6 Mid-Major Swimmers to Watch at 2016 Women’s NCAA’s

Official psych sheets were released earlier this week and with predictions abound about event champions and team scores, it’s easy to get caught up in thinking about how well teams like Cal, Stanford, Georgia, and Virginia will do at the 2016 Women’s NCAA Division I Swimming Championships.

• See the full psych sheets here.

But, there are some top swimmers from mid-major schools who are expected to have stellar showings and score points. Keep an eye out for the following swimmers from mid-major schools:

Genevieve Miller – Air Force Academy

500 FR 4:40.15 – 19th seed

1650 FR 16:01.39 – 9th seed

A junior at the Air Force Academy, Genevieve Miller is seeded to score in the 1650 at NCAA’s. The North Carolina native holds numerous school records in the distance freestyle events as well as Mountain West Conference Records in the 500/1000/1650 freestyle events. Miller competed at the 2012 Olympic Trials and has already qualified for 2016 Olympic Trials in the 400 and 800 freestyle events.

After a 19th place finish at NCAA’s in 2015, Miller has had a successful season with a best time of 16:01.39, almost ten seconds faster than her time at NCAA’s last year. Don’t be surprised if Miller finishes below the 16-minute mark in the mile and finishes in the top eight overall. In addition to the mile, Miller is also seeded well in the 500 Free. In 2015, Miller placed 39th overall in the 500, but expect a better finish this year. With Miller’s high seed and time drops in the mile during the 2015-16 season, it is possible that she will place in the top sixteen in the 500 Free as well.

2015 NCAA’s – 500 Free

• Seed time: 4:42.47
• Final time: 4:45.51

2015 NCAA’s – 1650 Free

• Seed time: 16:13.01
• Final time: 16:10.58

Emily Escobedo – UMBC

200 IM 1:57.03 – 26th seed

100 BR 1:00.05 – 20th seed

200 BR 2:06.21 – 2nd seed

A junior at UMBC, Emily Escobedo is the highest seed of any mid-major swimmer at 2016 NCAA’s with a 2nd place seed in the 200 Breaststroke. The psychology major from New York is America East Conference’s Most Outstanding Swimmer for the past two seasons. Escobedo is the only swimmer in UMBC program history to qualify for NCAA’s three years in a row.

Escobedo dropped over 2 seconds at the 2016 America East Swimming Championships on February 14th in the 200 Breaststroke. Her previous best of 2:08.95 was posted the year before at 2015 NCAA’s. Expect Escobedo to finish top 8 in the 200 Breaststroke and challenge the top competitors. In addition to the 200 breast, Escobedo is the 26th seed in the 200 IM and 20th seed in the 100 Breaststroke. With a time drop in the 100 breast, it is highly possible that Escobedo could place in the top 16.

2015 NCAA’s – 200 Breaststroke

• Seed: 2:09.66
• Prelims: 2:08.95
• Finals: 2:09.32

2014 NCAA’s – 200 Breaststroke

• Seed: 2.10.05
• Prelims: 2:11.15

Delaney Duncan – Eastern Michigan University

100 BR 59.46 – 14th seed

Delaney Duncan, Eastern Michigan University, will be finishing up a successful freshman season at NCAA’s in the 100 Breaststroke. The Illinois native was a high school state finalist and won All-State honors as a senior. Duncan has made huge time drops this season in the 100 breast, including a recent 1.5 second drop at Mid-American Championships where she broke the minute-barrier with a time of 59.42. Duncan is set up well to place in the top 16 at NCAA’s.

Best times – 100 Breaststroke

• 2016: 59.42
• 2015: 1:03.78
• 2014: 1:04.36

Samantha Richart – University of Toledo

100 BR 59.88 – 18th seed

A senior at the University of Toledo, Samantha Richart is the 18th seed in the 100 Breaststroke at her first NCAA championships. The speech language pathology major from Michigan is currently on the top 10 best times list in multiple events for the University of Toledo. Like Duncan, Richart also broke the minute-barrier for the first time in the 100 breast on Feburary 26th at Mid-American Championships. Richart has made significant time drops at Mid-American Championships over the past few seasons and is poised to finish her college swimming career with a potential top 16 finish at NCAA’s.

Best times (from Mid-American Championships) – 100 Breaststroke

• 2016: 59.88
• 2015: 1:00.84
• 2014: 1:03.06

Elise Haan – Florida Gulf University

100 BACK 51.65 – 14th seed

A freshman at Florida Gulf University, Elise Haan is seeded to score in the 100 back this year. As an Olympic Trials qualifier, eight-time high school Florida State champion, and four-time Athlete of the Year, Haan saw huge success in high school swimming. The double major in exercise science and psychology made a successful transition to college swimming for the Eagles, winning the Most Outstanding Swimmer of the Meet at the 2016 CCSA Championships. Based on time trends over the past few years, expect Haan to drop even more time from her seed (51.65) and score points at NCAA’s.

Best times – 100 Backstroke

• 2016: 51.65
• 2015: 52.60
• 2014: 53.22

Amanda Sanders – University of Denver

100 BR 1:00.48 – 32nd seed

200 BR 2:08.24 – 14th seed

After a big time drop this season, Denver junior Amanda Sanders will be making her first appearance at NCAA’s by qualifying in both breaststroke events. The Colorado native majors in International Business and Marketing and earned Academic All-American Honors in the 2014-15 season.

Sanders is seeded 14th in the 200 Breaststroke and is positioned well to score points in the event. After dropping over 3 seconds in the 200 breast at the Hawkeye Invitational in December, Sanders dropped an additional half second in the event at Summit League Championships on February 20th.

Best times – 200 Breaststroke

• 2016: 2:08.24
• 2015: 2:08.76
• 2014: 2:12.94