimming and Diving Championships in fourth place with 105 points.  Arizona is in the lead with 141.5 points after six events, while second-place Georgia (133 points), third-place California (126) and fifth-place Auburn (91.5) round out the top five.  The meet is being held at the Student Recreation Center Natatorium on the campus of Texas A&M University.

“We were really excited about the first day,” said fourth-year Stanford head coach Lea Maurer.  “We got a scoring swim in every event, and swam better in the night than the morning, which we hope to continue for the next few days.  I definitely think it’s one of the best nights we’ve had since I’ve been here, and we’re going to build on it going forward.”

Smit’s victory broke a three-way tie with Auburn and Florida for the most-ever NCAA championships in the 200 IM, as Stanford now has seven all-time titles in the event.  Smit captured Stanford’s first 200 IM crown since Olympic gold medalist Jenny Thompson in 1995, while the junior sensation also joins Susan Rapp (1986), Janel Jorgensen (1990) and Summer Sanders (1991-92) among the pantheon of Cardinal champions in the event.

Smit’s epic race featured an opening 50-yard butterfly split of 25.08 seconds, followed by a time of 28.42 in the backstroke, a 32.26 in the breaststroke and a closing freestyle leg of 27.03.

“Julia had just a spectacular swim,” commented Maurer.  “She is definitely carrying the big burden, and to do it with an American record is phenomenal.”

Stanford set a school record in the 200 freestyle relay en route to a solid fourth-place finish.  The foursome of Smit, sophomore Kate Dwelley, junior Elaine Breeden and freshman Sam Woodward touched the wall in 1:27.62 in the 200 free relay to break that same group’s previous mark of 1:28.01.  Smit swam the leadoff leg in 21.91 seconds to set Stanford’s all-time standard for the 50 free, breaking a tie she had held with Catherine Fox (22.01).

The Cardinal 400 medley relay narrowly missed another school record in the final event of the day, posting a fourth-place time of 3:31.97 that was just .23-second off the school mark set in 2002.  Freshman Betsy Webb swam the leadoff backstroke leg, followed by sophomore Liz Smith (breast), Breeden (fly) and Smit (free).

Stanford’s two freshmen earned their first All-America honors on the meet’s opening day.  Woodward became an All-American in her very first event when she helped the 200 free relay to a fourth place finish, then won the consolation heat of the 50 free with a time of 22.16.  Webb’s effort in the 400 medley relay garnered the first All-America honor of her career.

“It’s a tribute not only to our freshmen, but also to the leadership of the upperclassmen,” offered Maurer.  “The upperclassmen are really building a culture of winning, and breeding a lot of confidence.  Our veterans have created a culture that freshmen can excel in the biggest championship meets, and Betsy and Sam came out and had a terrific opening night.”

Junior Whitney Spence also provided the Cardinal with a first-day highlight, earning her third career All-America honor – but first in an individual event - by placing 15th in the 500 free with a time of 4:43.79.  In addition, Spence’s time of 4:40.76 in the preliminaries moves her up to fourth on Stanford’s all-time top-10 athletes list.

Breeden added three more All-America honors to her career total this evening, swimming on both Stanford fourth-place relays and finishing fifth in the 200 IM with a time of 1:54.80.

The 2009 NCAA Women’s Swimming and Diving Championships will continue tomorrow, with the morning preliminaries beginning at 9:00 a.m. PT (11:00 a.m. CT) and the evening finals starting at 5:00 p.m. PT (7:00 p.m. CT).  Eight events will be contested tomorrow – the 200 medley relay, 400 IM, 100 fly, 200 free, 100 breast, 100 back, 3-meter diving and the 800 free relay.

Tennessee: King Breaks Own Record, Finishes Third In 50 Free During NCAA Day 1 Finals
Junior Michele King lowered her own Lady Vol record and placed third in the 50 free on Thursday night at the 2009 NCAA Swimming & Diving Championships at the Student Recreation Center Natatorium.
 
The York, Pa., native’s time of 21.82 bettered her runner-up performance (21.86) at the 2008 NCAA meet. King finished just behind Georgia’s Anne-Marie Botek (21.80) and Arizona’s Lara Jackson (21.40).
 
She was second to Jackson at last season’s national meet, and tied Botek for the “splash and dash” title at the 2009 SEC Championships.
 
Her performance makes her the 11th fastest of all-time in the event.
 
“Michele put a lot of heart into her race,” Lady Vol head coach Matt Kredich said. “Her last quarter was phenomenal, she’s just ran out of room. She’s had some trouble with her starts, but she finishes so well. It’s great to get her best time, though. And we’re certainly not disappointed in third-place.”
 
King also earned All-America honors on both the 400y medley and 200y free relays.
 
King joined classmate Jamie Saffer, freshman Jenny Connolly and sophomore Morgan Farrell on the 400y medley relay that finished eighth in the finals with a time of 3:34.71. In the prelims, the team of King, Saffer, Connolly and sophomore Tricia Weaner broke the UT record with a time of 3:32.61.
 
The 200y free relay finished 13th in a time of 1:29.51. Joining King on the relay and earning All-America honors were Connolly and seniors Katie Gehring and Brittany Nauta.
 
“The 200 free relay was better tonight,” Kredich said. “It was good to move up a couple of spots. We had to make some changes in the 400 free relay, and we had a couple of good legs from Morgan Farrell and Jamie Saffer. All in all, today was good start to the meet. We had some solid efforts.”
 
For Gehring, it was the first All-America award of her career, and for Nauta her fifth.
 
King collected three All-America awards to give her 13 for her career, while Connolly snagged the first two All-America certificates of her career. Saffer and Farrell each earned their second All-America honors.
 
The top-16 finishers in each event earn All-America honors, with the consolation final heat participants (places nine through 16) being designated as Honorable Mention All-Americans.
 
Arizona smashed two NCAA and American records en route to winning the 200 free relay (1:26.20) and the 400y medley relay (3:28.31).
 
The Wildcats lead the meet after one day of competition with 141.5 points. Georgia is second (133), while California third (126). Tennessee is currently 10th with 46 points, one spot ahead of SEC Champion Florida (43).


Texas: Hersey takes second in 200 IM at NCAA Championships
Headed by a second-place finish from freshman Kathleen Hersey in the 200-yard individual medley, No. 3 Texas secured four All-America finishes on day one of the 2009 NCAA Women’s Swimming and Diving Championships Thursday evening at Texas A&M’s Student Rec Center Natatorium. 
 
The Longhorns ended the first of three days at the NCAA Championships in sixth place with 75 points.  Arizona leads with 141.5 points, and Georgia holds second at 133.  California is in third with 126 points, and Stanford is in fourth at 126.  Auburn holds fifth at 91.5. 

Hersey broke the school record in the 200 IM for the fifth time this season when she took second in 1:53.33, behind only Julia Smit, the incumbent American record holder who rewrote her American mark once more in 1:52.79.  Hersey’s swim was the 25th school record-setting performance by a Longhorn relay or individual this season.  The performance marked Hersey’s first individual All-America honor as a Longhorn. 

UT’s 200 freestyle relay, which took the last finals spot available during the morning preliminary round, moved up three spots to finish fifth in a new school record time of 1:28.11.  Freshman Karlee Bispo opened in 22.10 before senior Hee-Jin Chang split 21.50 on the second leg.  Sophomore Brie Powers picked up the third leg in 22.39 before freshman Katie Riefenstahl anchored in 22.12.  The relay eclipsed its own school record of 1:28.75 set in the preliminary round.   

Chang, the eighth qualifier for the 50 freestyle finals, finished in sixth overall at 22.12 to land her first individual All-America finish.  Arizona’s Lara Jackson was victorious in 21.40.  Senior diver Kathryn Kelly secured her third consecutive All-America finish in the one-meter event, where she totaled 300.10 points for sixth place. 

The Longhorns ended the evening by breaking a school record for a 26th time this season, this time in the 400 medley relay.  Riefenstahl led off in 52.95, and sophomore Carlye Ellis picked up the breaststroke in 1:01.67.  Hersey picked up the butterfly in 51.03, and Bispo anchored in 48.12, as the relay finished in 15th overall at 3:33.77.

Texas A&M: Aggies in Seventh Place at NCAA Championships
The Texas A&M women’s swimming & diving team is in seventh place after the first of three days of action at the NCAA Championships being held at the Student Rec Center Natatorium this weekend.
 
The Aggies scored 71 points in breaking three school records on Thursday and are just four points shy of Big 12 rival Texas who sits in sixth. Defending national champion Arizona sits in first place, holding a small lead over Georgia, 141.5-133. California is third with 126 and Stanford is fourth with 105. Auburn is fifth with 91.5.
 
“It was a very good first day for us,” A&M head coach Steve Bultman said. “I was pleased with the way we swam and competed. On paper, we weren't supposed to score in the 500 free and the 200 IM and we were able to score points in both. We broke three school records, including two relays, so we're off to a good start.”
 
A&M scored a large chunk of their points in the first event of the evening, the 200-yard freestyle relay. The group of Maria Sommer (Brenham), Marissa Jasek (San Antonio), Sarah Woods (Birmingham, Ala.) and Triin Aljand (Tallinn, Estonia) set a school record twice on Thursday, going 1:28.25 in prelims then dropping to 1:28.14 in a sixth-place finish that earned the team 26 points. The group of four has recorded the five fastest times in A&M history together.
 
Senior Triin Aljand ended her 50-yard freestyle career at Texas A&M by lowering the school record in the event one last time. Aljand cracked the 21-second barrier legally for the first time ever, hitting the wall in 21.93 for a career-best fourth-place NCAA Championship finish. The 20-time All-American equaled the prior school record of 22.02 in preliminaries to swim the two fastest times in A&M history on the same day.
 
Sophomore diver Jaele Patrick (Lilydale, Victoria, Australia) earned a ninth-place finish in the first NCAA Championship event of her career. Patrick totaled a score of 281.30 during preliminaries, missing the final by just 1.4 points. Patrick’s score ascended significantly in the consolation final, holding her ninth-place position after improving by more than 20 points to 304.85.
 
A&M’s quartet of Lindsey King (Beaverton, Ore.), Alia Atkinson (Pembroke Pines, Fla.), Triin Aljand, and Christine Marshall (Newport News, Va.) smashed the A&M record in the 400-yard medley relay. The group hit the wall in 3:31.86, clipping more than two full seconds off the prior mark. Their evening time was so fast that, had they advanced to the championship final, they would have placed fourth however the Aggies’ time of 3:34.16 in prelims still ranks as the third-fastest time in school history.
 
Two Aggie seniors recorded the second and third-fastest 500-yard freestyle times in school history swimming in the same morning prelim heat. Codie Hansen (Arlington) and Christine Marshall went one-two in their heat, clocking times of 4:40.16 and 4:40.40, respectively, to qualify for the consolation final. Marshall claimed fifth at night in 4:42.19 while Hansen was eighth in 4:43.98.
 
Olympian Alia Atkinson (Pembroke Pines, Fla.) was the final qualifier for the consolation final of the 200-yard individual medley. Atkinson smashed her career best of 1:59.44 set less than three weeks ago in Missouri by going 1:57.31 during morning prelims. Atkinson clocked a time of 1:58.84 at night but moved up one spot from the morning rankings to claim 15th-place overall.
 
“It's exciting to have the meet here in our home pool,” Bultman said. “It's such great exposure for our team, the athletic department, and the university. Obviously our team is trying to do things to get noticed, but hosting one of the fastest meets in the world in back-to-back weeks speaks volumes for our facilities and for our athletic departments which bids on these events."
 
Day two at the NCAA Championships begin with preliminaries at 11 a.m. Finals are scheduled for 7 p.m.