200 Medley Relay -- Stanford leads from start to finish, winning in a time of 1:34.95. Tennessee (1:35.32) used strong breast and free legs to take second ahead of SEC rivals Florida (1:35.42), Texas A&M (1:35.59), and Georgia (1:35.98). Texas (1:36.69), Virginia (1:37.21) and N.C. State (1:37.73) wrapped up the big girl heat in that order. Standout splits included a 23.56 from Stanford's Felicia Lee on back, 22.71 on fly from Florida's Ellese Zalewski and 21.29 from Florida's Natalie Hinds.
Consolation Final -- Indiana (24.13) with the lead over Michigan (24.29) on leg 1. USC grabs the lead at the midpoint thanks to a smoking 25.7 breast leg from Kasey Carlson. They were followed by Michigan and Indiana. That stays the same until the final leg. USC wins in 1:36.20 followed by Indiana (1:37.30), Arizona (1:37.39) and Michigan (1:37.49).
Following this race, Georgia has opened up a 217-176 lead over Stanford while Cal (126) is only five points ahead of USC (121) and 9.5 points ahead of Texas A&M (116.5).
400 Individual Medley -- Texas A&M's Cammile Adams pulls into the lead after the fly (54.99) followed by Georgia's Melanie Margalis (55.12) and Stanford's Maya DiRado (55.85). DiRado takes the lead after the back with Florida's Elizabeth Beisel now second and Adams third. Beisel takes a slim lead after the breast ahead of DiRado and Margalis. DiRado (3:58.12) takes down the defending champ Beisel (3:58.84) with a great freestyle leg with Margalis third (4:00.30). Texas A&M earns big points with Sarah Henry (4:02.88) and Adams (4:03.16) grabbing the fourth and fifth slots. Georgia's Amber McDermott (4:05.16), USC's Stina Gardell (4:07.34) and Cal's Celina Li (4:08.02) wrap up the top eight.Consolation Final -- A tight race through the fly leg has Georgia's Hali Flickinger (55.85) ahead of UNC's Carolyn Blalock (56.25) and Stanford's Andie Taylor (56.73). Those three remain on top halfway through with Flickinger leading in 1:57.83. Taylor (1:58.64) and Blalock (1:58.76) switch spots. Georgia's Nicole Vernon (3:09.61) grabs the lead with Blalock second (3:09.91) heading into the free leg with Penn State's Gabrielle Shishkoff now in third (3:10.12). Vernon wins the race in 4:05.88 with Flickinger second (4:06.18) and Shishkoff third (4:06.85).
Georgia now leads Stanford 262-199 with Texas A&M now third with 145.5 points. Cal ranks fourth with 137 while USC is fifth (133).
100 Butterfly -- Stanford just confirmed itself as the 'it' team this year as they win their third event in three attempts. Felicia Lee (50.89) closes like the champ she is to edge out Louisville sophomore Kelsi Worrell (51.09) and SMU freshman Marnie Erasmus (51.10). Erasmus crushed the first half of the race in 23.52 but ceded the lead in the final 25. UCSB senior Andrea Ward (51.47) takes fourth followed by Florida senior Ellese Zalewski (51.50), Cal's Cindy Tran (51.64), Princeton's Elizabeth Boyce (51.66) and Cal freshman Farida Osman (52.25).
Consolation Final -- Small schools reign supreme as Denver's Sam Corea (51.62) wins over Liberty's Jessica Reinhardt (51.72) and UNLV's Katelyne Herrington (51.90). Missouri's Danielle Barbiea (52.06) held the lead at the 50 but faded to fifth on the back half.
Stanford cuts Georgia's lead from 262-219 while Cal (162) moves back into third. Texas A&M leads USC for fourth, 145.5-133. Florida has had a great night so far and is creeping up on the field with 120 points while Tennessee (108) is the seventh team over the 100-point barrier.
200 Freestyle -- Holy crap. Missy Franklin (1:40.31) just proved why she is the real deal with one of the most overpowering NCAA championship wins in recent memory. Franklin lopped nearly a full second off the former NCAA record (Megan Romano, 1:41.21, 2012) and eclipsed the field, which included one of her Olympic gold medalist 800 free relay teammates, by nearly two seconds. Said teammate, Georgia's Shannon Vreeland (1:42.26) held Tennessee senior Lindsay Gendron (1:42.55) for second place. Vreeland's teammate Brittany MacLean (1:43.30), who beat Franklin in the 500 last night, placed fourth and was followed by Penn State's Alyson Ackman (1:43.81), Texas A&M's Lili Ibanez (1:43.30), Cal's Caroline Piehl (1:43.98), and Georgia's Jordan Mattern (1:44.76).
Consolation Final -- Stanford just keeps rolling as Lia Neal (1:43.82) drops the hammer on the final 50 to get the win over USC's Chelsea Chenault (1:44.25) and Cal's 1:44.47. Cal's Elizabeth Pelton built her speed over the first three 50's but faded on the final one to finish fourth in 1:44.59.
With five swimmers scoring in the 200 free, Georgia increases their lead over Stanford, 305-228 with Cal (209) now comfortably third. A&M leads USC 158.5-140 for fourth.
100 Breaststroke -- This one looked to perhaps be in question after a 'pedestrian' prelim swim but Texas A&M's Breeja Larson proved that she is indeed the best there is in the 100 breaststroke with her second American record this year, winning in a time of 57.23. Wisconsin-Milwaukee senior Emily McClellan (57.76 ) and Notre Dame's Emma Reaney (57.79) both gave Larson a run for her money, becoming only the second and third women ever to go sub-58 today, but in the end Larson ended her incredible 100 breast career with a third straight NCAA title. USC's Kasey Carlson, who smoked a 25.7 50 breast earlier in the session finished fourth in 58.47 and was followed by Stanford's Katie Olsen (58.70), Tennessee's Molly Hannis (59.66), Alabama's Kaylie Burchell (59.84) and SMU's Tara Lynn Nicholas (1:00.44).
Consolation Final -- Indiana's Bronwyn Pasloski (59.39) wins a super-tight finish over Stanford's Sarah Haase (59.56) and Missouri freshman Katharine Ross (59.58). Unbelievably, this was the first race of the night in which a Stanford swimmer did not win when one was entered.
Georgia maintains a 306-249 lead over Stanford while Cal is holding off Texas A&M for third, 209-182.5. USC leads Tennessee for fifth, 155-137.
100 Backstroke -- In a race that had everyone looking at the scoreboard to see who won, Texas A&M senior Paige Miller defeated two-time Cal NCAA champ Cindy Tran on literally THE last stroke into the wall to win her first NCAA title by a miniscule 50.77 to 50.81 margin. This race marked only the second time at this meet in six races that Stanford's Felecia Lee DIDN'T win an NCAA title as she finished third in 50.91. Indiana sophomore Brooklyn Snodgrass (51.05) took fourth followed by Virginia's Courtney Bartholomew (51.12), Cal's Melanie Klaren (51.32), Florida Gulf Coast's Kira Toussaint and Auburn's Emily Bos (51.84).
Consolation FInal -- This race has plenty of names that seem like they should be in the big girl final. Georgia's Olivia Smoliga outlasts Florida's Sinead Russell, 51.47 to 51.82 while last year's champ Rachel Bootsma takes third in 51.85.
Heading into the diving break, Georgia holds a 315-265 lead over Stanford with Cal (245) third and a suddenly hot Texas A&M team (202.5) fourth. USC is nearly 50 points back with 155 points with Tennessee (137) and Florida (132) nipping at their heels.
Three-Meter Diving
Round 1
Just when you thought Georgia was taking a break, here they come again. Laura Ryan (67.50) grabs the lead over Purdue's Michelle Cabassol (60.75). Maren Taylor of Texas is in a tie for third with prelim winner Kaixuan Chang of Southern Illinois at 60 points each while Kentucky's Christa Cabot is tied with Illinois State's Wenting Zhang for fifth (58.80). Michaela Butler of UMass (56.70) and Emma Ivory-Ganja of Texas (54) round out the top eight.
Round 2
Ryan (136.50) continues to lead while SIU's Zhang (130.50) jumps from a tie for third into second. Maren Taylor (127.50) holds third on her own ahead of Cabassol (118.35) who slides from second to fourth. Kentucky's Cabot (116.20)stays fifth while Ivory-Ganja (114.45) jumps two spots to sixth. Butler (112.70) stays seventh while Illinois State's Zhang (102.20) slips to eighthRound 3
Ryan (205.50) maintains her lead with Taylor (201) moving up into the second slot. Butler (185.50) jumps from seventh to third with a big dive while SIU's Zhang (183.30) slides from second to fourth. Ivory-Ganja (177.45) jumps up another spot to fifth while Cabassol (175.75) slides two spots to sixth. Cabot (168) falls from fifth to seventh while ISU's Zhang (156.80) remains in eighth.
Round 4
Ryan (275.25) opens up a sizable lead on Taylor (259.80) while SIU's Zhang (257.70) moves up a spot into third. Cabassol (243.25) rebounds from sixth to fourth as Ivory-Ganja (236.25) remains in fifth. Butler (234.70) slides back down from third to sixth while ISU's Zhang (225.65) gets out of the eighth spot now occupied by Cabot (217.50).
Round 5
It appears to be all but over for Ryan (351.75) with only Taylor (327.30) the only diver in the field even remotely close to her. SIU's Zhang (322.20) remains third ahead of Cabassol (302.05) who is barely ahead of Butler (301.90). ISU's Zhang (296.70) moves up a spot for the second straight round while Ivory-Ganja (287.25) slides two spots to seventh. Cabot (252.50) is now entrenched in eighth.
Round 6
Georgia;s Laura Ryan (423,15) locks up Diver of the Meet honors as the NCAA springboard queen with a victory over Maren Taylor of Texas (399.30). Kaixuan Zhang of Southern Illinois takes third (385.20) ahead of Michelle Cabassol of Purdue (370.65). Michalea Butler of UMass (369.40) puts on another strong performance for fifth, finishing ahead of Wenting Zhang of Illinois State (363.90), Emma Ivory-Ganja of Texas (354.75) and Christa Cabot of Kentucky (293).
Consolation Final
Round 1
Arizona State's Hailey Casper (66.15) grabs the lead over Virginia Tech's Kaylea Arnett (61.20) with Minnesota's Meg Keefer third (57.60). Tori Lamp of Tennesse sits in fourth (55.20) while Murphy Bromberg of Texas, Haley Ishimatsu of USC, Cassie Weil of LSU sit in a three-way tie for fifth (54) while En-Tien Huang of Nevada starts in eighth (37.20).
Round 2 -
Casper (124.95) continues to lead while Lamp (122.70) jumps from fifth to second. Keefer (120.60) holds onto third with Weil (113.40) improving from fifth to fourth. Arnett (108.45) slides from second to fifth while Ishimatsu (104.40) drops a spot to sixth. Bromberg (99) falls from fifth to seventh while Huang (91.20) remains in eighth.
Round 3 -
Lamp (188.50) takes the lead with Keefer (183.60) and Weil (182) bumping up a spot as well. Casper (179.55) slides from first to fourth while Arnett (169.35) holds at fifth. The rest of the top eight remains in the same position as the last round: Ishimimatsu sixth (167.40), Bromberg seventh (157.60) and Huang eighth (149.70).
Round 4 -
Lamp (245.20) holds onto the lead but Casper (244.05) comes storming back up the charts. Keefer (243.80) and Weil (238) slide back into third and fourth while the bottom four stay the same for the third straight round: Arnett fifth (229.55), Ishimatsu sixth (221.15), Bromberg seventh (209.10), and Huang eighth (194.70).
Round 5 -
Keefer (303.80) grabs the lead for the first time while Arnett (301.55) bumps herself from fifth to second. Lamp (299.90) slides two spots to third while Weil (298.20) holds firm in fourth. Casper (281.55) slides four spots after a balk in the this round. The last three remain the same as they have since round two: Ishimatsu sixth (278.75), Bromberg seventh (259.50) and Huang eighth (248.70).
Round 6 -
Minnesota's Meg Keefer (368.60) wins the three-meter consolation final in her home pool over Virginia Tech's Kaylea Arnett (366.05) with Tennessee's Tori Lamp third (360.70). LSU's Cassie Weil (357.64) finishes ahead of USC's Haley Ishimatsu (347.60) for fourth while early leader Hailey Casper of Arizona State (335.55) is sixth. Murphy Bromberg of Texas (307.10) and En-Tien Huang of Nevada (299.10) round out the scoring.
800 Freestyle
Finals Heat 1
Virginia takes the early lead (1:44.54) ahead of Tennessee (1:44.59) and Arizona (1:44.62). At the halfway point, Virginia (3:29.89) continues to excel while Penn State (3:31.07) has moved into second with Arizona (3:31.45) still in third. This race appears to be Virginia's (5:15.95) to lose as Penn State (5:18.73) and Arizona (5:19.05) continue to slip off the pace. Changes abound on the final leg but Virginia (7:01.81) does indeed pick up the win. North Carolina (7:05.98) jumps all the way up to second while Tennessee (7:06.50) ascends to third.
Finals Heat 2
Georgia (1:43.10) jumps out to the early lead ahead of USC (1:44.92) and Minnesota (1:45.44). Georgia (3:27.91) continues to lead but barely as a hot Maya DiRado nearly catches the Bulldogs at the halfway point for Stanford (3:28.16). Cal starts creeping up too as they now rank third (3:29.28). Stanford (5:12.37) catches Georgia (5:12.43) with Cal (5:14.86) still trailing but here comes Missy... And came she did. Franklin drops a 1:40.08 anchor leg for Cal (6:54.94) to catch both Georgia (6:55.09) and Stanford (6:55.62) in one whale of a capper to a great night. There proved to be a huge gap between third and fourth with USC (7:00.18) proving to be the best of the rest. Virginia's (7:01.81) heat 1 win placed them fifth overall ahead of Minnesota (7:02.43), Texas A&M (7:02.66) and Florida (7:03.83).
At the end of the day, Georgia is up 369-297 over Stanford with Cal (285) third and Texas A&M fourth (226.5). USC (189) seems firmly entrenched in fifth while Tennessee (155) and Florida (154) are in quite the battle for sixth. Texas (119) is currently in eighth followed by Minnesota (91.5) while Arizona and Virginia are tied for 10th with 84 points.
QUOTES FROM:
Felicia Lee, Stanford, 100-yard butterfly champion and member of 200-yard medley relay championship team
Maya DiRado, Stanford, 400-yard IM champion
Missy Franklin, California, 200-yard freestyle champion and member of 800-yard freestyle relay championship team
Breeja Larson, Texas A&M, 100-yard breaststroke champion
Paige Miller, Texas A&M, 100-yard backstroke champion
Laura Ryan, Georgia, 3-meter diving champion
Felicia Lee, Senior, Stanford
On her win in the 100-yard butterfly…
We started the night with a win in the 200-yard medley relay and Maya (DiRado) won the 400-yard IM, so we were really building momentum and everyone was getting really excited. When I stepped up for the 100 fly, I could feel the energy from my team and I just went out there and had the best swim I could’ve had.
On her training to swim in three events in one night…
I knew that today I would have a triple, and best-case scenario, I would be at my 12th race today. So, we trained really, really hard to get me strong enough to finish all of those races and still be able to compete with the best in the NCAA.
Maya DiRado, Senior, Stanford
On how it felt to win the 400-IM…
It felt great…about as good as a 400 IM can feel. I felt really strong coming back at the end, so that was really exciting. When you touch and see your time is in first place all of the pain goes away.
On winning the event against the strong field at NCAAs…
I have been racing (Elizabeth) Beisel for a while in the 400 IM, so it’s always fun to come out on top. She is such a great competitor and you know that when you are racing her it’s going to be a good time. So, it was nice to get my hand on the wall first.
On placing first after finishing in second and third the last few years…
It’s perfect. It’s exactly the way I want to go out as a senior and it is a good sign as to where this program is going. I just couldn’t ask for more.
Missy Franklin, Freshman, California
On posting an American record 1:40.31 to win the 200-yard freestyle…
I am so excited. I feel relieved. But, when I use the word relieved, you may think that it means I’m glad for it to be over, but I am definitely not glad for it to be over. I absolutely loved every second of it. It was an awesome heat and I just wanted to get out there for my girls.
On if she felt 100-percent all the way through the race…
I felt pretty good the whole way through. I knew that if I wanted to go for 1:40, which is what I really wanted to do, I was going to have to take it out really fast and then hold the best that I could.
On the fast time in her split on the 800-freestyle relay…
I was really happy with that. That was an incredible relay to be part of. Being the anchor, I knew that I had to do whatever I could to help us catch up, and for us to come back and win after a bit of a rough morning was really great for our team.
Breeja Larson, Senior, Texas A&M
About how special her victory was…
I honestly have to thank Steve for everything. He came to me right before the race, and I was really nervous, but he told me I have to finish the second half of the race strong. I have been working on it all four years, and I could not have done this without Steve Bultman.
About being a senior and leader on the team…
This team has made it so easy to lead because everyone is so spirited and comes in here to fight. It means a lot to me to be able to lead this team with Sarah Henry and Cammile Adams and my other fellow captains. I feel like together we have put together a really good team this year. Hopefully we will have the best finish that Texas A&M has ever had.
Paige Miller, Senior, Texas A&M
About the turning point of her race…
Definitely the last turn. It always comes down to the last turn, especially with Felicia (Lee of Stanford) and Cindy (Tran of California) beside me. They were all under water and I just tried to stay under longer than they would. I felt really good. I was 50.7 on the relays last night so I knew I could do it.
About the closeness of the team…
It has meant the world to me. Our team has grown together and raced together every day. I do this for them more than myself. You saw them all there when I won and that means everything to me.
Laura Ryan, Senior, Georgia
On if she thought she would win back-to-back diving events in her home pool…
1-meter diving isn’t really my event, so that was definitely a surprise yesterday. But, today was the one that I have been working for all season and I knew I could do it if I really just stayed focused and did everything that I have been training for. I’m just really excited.
On if diving back in Minnesota is an advantage for her…
Obviously, being in the pool that I grew up training in is huge for spotting and things like that, but honestly, just knowing that this is home gave me an overwhelming sense of calm.