2015 NAIA National Championships – Women’s Meet
- Dates: Wednesday, March 4 – Saturday, March 7, 2015; prelims 9:00 am, finals 5:00 pm
- Location: Oklahoma City Community College, Oklahoma City, OK (Central Time Zone)
- Defending Champions: Oklahoma Baptist University (results)
- Live Results: Available
- Live Video: Available
- Championship Central
The final morning of the 2015 NAIA National Swimming and Diving Championships went off much as expected, with OBU picking up the lion’s share of the spots in finals, especially in their strongest event, sprint free (the 100, in this case). And while they were shut out of the 200 fly final, they loaded up the back and breast with their deep bench.
SCAD had a good morning, obtaining 8 final swims, 6 of them in championship heats. The Bees are locked in a tight race for second with Brenau, separated by only 8 points headed into tonight’s final. Brenau, meanwhile, landed 8 final spots as well. Concordia and ONU each have seven swims tonight, while Biola and Cumberlands have five.
Ups/Downs – Day Three
Not including relays, diving, or the mile, here are the ups/downs for tonight’s final session:
| Team | A Final | B Final |
| Oklahoma Baptist University | 9 | 2 |
| SCAD Savannah | 6 | 2 |
| Concordia University | 3 | 4 |
| Brenau University | 2 | 6 |
| Olivet Nazarene University | 2 | 5 |
| Biola University | 2 | 3 |
| University of the Cumberlands | 2 | 3 |
| Union College | 1 | 2 |
| Columbia College | 1 | 0 |
| College of Idaho | 1 | 0 |
| Life University | 1 | 0 |
| Lindsey Wilson College | 1 | 0 |
| WVU Institute of Technology | 1 | 0 |
| Lindenwood University | 0 | 2 |
| St. Andrews University | 0 | 2 |
| Thomas University | 0 | 1 |
200 Backstroke
Talia Sola of Brenau, last night’s winner in the 100 back, led the field in the 200 back with a qualifying time of 2:01.62. OBU’s Ines Remersaro qualified second in 2:02.20, while Charlotte Parent of Cumberlands was third in 2:04.14.
Joining them in the A final tonight will be OBU’s Tammy Price (2:04.41), ONU’s Tiffany Ray (2:05.86), Life University’s Bailee Spivey (2:06.31), SCAD’s Hannah Legg (2:06.48) and Alena Titenkova of OBU (2:07.20)
100 Freestyle
Defending champion Laura Galarza of OBU, who has already won both the 50 and 200 freestyles, as she did last year, comes into tonight’s final with the top morning swim, 50.45. Biola’s Lisa Tixier posted a 51.34, ahead of OBU’s Emma Forbes-Milne (51.43) and Andrea Antonissen (51.71).
ONU’s Eugenia Sebastiani (51.91), Lexie Keller of OBU (52.53), Selena Warburton of the College of Idaho (52.87), and Haley Thompson of SCAD (52.94) round out tonight’s championship final.
200 Breaststroke
100 breast champion Kerryn Mullin, and her OBU teammate Leslie White, were the top two qualifiers in in the 200 with 2:22.24 and 2:24.96, respectively. Brenau’s Mary Katherine Jabbia (2:25.00) qualified third.
Kendra Monnin of West Virginia University Institute of Technology posted the fourth-fastest time of the morning (2:25.87), ahead of Columbia College’s Safiyyah Abdullah (2:26.07), Alle Ragland of SCAD (2:26.52), Jule Stein of Union College (2:26.82), and Jessica Wilson of Concordia (2:27.76).
200 Butterfly
Defending champion Christine Tixier of Biola clocked a 2:02.92 to lead the field in the 200 fly. Freshman Baliee Blankemeier, who won the 400 IM, posted the second-fastest time in 2:04.36. SCAD freshmen Samantha Benson and Rebecca Justus were third and fourth with 2:06.30 and 2:06.31, respectively.
Grace Van Ryckeghem of Cumberlands (2:06.45), Lindsey Wilson’s Laura Stephenson (2:08.10), Emma McKinley of SCAD (2:08.10), and Mikala Nelson of Concordia (2:08.86) round out the A final.
400 Freestyle Relay
SCAD’s Heather Partlow (52.71), Heather Dundey (53.57), Shannon Cummings (53.35), and Thompson (51.93) were the top quartet of the morning session with 3:31.56. Brenau (Michelle Billeaud, Alisha Hodgetts, Courtney Hayward, and Shelby Rumker) were second in 3:32.40, while Concordia (Sarah Jamieson, Blankemeier, MacKenzie Bailie, and Brooke Roy) were third with 3:32.60.
Biola and Cumberlands (both 3:33.12) tied for fourth, OBU was sixth, and College of Idaho and ONU make up the rest of the field for tonight’s final.
Tonight’s finals session begins at 5 p.m. Central time.
Standings After Day Two – Women
- Oklahoma Baptist University 483
- SCAD Savannah 326
- Brenau University 318
- University of the Cumberlands 229
- Olivet Nazarene University 226
- Concordia University 222
- Biola University 213
- College of Idaho 130
- Union College 101
- Lindsey Wilson College 54
“The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), headquartered in Kansas City, Mo., is a governing body of small athletics programs that are dedicated to character-driven intercollegiate athletics.
In 2000, the NAIA reaffirmed its purpose to enhance the character building aspects of sport. Through Champions of Character, the NAIA seeks to create an environment in which every student-athlete, coach, official and spectator is committed to the true spirit of competition through five core values.”
