By Chris Harrell
Another NCAA Championship meet has fallen by the wayside. The
on-site staff at CollegeSwimming.com put their collective heads together (no
one was injured) and decided on who gets to take home our hardware. Let’s hand
out some awards and recap the meet:
Swimmer of the Meet:
Maya DiRado, Stanford. For most of her career at NCAA’s Maya DiRado was
always the bridesmaid and never the bride but her final collegiate meet proved
to be oh such a different story. DiRado reigns as the NCAA individual medley
queen and tacked on a runner-up finish in the 200 fly in the first time she’s
ever swam that race at the national meet. No one scored more individual points
at this meet than DiRado. On that basis, she earns MVP in our eyes. Honorable mention: Brittany
MacLean, Georgia; Missy Franklin, California; Breeja Larson, Texas A&M.
Diver of the Meet: Laura Ryan, Georgia. This was an easy
decision. The Georgia senior proved to be the NCAA springboard queen of 2014,
becoming the first female diver to sweep both boards since Cassidy Krug of
Stanford did it the last time this meet was held in Minnesota back in 2007. She
even added a third place finish on the platform as the cherry on top. Making it
even sweeter is that Ryan was able to cap her collegiate career in her hometown
pool. It just doesn’t get much better than that. Honorable mention: Maren
Taylor, Texas.
Freshman of the Meet:
Missy Franklin, California. Coming into the meet this might have seemed
a no-brainer but many other freshmen stepped up to challenge the United States’
most versatile female swimmer. Franklin did earn her first NCAA title however
after shattering the 200 freestyle NCAA record, going under the 500 free NCAA
record despite finishing second and earning Cal a win in the 800 free relay
with yet another ridiculous 200 free. Honorable mention: Celina Li, California; Lia Neal, Stanford; Leah
Smith, Virginia; Olivia Smoliga, Georgia.
Coach of the Meet: Greg Meehan, Stanford. With apologies to
the Georgia staff who crushed everyone, Meehan’s Cardinal were the ‘it’ team
this year. Stanford won four of five relays despite being ranked first in none
coming in. They made Friday night their own personal showcase winning race
after race to start the session. They truly earned a runner-up team finish,
something almost no one considered possible before we started the meet on
Thursday. Honorable mention: Georgia staff; Steve Bultman, Texas A&M; Kelly
Kremer, Minnesota.
Swim of the Meet: Missy Franklin, California. 200 Free. We
talked about this as a staff for quite a long time, practically needing to flip
a coin between Franklin’s 200 Free and Brittany MacLean’s 1,650 freestyle but
ultimately decided to go with Magnificent Missy blazing a 1:40.31 NCAA record
in the 200 free and winning the race by nearly two full seconds over her
Olympic teammate. Honorable mention: Breeja Larson, 100 Breast; Brittany
MacLean, 500 Free; Brittany MacLean, 1,650 Free; Emma Reaney, 200 Breast;
Stanford, 400 Medley Relay.
Race of the Meet: California, 800 Free Relay. The Golden Bears,
led by Missy Franklin’s incredible 1:40.08, come-from-behind, third-to-first
anchor leg on the 800 free relay, wins a close decision over several other
terrific races. Honorable mention: 100 Back, 200 Back, 500 Free, 200 IM, 400 Free
Relay.
Quick Notes -
Highest Finishes Ever:
15 Louisville (22)
16 Notre Dame (16)
16 NC State (Highest since 1983)
26 UW-Milwaukee (32)
27 UMASS (30th)
31 Florida Gulf (1st)
31 SIU (Highest since 1986)
33 Denver (34th)
First-ever scorers for Illinois State, Florida
International
43 Liberty (44th)
Auburn’s lowest finish since 1991
Arizona – lowest since 2003
Texas – 9th for third straight year
Stanford – highest since 2010 / most points since 1999
Recapping my champions picks without comment:
50 Free – Olivia Smoliga, Georgia (My pick: Smoliga)
100 Free – Margo Geer, Arizona (My pick: Missy Franklin,
California; 3rd)
200 Free – Missy Franklin, California (My pick: Franklin)
500 Free –Brittany MacLean, Georgia (My Pick: Missy
Franklin, California; 2nd)
1,650 Free – Brittany MacLean, Georgia (My pick: MacLean)
100 Back –Paige Miller, Texas A&M (My pick: Rachel
Bootsma, California; 11th)
200 Back –Brooklyn Snodgrass, Indiana (My pick: Elizabeth
Pelton, California; 2nd)
100 Breast –Breeja Larson, Texas A&M (My pick:
Larson)
200 Breast –Emma Reaney, Notre Dame (My pick: Reaney)
100 Fly –Felicia Lee, Stanford (My pick: Lee)
200 Fly –Cammile Adams, Texas A&M (My pick: Adams)
200 IM –Maya DiRado, Stanford (My pick: Melanie Margalis,
Georgia; 2nd)
400 IM –Maya DiRado, Stanford (My pick: Elizabeth Beisel,
Florida; 2nd)
200 Free Relay –Stanford (My pick: Georgia; 3rd)
400 Free Relay –Stanford (My pick: Georgia: 4th)
800 Free Relay –California (My pick: California)
200 Medley Relay –Stanford (My pick: California; DQ in
prelims)
400 Medley Relay –Stanford (My pick: California; 5th)
One-Meter Diving – Laura Ryan, Georgia (My pick: Maren
Taylor, Texas; 2nd)
Three-Meter Diving –Laura Ryan, Georgia (My pick: Maren
Taylor, Texas; 2nd)
Platform –Haley Ishimatsu, USC (My pick: Ishimatsu)
That leaves me 9 for 21 on picking champions with six additional
picks taking runner-up honors. Missy Franklin taking third in the 100 free and
Rachel Bootsma 11th in the 100 back were my only two individual race
picks not to finish in the top two. The relays were another story, but I’ll
take it.
Recapping my Top 10 Predictions:
10. Minnesota, 136.5 (My pick: Virginia) – The Golden
Gophers bite me in the butt once again. You’d think I’d have learned that Kelly
Kremer’s bunch brings their best effort at NCAA’s every year but I’m clearly
hard-headed. Minnesota was bolstered by Meg Keefer scoring 29 points on the
boards, a sixth-place finish in the 800 free relay, and Kiera Janzen taking
seventh in both the 500 and 1,650 freestyles among other solid
performances.
9. Texas, 144. (My pick: Arizona) – Texas was led by their
divers who scored almost half their points (69) on the boards. They also earned
big points with a sixth-place finish in the 200 medley relay. The Longhorns
nickeled-and-dimed their way in numerous ‘B’ swimming finals to accumulate
enough points to earn this spot.
8. Arizona, 156. (My pick: Tennessee) – I underestimated the
Wildcats just a touch (or perhaps overestimated the Texas divers) as ‘Zona
lands in this position on the strength of their relays and the great Margo
Geer. The Cats had a big last day with Geer successfully defending her 100 free
title and coming one Lia Neal anchor leg away from winning the 400 free relay.
Arizona was solid on day one too as Geer also tacked on a third in the 50 free
while sophomore Bonnie Brandon grabbed fifth in the 500 free before falling ill
for the rest of the meet.
7. Tennessee, 223 (My pick: Texas) – My misfire on the Texas
divers gives me no excuse here as the Vols clearly were a cut above all the
teams finishing behind them. The Vols scored 112 of their 223 points on relays,
led by a nearly-successful defense of their 200 medley relay crown from 2013.
Senior Lindsay Gendron had a monster meet, taking third in both the 200 free
and 200 fly while also placing eighth in the 100 free. The Vols also got big
lifts from Molly Hannis (6th in the 100 breast), Tori Lamp (6th
on the platform), and Faith Johnson (8th in the 50).
6. Florida, 239 (My pick: Florida) – Finally I get one
right. The Gators looked on the ropes after day one but got better as the meet
went on. The Gators scored 124 points on relays, bolstered by third and fourth
place finishes in the medley relays. Senior Elizabeth Beisel was great for the
Gators, taking runner-up honors in the 400 IM and fifth in the 200 back.
Fourth-place finishes by Natalie Hinds in the 100 free and Sinead Russell in
the 200 back as well as a fifth by Ellese Zalewski in the 100 fly helped push
the Gators into the sixth slot.
5. USC, 252. (My pick: USC) – I’m starting to get the hang
of this. The Trojans finished in the top nine in every relay with the 800 (4th)
and the 400 (6th) being their bell cows. Senior Kasey Carlson led
the way for the Trojans with a runner-up effort in the 50 free, a fourth place
finish in the 100 breast and a sixth-place finish in the 100 free. USC brought
home one NCAA champion in platform queen Haley Ishimatsu, who also finished
sixth on the one-meter. Senior Stina Gardell was also stellar for the women of Troy,
taking fifth and seventh in the IM’s.
4. Texas A&M, 336. ( My pick: Texas A&M) – Three in
a row. I felt good about this pick from the get-go because of my pre-meet
inkling on Stanford’s relay potential. The Aggies scored more NCAA champions
than any team but Georgia and Stanford. Senior Breeja Larson and Cammile Adams
successfully defended their 100 breast and 200 fly titles, respectively, while
another senior Paige Miller joined the party in the 100 back. A&M’s relays
were as good as they’ve ever been, taking runner-up honors in the 400 medley
and fourth in the 200 medley while also placing fourth in the 200 free relay,
ninth in the 400 free relay and seventh in the 800 free relay. Junior Sarah
Henry was also great for the Aggies placing top eight in all three of her
individual events (fourth in the 400 IM and 1650; eighth in the 500 free). The
Aggies also got great performances from Ashley McGregor in the 200 breast
(fifth); Lili Ibanez in the 200 free (sixth); and Caroline McElhaney in the 200
fly (seventh).
3. California, 386. (My pick: Stanford) – This one I didn’t
see coming and my individual national champion picks certainly reflected it.
Missy Franklin was incredible as we all expected but there was general feeling
of what might have been from their entire squad. The GB’s finished in the top
five in four of five relays, winning the 800 free relay in our race of the meet
pick but DQing the 200 medley really literally cost the team the second place
trophy. Elizabeth Pelton fell short of defending a 200 back title in which she
was the prohibitive favorite while Rachel Bootsma didn’t even qualify for the
final in her 100 back defense. California only won two events this year and
both involved Franklin. To continue to compete with Georgia and a rising
Stanford program they are going to need to be better than that.
2. Stanford, 402.05. (My pick: California) – The award for
the ‘it’ team of the meet CLEARLY goes to the Stanford Cardinal. They did their
best Tennessee of 2013 impression but one-upped it, winning the first three relays
and tacking on another to close the meet. The Cards tacked on an NCAA record in
the 400 medley relay over a Texas A&M team that had the NCAA champion in
both the 100 breast and 100 back. Senior Felicia Lee was incredible, winning
the 100 fly and being a stalwart on those Cardinal relays as was freshman Lia
Neal who bested Franklin in the 100 free among many other notable performances.
Maya DiRado saved her best meet for last, earning the title of NCAA IM queen
while finishing second in a 200 fly event she had never contested at this meet
before. For that she earned our swimmer of the meet honors. Greg’s gals did a
magnificent job and were generally the talk of this year’s NCAA Championships.
Job well done, Stanford.
1. Georgia, 528. (My pick: Georgia) While I gushed about Stanford, Georgia was clearly the standard bearer due to their depth, hitting teams over the head with wave after wave of finalists in seemingly every event. To add insult to injury, Laura Ryan earned diver of the meet honors and came two spots away from a clean sweep of all three boards. In the pool, would you believe the Dawgs only won three races all week? True story. Brittany MacLean had her coming out party, dropping NCAA records in her 500 and 1,650 wins while freshman Olivia Smoliga unseated Arizona’s Margo Geer in the 50 free. While they didn’t win any relay, and only got second in one, Georgia never finished outside the top five in any of the five. Senior Melanie Margalis never finished worse than fourth in any of her events while senior Shannon Vreeland and junior Amber McDermott never finished worse than sixth in any of theirs. To use boxing terms, though there were few one-punch haymakers, the Bulldogs just worked the body over and over until the field dropped to its knees. Congrats to the Georgia Bulldogs on a truly deserving and comprehensive victory. You all earned every bit of it.