1,650 Final Heat -
Before we begin, it's more than worth noting that UNC's NCAA record holder in this event, Stephanie Peacock, is not entered. At the 200, it's Georgia's Brittany MacLean in the lead (1:50.86) followed by Virginia's Leah Smith (1:50.86) and Bulldog teammate Amber McDermott (1:51.08). The order remains the same at the 500, with MacLean leading at 4:41.82. Smith (4:43.14) is still second with McDermott third (4:43.81). MacLean is on fire, lighting up the 1,000 free to the tune of a new NCAA record of 9:23.78. Smith (9:30.19) and McDermott remain in second and third, respectively. By the 1,100 mark, McDermott passes Smith for second. MacLean continues to drop 28-low splits for every 50. McLean is on pace to annihilate the NCAA record. McLean is almost under 15 minutes at the 1,600 mark. Brittany McLean hits the wall in a mind-numbing 15:27.84 while her teammate Amber McDermott is second in 15:40.27. Freshman Leah Smith of Virginia is third (15:42.04) followed by A&M Sarah Henry (15:42.44). The rest of the top eight is as follows: Indiana's Lindsay Vrooman, fifth, 15:44.45; heat five winner Tjasa Oder of Arizona is sixth; 15:56.38; Minnesota's Kiera Janzen, also in heat five is seventh at 15:57.38 while Florida's Alicia Mathieu is eighth (15:58.46). McLean's swim is the third-fastest at any level in history and had the entire crowd on their feet for the entire last 50.
Heat 1
Cal's Catherine Breed comes through the 200 at 1:55.72 followed by Florida junior Jordan Smith (1:56.93). At the 500, Breed (4:54.85) still leads Smith (4:57.09). At the 1,000, Smith (9:55.70) has taken over the lead while Breed (9:56.03) is doing all she can to hold off Katelyn Sowinski of Penn State (9:56.51). With 200 to go, Sowinski has surpassed both Smith and Breed in that order. Sowinksi gets the win in 16:23.19 with Breed second (16:24.87, Smith third (16:26.47) and USC senior Lynette Lin fourth (16:43.34).
Heat 2
Air Force's Genevieve Miller has the lead at the 200 (1:54.21) followed by Utah's Samantha Zuch (1:55.27) and Kansas' Chelsie Miller (1:56.18). At the 500, G. Miller (4:51.40) still has the lead but C. Miller (4:54.55) has overtaken Zuch (4:54.79) for second place. At the 1,000, C. Miller (9:49.14) has taken the overall lead with Boston U.'s Stephanie Nasson now second in 9:51.10. G. Miller is now third (9:52.45). With 150 to go, it;s C. Miller comfortably ahead of Virginia's Haley Durmer and Nasson. Chelsie Miller of Kansas wins in a big season best of 16:09.97 followed by Virginia's Haley Durmer (16:16.08), Boston U.'s Stephanie Nasson (16:17.71), and Ohio State's Alex Norris (16:20.10).Heat 3
Cassaundra Sorna of Towson leads at the 200 (1:55.26) and she is followed by Virginia's Kelly Offutt (1:56.35) and Arkansas' Nicole Menzel (1:56.43). At the 500, the order is still the same but the race is fairly tight across the board. Sorna clocks in at 4:53.12 followed by Offutt (4:54.49) and Menzel (4:54.73). At the 1000, Penn State's Megan Siverling (9:48.44) has taken the lead with Sorna sliding to second (9:50.43) and Menzel third (9:50.57). Siverling holds on to win in 16:08.90 while Menzel (16:13.30) passes Sorna (16:13.82) for second. Pittsburgh's Kaleigh Ritter (16:19.06) takes fourth.
Heat 4 -
Towson's Kaitlin Burke takes the early lead, going out in 1:52.72 at the 200. She is followed by Arizona State's Tristin Baxter (1:54.43) and Virginia's Hanne Borgersen (1:54.95). The top three stay the same though the 500 with Burke out in 4:48.45 followed by Baxter (4:50.85) and Borgersen (4:52.55). The order still holds true through the 1,000: Burke (9:42.54), Baxter (9:44.99), then Borgersen (9:48.46). Burke rolls to the win in 16:04.30, the fastest qualifying time yet while Borgerson (16:09.00) jumps past Baxter (16:10.45). Nebraska's Lauren Abruzzo takes fourth in 16:11.57.
Heat 5 -
Florida State's Madison Jacobi starts out in front, going through the 200 at 1:52.39. UCLA sophomore Katy Campbell is in second (1:53.15) followed by Minnesota's Kiera Janzen (1:53.37). At the 500, Jacobi (4:47.49) holds a slim lead over Janzen (4:47.83) while Campbell drops a spot to third (4:48.47). At the 1,000, Janzen (9:39.61) now has the lead with a streaking Tjasa Oder of Arizona second (9:40.15) and Jacobi third (9:40.82). With a strong back half, Arizona's Oder wins it in 15:56.38 while ASU's Jacobi also goes under 16 at 15:57.38. Minnesota set itself up well for points finishing third and fourth with Janzen (16:01.09) and Sam Harding (16:06.07).
With that one-two punch, Georgia now leads 409-297 in the team race. Cal is ahead of Texas A&M for third, 285-241.5, with USC fifth at 189 and a climbing Florida team sixth (165).
200 Backstroke - Auburn's Jillian Vitarius pushed the pace early, going out in 54.48 but gave way to a battle between Indiana's Brooklyn Snodgrass and defending champion Elizabeth Pelton of Cal. Snodgrass came through the 150 in the lead but Pelton came barreling down on the final 25. In a photo finish by the same amount the 100 back was decided, Snodgrass (1:50.52) held off the defending champ (1:50.55) while Virginia's Courtney Bartholomew was third (1:50.84). Florida picked up the next two spots with Sinead Rissell fourth (1:51.65) and former champ Elizabeth Beisel fifth (1:52.21). Cal's Melanie Klaren (1:52.44), Denver's Sam Corea (1:53.68) and Vitarius (1:54.78) closed out the scoring in the big girl heat.
Consolation Final -- Paige Miller (54.73) leads at the 100 out of lane 1 but Auburn's Aubrey Peacock (1:52.37) catches Miller (1:53.29) on the final 50 while Cal's Stephanie Au is third (1:53.39). A&M's Melanie McClure finishes fifth but is disqualified for a false start.
Georgia still leads with 411 but Cal (321) jumps Stanford (300) with a monster scoring event. A&M holds firm at fourth with 248.5 while Florida (194), who started the day in seventh moved all the way up to fifth after only two events tonight. USC is sixth with 189.
100 Freestyle - There was no doubt Arizona's Margo Geer (47.10) wanted this one, going through the 50 at 22.52 and holding off Stanford's Lia Neal (47.17) and Cal's Missy Franklin (47.26) to defend her 100 crown. Florida's Natalie Hinds (47.40) topped Georgia's Shannon Vreeland (47.60) for fourth. USC's Kasey Carlson (47.86), Stanford's Maddie Schaefer (47.98) and Tennessee's Lindsay Gendron (48.06) rounded out the top eight finishers.
Consolation Final - Wisconsin's Ivy Martin (22.93) takes the lead ahead of San Diego State's Anika Apostalon (23.01) at the 50, but Georgia's Olivia Smoliga comes home strong to win in 47.89. A blanket finish ensues after that with Martin (48.02), Utah's Traycie Swartz (48.04), and Penn State's Alyson Ackman going 1-2-3.
Georgia's lead is now 434-340 over California with Stanford third at 329. A&M still sits fourth at 253.5 but Florida (209) is closing in a little followed by USC (202).
200 Breaststroke - Notre Dame's Emma Reaney went after this one and never looked back, breaking her own American record with a swim of 2:04.06. Reaney began the race with extremely impressive 27.87 and 59.35 splits on the way to the win. Three-time 100 breast champ Breeja Larson of Texas A&M and Stanford's Katie Olsen tied for second at 2:05.88. Melanie Margalis of Georgia (2:06.40) finished fourth, just ahead of A&M's Ashley McGregor (2:06.53). Minnesota's Kierra Smith (2:06.76), Wisconsin-Milwaukee's Emily McClellan (2:06.98) and Georgia's Annie Zhu (2:07.98) rounded out the final three places
Consolation Final - Tennessee's Molly Hannis laid the hammer down on the front half (28.30/1:00.35) but faded on the last 50, giving way to Utah freshman Stina Colleou (2:08.35) and Virginia Tech sophomore Weron Paluszek (2:08.51). Virginia's Laura Simon took third in 2:08.69.
Georgia is in control with 460 points while the Bay Area battle is on with Stanford retaking second, 345.5-340, over Cal. A breaststroke point boon cleared a lot of real estate behind Texas A&M (286) as it looks like Florida (209), USC (205) and Tennessee (170) will battle for fifth.
200 Butterfly -- Texas A&M's Cammile Adams was third at the 50 (55.73) but hit the gas on the second 50 then used her patented back half surge to successfully defend her NCAA 200 fly title in (1:52.25). Stanford's Maya DiRado (1:52.99) 'dropped' her first event of the meet, finishing second and tossing her name in the hat for swimmer of the meet honors. Lindsay Gendron of Tennessee, swimming the 200 fly for only the fifth time ever, takes third in 1:53.05. while Louisville sophomore Kelsi Worrell was fourth (1:53.63). Kentucky junior Tina Bechtel, who led the race at the 50, placed fifth in 1:53.65 and was followed by Georgia's Hali Flickinger (1:54.76), A&M's Caroline McElhany (1:55.52) and UNC's Meredith Hoover (1:55.85).
Consolation Final -- Georgia's Lauren Harrington (1:54.65) storms back over the course of the final 50 to win the consol heat over Louisville's Tanja Kylliainen (1:54,84) and UCLA's Noelle Tarazona (1:54.88) who led at each of the three prior 50's.
Georgia keeps piling it on with 482 points while Stanford maintains a 362.5-340 lead over California. For the moment, Texas A&M is within striking distance of Cal at 318. Florida lead USC in a hot race for fifth, 211-206, while Tennessee is seventh with 186.
Platform Diving
Round 1
Defending champ Haley Ishimatsu of USC drops nines on her first dive to take a 81-76.50 lead over Tennessee's Tori Lamp. NCAA springboard queen Laura Ryan (70.40) sits third ahead of Purdue's Mackenzie Tweardy and LSU's Cassie Weil (68.60). Emma Ivory-Ganja of Texas (67.20) sits in the six hole and is followed by Cal's Kahley Rowell (60.80) and The U's Kara McCormack (58.80).
Round 2
Ishimatsu (157.10) nails another one to stretch her lead over Lamp (141.00). Tweardy (140.60) jumps a spot into third while McCormack (138.80) leaps from eighth to fourth. Ivory-Ganja (136.20) improves from sixth to fifth while Ryan (131.90) slips from third into sixth. Rowell (126.40) remains in seventh while Weil (124.10) slips from a tie for fourth into eighth.
Round 3
Ishimatsu (229.10) continues to stretch her lead though now it is McCormack (204.05) sitting shotgun. Ryan (202.85) climbs from sixth to third while Ivory-Ganja (202) also picks up a position in the standings. Lamp (200.20) falls from second to fifth while Rowell (192.40) jumps a spot to sixth. Weil (191.30) also climbs a spot, into seventh, while Tweardy (167.60) slides from third to eighth after a rough third round effort.
Round 4
Ishimatsu (283.55) opens the door in this round with McCormack (275.45) in position to take advantage. Ivory-Ganja (272.50) bumps from fourth to third, trading spots with Ryan (268.45). Rowell (259.90) moves up a spot for the second straight round as does Weil (239.15). Lamp (233.55) slides from fifth to seventh while Tweardy (222.70) remains in eighth.
Round 5 -
An athlete successfully defends her NCAA title for the second straight event as USC's Victoria Ishimatsu (265.15) bests Emma Ivory-Ganja of Texas (349.30) and springboard queen Laura Ryan of Georgia (345.25). Miami's Kara McCormack (338.45) takes fourth while Cal's Kahley Rowell (319.10) holds on to fifth. Tennessee's Tori Lamp (305.55) climbs one position in the final round, switching spots with LSU's Cassie Weil (303.95) while Purdue's Mackenzie Tweardy (294.70) places eighth.
Consolation Final:
Round 1
Fresno State's Hannah Prigge (60.90) takes the early lead over Utah's Kersten Merry (59.40) with Kentucky's Christa Cabot third (58.90). Virginia Tech Kaylea Arnett (58.80) is in hot pursuit followed by Nicole Scott of Rutgers (57.40), Kate Hillman of Indiana (57), Meg Keefer of Minnesota (56.40) and Taylor Olanski of Hawai'i (44.80).
Round 2
Merry (131.40) climbs into the catbird seat while Arnett (117.60) climbs two spots into second. Hillman (116.20) jumps from sixth to third while Olanski (114.40) jumps from eight to fourth. Cabot (105.40) slides from third to fifth while Prigge (103.80) falls from first to sixth. Scott (96.55) slides two spots to seventh while Keefer (90) falls from seventh to eighth.
Round 3
Merry (188.80), Arnett (187.20) and Hillman (185.80) are still one-two-three while Cabot (167.80) jumps from fifth to fourth. Olanski (163.80) slips a spot to fifth while Prigge (163.20) remains in sixth. Scott (147.85) stays in seventh while Keefer (142.65) does likewise in eighth.
Round 4
Hillman (254.40) jumps from third to first, sliding both Merry (251.80) and Arnett (223.60) down a spot. Olanski (222.60) switches spots with Cabot (221.80) while Keefer (212.85) jumps from eighth to sixth. Prigge (209.40) slides a spot to seventh while Scott (185.65) does likewise to eighth.
Round 5
Utah's Kersten Merry (319.30) wins the consolation final over Indiana's Kate Hillman (307.20) while Kentucky's Christa Cabot (290.60) is third. Minnesota's Meg Keefer (278.05 jumps two spot into fourth in the final round while Fresno State's Hannah Prigge (276.60) does likewise into fifth. Hawai'i's Taylor Olanski (269), Virginia Tech;s Kaylea Arnett (266.80) and Nicole Scott of Rutgers (252.85) round out the 9-16 slots in tower diving.
Georgia is still in command with 498, more than 100 points ahead of Stanford's total of 362.5. Thanks to Kahley Rowell, Cal (354) has closed the gap to 8.5 points heading into the relay. Texas A&M is set in stone in fourth with 318 points, nearly 100 points clear of USC (226) even after Ishimatsu's platform win. Florida (211) and Tennessee (199) aren't done with each other while Texas (136) is looking to hold off Minnesota (126.5), Virginia (123), Arizona (122), and Indiana (118). We're for a heck of a finsh for the last few spots in the top 10.
400 Freestyle Relay - Appropriately Stanford's Lia Neal earned the Cardinal (3:10.83) a fourth relay national title in five events with a 47.14 anchor leg to overtake Arizona (3:10.99) at the wire after the Wildcats led the entire race thanks to a blistering 46.86 leadoff leg from Margo Geer. Cal (3:11.37) used a strong back half to get third ahead of Georgia (3:12.09). Florida grabbed fifth in 3:12.44 followed by USC (3:13.01), Tennessee (3:14.10), and Wisconsin (3:14.90).
Consolation Final -- Texas A&M (48.65) takes the early lead over Florida State (48.65) then slips to second at the midpoint, 1:37.39 to 1:37.44. The Ags regain the lead after the third leg, 2:26.41 to 2:26.62 over N.C. State. A&M's Lili Ibanez holds off a furious finish by several teams to get A&M the consol win in 3:14.95. Auburn (3:15.26) jumps up with a great anchor holding off N.C. State (3:15.29), and Minnesota (3:15.31) in a near photo finish for second place.
Georgia (528) wins the meet going away while Stanford (402.5) holds off their Bay Area rival California (386) for second. Texas A&M (336) was a solid fourth all day long while USC (252) edged out Florida (239) and Tennessee (223) for fifth. Arizona (156) held off Texas (144) and Minnesota (136.5) for eighth but all three earned the cherished top 10 finish. Virginia (123) and Indiana (118) were on the outside looking in, taking 11th and 12th but not by much.
And so ends yet another incredibly fast, incredibly memorable NCAA Division I Swimming & Diving Championship. Congratulations to the Georgia Bulldogs for proving to truly be the class of this year's field.
QUOTES FROM:
Brittany MacLean, Georgia, 1650-yard freestyle champion
Brooklyn Snodgrass, Indiana, 200-yard backstroke champion
Margo Greer, Arizona, 100-yard freestyle champion
Emma Reaney, Notre Dame, 200-yard breaststroke champion
Cammile Adams, Texas A&M, 200-yard butterfly
Haley Ishimatsu, Southern Cal, platform diving champion
Shannon Vreeland, member of Georgia’s NCAA Championship team
Laura Ryan, member of Georgia’s NCAA Championship team
Brittany MacLean, Sophomore, Georgia
On her win in the 1650-yard freestyle…
Honestly, it’s all my teammates and coaches. I mean, working under Harvey Humphries, Jack Bauerle, all of them, has been probably the best experience of my life. Last year, when I wasn’t at my potential and I was struggling a little bit, they all took it upon themselves to kind of pump me up and keep me in the mix so I felt like I was still a part of the team. I owe a lot to them. That’s why I wanted to come back and have a really good year this year.
On if she had a time in mind for her swim…
No. To be honest, I haven’t really been setting goal times because this is my first year really in shape, swimming yards, so I’m just trying to get in there and swim a great race (so) that I can make my team proud and myself proud.
Brooklyn Snodgrass, Sophomore, Indiana
On how surprised she was to win the event…
I can’t really describe it. I looked at the clock and I almost didn’t believe it. I had to take a second look before it kind of settled in.
On how she kept her composure when the race got close at the end…
I honestly didn’t see anyone. I was just focusing on my own race. I had a plan and I just did it and it paid off.
Margo Geer, Senior, Arizona
On the importance of defending her NCAA title as a senior…
I’m really at a loss for words right now, to be honest. It’s been a really long season and I’m just really glad it ended like that.
On if the race was won with her fast start…
You know, I’m a 50 freestyler so I like to just take it out and see what happens. That’s kind of just what I’ve always done. That’s my strong part. That’s just what I always do.
Emma Reaney, Junior, Notre Dame
On making history for Notre Dame swimming and breaking her own record…
I am just so proud I can do this for the University of Notre Dame because I am obsessed with my school. I don’t even think anyone would understand. I don’t know right now. It’s going to take a while to soak this one in.
On her great year this year…
Well, it’s been a couple years coming. Brian is an amazing coach and he really knows what he’s doing. I’ve basically just put all my trust into him and it’s been working. This year has been a long time coming.
Cammile Adams, Senior, Texas A&M
On her thoughts going into the final turn of the race…
I just thought I wanted to land that turn and just put my head down. I really just wanted to come away with a win. It would have been nice to be a little bit faster but I’m really proud of myself.
On what this victory means as her collegiate career ends…
It really means so much to me to represent Texas A&M and come away with just so many memories. I was thinking about it before I took a nap today, just so much fun, pure fun, I’ve had with the senior class. I couldn’t have asked for a better experience.
Haley Ishimatsu, Senior, Southern Cal
On her last dive after a disappointing fourth dive…
My fourth dive has always been a little bit shaky. It’s not exactly very consistent. But that last dive, I knew I could do it well. It’s a great finisher and I know I can do it. So, that was good.
On what it means to be congratulated on her win by the Trojan swimmers…
I still have one more year of eligibility. But it feels great to be able to contribute so much to the team and to know that they support me and know that I can still support them.
Shannon Vreeland, Senior, Georgia
On how Georgia found a way to win the championship…
We really had people step up in places where they needed to. Laura (Ryan) won two diving boards and Brittany MacLean won two individual events and we had a freshman really come out and win the 50 freestyle. It was just kind of incredible that even when we don’t win relays, we were always consistently in the top, you know, in the running for it. Just having people step up in those certain places where we needed them to. We might not have won by winning big events but we definitely won with the depth of our team. I think that’s really exciting when everybody can play a role in it.
Laura Ryan, Senior, Georgia
On being the top individual scorer for the Bulldogs and doing it in her home state…
I mean, all I can say is this feels amazing. Every single person on this team did exactly what they needed to do to win. I’m just so proud to be a part of this. Having every single one behind me and me being behind all of them, that’s what it took to win. I’m just so happy to be a part of this.