The first day of the meet features the 500 freestyle, 200 IM, 50 freestyle, and 1 meter diving individually, as well as the 200 freestyle relay and 400 medley relay.
A three way race is setting up between Leah Smith, Brittany Maclean, and the new NCAA record holder, Cierra Runge, in the 500 freestyle. It will be a very fast final, and it should take a new NCAA record to win tonight.
The 200 IM will be a duel between Cal teammates Missy Franklin and Liz Pelton. Both swimmers are seeded several seconds ahead of the third place qualifier with 1:52’s. They are also within striking distance of Caitlin Leverenz’s American/US Open record of 1:51.77.
Stanford’s Simone Manuel is the favorite to win the 50 freestyle at her first NCAA Championship meet. The 50 will be very tight with 12 swimmers seeded under 22 seconds.
Based on the psych sheet scoring, California is expected to have the lead after the first day of the meet with 163 points. UVA is expected to be second at 121, and Georgia is expected to be sitting in third with 116.
Tony: Awesome photos of the heat sheets. For tomorrow, more notes on them first!
Thank You! These will be extremely helpful!