Five NCAA championship meet marks were set on the first day of competition at the NCAA Division II Swimming & Diving Championships in Indianapolis. Serghei Golban of Lindenwood University (50 Freestyle), Wingate University (200 Medley Relay), West Florida’s Monica Amaral (3 meter), Patricia Castro-Ortega of Queens (200 IM) and Drury’s Wen Xu (50 Freestyle) all eclipsed previous records. By night’s end, however, the story of the meet was Queens Unviersity of Charlotte’s early lead towards a defense of their 2015 NCAA titles. The Queens men, even without Matt Josa, lead Lindenwood by 10.5 points. The Royal women had a big day, establishing a commanding 41 point lead over second-place Drury.
"Our athletes flawlessly executed their race strategies tonight," said Head Coach Jeff Dugdale. "The women had some courageous swims that allowed them to take a nice lead into the second morning. Our men came prepared to roll up their sleeves and race, and that is exactly what they did. It is going to be a close meet and we put ourselves in a position to be in it."
The night started with California Baptist’s Christie Halverson holding off a hard-charging Leonie Van Noort to win the 1000 Freestyle in 9:51.96. It was a ten-second drop for the Sophomore and CBU's second-ever individual NCAA champion. About halfway through the 1000 Wednesday, Halverson began to make her move and touched more than half a second before runner-up, Grand Valley's Leonie Van Noort.
The Royals took a 1-2 finish in the men's 1000 yard freestyle with Dion Dreesens taking the gold with a 9:01.79. It was only the second time the Dutch master had swum the event he and teammate Nicholas Arakelian went stroke-for-stroke through the first 700 yards before Dreesens pulled ahead.
Monica Amaral not only overcame last year’s 2nd and 3rd place finishes, but turned in the greatest diving performance in NCAA Division II history en route to West Florida’s first-ever NCAA title. On the 3-meter board, the junior from Rio de Janeiro qualified first in the preliminaries and then averaged 56.33 on her six finals dives to claim a wire-to-wire victory while crushing the 22-year record by 33.80 points.
"Our first ever national champion and it's very exciting," UWF head coach Andrew Hancock said. "We're so proud of Monica. She works her butt off for this stuff and she has the best coach in the country guiding her along in Barbara (Parker). We've been telling everyone all year that she's the best diver in the country and she just showed it tonight."
"Since last year, when the competition was over and everybody was saying, 'You did really good,' all I could think was 'Well I want to be first'," Amaral said. "So that was all that I thought about the entire season. That was my goal since the beginning and I'm really glad I could achieve it. I'm just really, really happy."
Castro-Ortega gave Queens its second win of the night when she demolished the NCAA Division II record in the 200 IMN started the meet setting a new NCAA Division II record in the 200 yard individual medley. She would first top the national time in prelims but came back at night with a 1:55.63 – a time that sits tied for 8th in the country right with Virginia’s Courtney Bartholomew. Also going under the previous mark was UWF junior transfer Theresa Michalak, who swam the second-fastest 200 Individual Medley in D-II history in claiming silver in a time of 1:58.11, fully two seconds off of her SEC Championship title time.
"It was good to see Theresa finish second in the IM," UWF Coach Hancock said. "With all she's been through this season, it was an incredible performance. She keeps getting better every time she races, so that leaves us excited for the days ahead as well."
With defending champion and Division II record-holder Matt Josa sitting out this year, the 200 IM was wide open. West Chester’s Victor Polyakov, however, aimed to recapture the magic that led him to a pair of NCAA titles in 2014. He did so, by powering past a withering Gianni Ferrero in the final 30 yards to set a new PSAC record with a 1:44.95. It was the second time on the night that the Lakers had seen victory elude their grasp.
The 50 freestyle was a day of redemption for a pair of swimmers. In the morning, Drury’s Wen Xu broke the National record with a 22.38. She was 0.02 seconds slower at night, but more importantly, she avenged her runner-up finish from 2015. In the men’s sprint, Serghei Golban set a national record after placing second last year.
Senior Rita Koryukova (Omsk, Russia), junior Jessika Weiss (Macon, Ga.), senior Armony Dumur (Amiens, France) and senior Ana Fish (Carthage, N.C.) set a new mark in the women's 200 medley relay with a time by 1:39.90, eclipsing the previous record of 1:40.09. Koryukova earns her second national championship, Dumur gains her third. The duo swam on Wingate's national champion women's 400 Medley Relay team in 2015.
"Seniors, seniors, seniors…I am so happy for my seniors," Wingate head coach Kirk Sanocki says. "I can't tell you how happy my heart feels for them…especially Ana earning her first national championship."
Florida Southern junior Marco Palacios, freshman Sean Kim, senior Edson Lima, and junior Diego Gimenez, closed the night by winning the men’s medley, giving the Moccasins their eighth title in school history. Lindenwood led for three legs, but with 50 freestyle champion Golban swimming butterfly, Michal Szcuzukowski couldn’t hold off Gimenez’s 19.47 split, thus giving the Mocs a 0.01 second victory.
