2019 Women’s NCAA Championships: Day 3 Prelims Live Recap

2019 WOMEN’S DIVISION I NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS

• Wednesday, March 20th – Saturday, March 23rd
• Lee & Joe Jamail Texas Swimming Center — Austin, Texas
• Prelims 9 a.m./Finals 5 p.m. (Central Time)
• Defending Champion: Stanford (2x) – 2018 results
• Championship Central
• Psych Sheet
• Live Results
• Full livestream schedule
• Day 3 Prelims Heat Sheet

The 2019 NCAA Championships continue with day 3 prelims this morning in Austin, Texas. Swimmers are set to compete individually in the 400 IM, 100 fly, 200 free, 100 breast, and 100 back. The session will conclude with the 200 medley relay.

American Record holder Ella Eastin of Stanford looks to redeem herself after taking 2nd in the 200 IM last night, but teammate Brooke Forde, the 500 free champion, is on fire. We’ll see the NCAA Record holders in 3 more individual races today as Louise Hansson (USC) takes on the 100 fly, Lilly King (Indiana) takes on the 100 breast, and Beata Nelson (Wisconsin) takes on the 100 back. In the 200 free, reigning champ Mallory Comerford of Louisville is the headliner, but Stanford freshman Taylor Ruck could challenge.

WOMEN’S 400 IM:

• NCAA Record: Ella Eastin (Stanford), 3:54.60 – 2018
• American Record: Ella Eastin (Stanford), 3:54.60 – 2018
• Meet Record: Ella Eastin (Stanford), 3:54.60 – 2018

Top 8 Qualifiers:

1. Ella Eastin, Stanford, 4:02.05
2. Brooke Forde, Stanford, 4:02.65
3. Sydney Pickrem, Texas A&M, 4:03.43
4. Calypso Sheridan, Northwestern, 4:04.30
5. Emma Barksdale, South Carolina, 4:04.62
6. Bailey Andison, Indiana, 4:04.80
7. Allie Raab, Stanford, 4:05.28
8. Kelly Fertel, Florida, 4:05.32

Stanford’s Brooke Forde, who won the 500 free last night, cruised to the heat 5 win in 4:02.65. Forde is currently the 9th fastest swimmer ever in this event after taking 4th last season. Indiana’s Bailey Andison used her back-half speed to pull away from Stanford’s Allie Raab and Florida’s Kelly Fertel to take 2nd in the heat, touching in 4:04.80. Raab took over a second off her best from last month’s Pac-12s as she posted a 4:05.28. Fertel also dropped a second and was just hundredths behind in 4:05.32. That gives the Florida women their first A finalist since 2016.

Forde’s teammate Ella Eastin, the defending champion and American Record holder, was slightly faster in the final heat, posting a smooth 4:02.05. Texas A&M’s Sydney Pickrem came in behind her at 4:03.43. Last night, Pickrem was just hundredths behind Eastin in the 200 IM. Eastin is the fastest ever in this event, while Pickrem is 8th on the all-time top performers list.

Northwestern’s Calypso Sheridan took control of heat 4 through the front half. South Carolina’s Emma Barksdale started to make up ground on the breast leg, and brought herself within tenths of Sheridan on the first freestyle 50. Sheridan had another gear for the final stretch, though, and held off Barksdale to win the heat in 4:04.30 to Barksdale’s 4:04.62. That was a 1.5 second drop for Sheridan. Northwestern will have their first finalist in 7 years tonight.

Virginia Tech’s Reka Gyorgy, a 2017 finalist in this event, won heat 3 in 4:06.24. She’ll swim in the B final tonight as she took 10th overall.

WOMEN’S 100 FLY:

• NCAA Record: Louise Hansson (USC), 2019- 49.34
• American Record: Kelsi (Worrell) Dahlia (Louisville), 2016- 49.43
• Meet Record: Kelsi (Worrell) Dahlia (Louisville), 2016- 49.43

Top 8 Qualifiers:

1. Louise Hansson, USC, 49.98
2. Maggie MacNeil, Michigan, 50.35
3. Erika Brown, Tennessee, 50.53
4. Aly Tetzloff, Auburn, 50.94
5. Morgan Hill, Virginia, 51.04
6. Katie McLaughlin, Cal, 51.05
7. Izzy Ivey, Cal, 51.23
8. Grace Oglesby, Louisville, 51.27

NCAA Record holder Louise Hansson, the reigning champion from USC, took the lead right away as she put up a 23.45 split. Hansson brought it home for the only sub-50 of the morning, touching in 49.98 to win the final heat. Cal’s Katie McLaughlin (51.05) made a push on the back half to try and run down Virginia’s Morgan Hill (51.04), but came up short to Hill by just a hundredth.

In heat 7, Michigan freshman Maggie MacNeil dominated her heat. MacNeil hit the wall in 50.35, topping the heat by nearly a second. Cal freshman Izzy Ivey was 2nd, coming within a tenth of her best time from Pac-12s in 51.23. Louisville’s Grace Oglesby was the 3rd fastest in that heat with a 51.27.

Auburn’s Aly Tetzloff was out quick with a 23.53 in heat 6, leading Tennessee’s Erika Brown through the 50. Brown made her move on the back half to take the heat when in 50.53, while Tetzloff held on for 2nd in 50.94. That ties Tetzloff’s best time from SECs last month.

Akron freshman Sarah Watson clipped her best by a tenth and will swim in the consol final tonight. Watson was 14th overall in 51.87.

WOMEN’S 200 FREE:

• NCAA Record: Missy Franklin (Cal), 2015 – 1:39.10
• American Record: Missy Franklin (Cal), 2015 – 1:39.10
• Meet Record: Missy Franklin (Cal), 2015 – 1:39.10

Top 8 Qualifiers:

1. Siobhan Haughey, Michigan, 1:41.67
2. Taylor Ruck, Stanford, 1:41.83
3. Mallory Comerford, Louisville, 1:42.27
4. Catie Deloof, Michigan, 1:42.75
5. Katie McLaughlin, Cal, 1:42.85
6. Robin Neumann, Cal, 1:43.04
7. Paige Madden, Virginia, 1:43.30
8. Abbey Weitzeil, Cal, 1:43.32

Defending champion Mallory Comerford of Louisville was ahead by a body length with a 50 to go. Comerford then visibly shut it down in the final 50 yards, cruising to a 1:42.27 to win the last heat. Michigan’s Catie Deloof made up some ground on that last 50, coming in half a second behind at 1:42.75. Virginia’s Paige Madden, who made a huge drop to take 2nd in the 500 free yesterday, was 3rd there with a 1:43.30. That was a best by over half a second.

It was a 2-woman race in heat 6 between Michigan’s Siobhan Haughey and Stanford freshman Taylor Ruck. After getting DQed in the 200 IM prelims yesterday, Haughey qualified for her first individual final of the meet as she won the heat in 1:41.67. Ruck dropped a second off her best time, posting a 1:41.83. That kind of speed from Ruck isn’t surprising after her 1:39 split on the 800 free relay Wednesday night.

Cal’s Abbey Weitzeil, who had a breakthrough last night to break her own American Record in the 50 free, was out with the lead at 49.58 in heat 5. Weitzeil held her lead through the 150, but teammates Katie McLaughlin (1:42.85) and Robin Neumann (1:43.04) ran her down as they outsplit her by over a second on the last 50. Weitzeil was 3rd in that heat with a 1:43.32.

That was a big swim for McLaughlin, who hadn’t gone a best time in this event since she was in high school in 2015. This was her first swim under 1:43 and came shortly after her strong swim in the 100 fly.

We’ll see a couple of 2018 finalists swim in the consol heat tonight. Virginia’s Megan Moroney was 14th overall in 1:44.42. Texas A&M’s Claire Rasmus will swim in that consol heat after placing 12th with a 1:44.19. Stanford’s Katie Drabot, who took 4th in this event last season, won heat 4 in 1:44.98 and is the 2nd alternate for tonight’s consol heat.

WOMEN’S 100 BREAST:

• NCAA Record: Lilly King (Indiana), 55.88 – 2019
• American Record: Lilly King (Indiana), 55.88 – 2019
• Meet Record: Lilly King (Indiana), 56.25 – 2018

Top 8 Qualifiers:

1. Lilly King, Indiana, 57.55
2. Sophie Hansson, NC State, 57.91
3. Lindsey Kozelsky, Minnesota, 58.19
4. Delaney Duncan, Eastern Michigan, 58.55
5. Alexis Wenger, Virginia, 58.70
6. Ema Rajic, Cal, 58.97
7. (T-7) Ida Hulkko, FSU, 58.99
8. (T-7) Miranda Tucker, Michigan, 58.99

Indiana’s Lilly King was well ahead of her heat as usual, posting a 57.55 ahead of Virginia freshman Alexis Wenger (58.70). King, who became the first woman under 56 as she set the American Record at the Big Ten Championships last month, will be chasing her own record tonight. She currently owns 8 of the 10 fastest performances ever.

NC State freshman Sophie Hansson was within a couple tenths of her best to win heat 6. Hansson touched in 57.91 ahead of last season’s 3rd place finisher, Lindsey Kozelsky of Minnesota (58.19), and 2018 4th place finisher, Delaney Duncan (58.55) of Eastern Michigan. Hansson is the 6th fastest performer ever in this race, while Kozelsky is #10 all-time. We’ll also see the 2018 runner-up return to the final tonight. Michigan’s Miranda Tucker qualified as she put up a 58.99 in heat 5.

Florida State freshman Ida Hulkko used her early speed to win the first circle seeded heat, holding off Texas A&M’s Anna Belousova (59.17). Hulkko swam under 59 for the first time, qualifying for the final as she hit the wall in 58.99. Also breaking 59 for the first time and earning a finals spot was Cal freshman Ema Rajic, who posted a 58.97 to win heat 4. That gives freshman swimmers 4 of the 8 finals spots.

WOMEN’S 100 BACK:

• NCAA Record: Beata Nelson (Wisconsin), 2018- 49.67
• American Record: Regan Smith, 2019- 49.66
• Meet Record: Ally Howe (Stanford), 2018- 49.70

Top 8 Qualifiers:

1. Beata Nelson, Wisconsin, 50.07
2. Amy Bilquist, Cal, 50.56
3. Maggie MacNeil, Michigan, 50.63
4. Taylor Ruck, Stanford, 50.79
5. Izzy Ivey, Cal, 50.88
6. Asia Seidt, Kentucky, 50.90
7. Aly Tetzloff, Auburn, 50.96
8. Sherridon Dressel, Florida, 51.04

Wisconsin’s Beata Nelson was out in 24.07, under American Record pace. She backed off the pace on the back half, finishing in 50.07 to qualify 1st for the final. Nelson is the only swimmer in this event to return to the final this year. Stanford freshman Taylor Ruck, one of several swimmers to compete in this race on the back end of a double, came in 2nd in the heat at 50.79.

Cal’s Amy Bilquist was just a tenth shy of her best to win the penultimate heat, touching in 50.56. Michigan freshman Maggie MacNeil, who qualified for the 100 fly final earlier, won the heat before them in 50.63. Bilquist and Kentucky’s Asia Seidt (50.90) will move up to the championship heat this season after scoring in consols last year.

Florida’s Sherridon Dressel also swam in consols last year and qualified for tonight’s final. Dressel finished 3rd in the 100 back at SECs this year behind Seidt and SEC champ Aly Tetzloff. Auburn’s Tetzloff, who also qualified for the 100 fly final, was 7th through prelims in 50.96. With Dressel in the final, Florida now has their 2nd A finalist since 2016. Earlier this morning, Kelly Fertel became the first Gator to qualify for a championship heat since 2016 with her 400 IM preformance.

Cal freshman Izzy Ivey did the 200 free/100 fly double at Pac-12s, but took on a different double this time around. Ivey, who qualified for the 100 fly final earlier this morning, smashed her best time by nearly a second, posting a 50.88 out of heat 3. That gives us 3 finalists who will be swimming this as their 2nd individual event of the day: Ruck, MacNeil, Tetzloff, and Ivey.

NC State’s Elise Haan, who finished 4th last year, will swim in consols after qualifying 11th at 51.40. She’ll be racing another 2018 finalist, Texas’ Claire Adams, who took 10th through prelims in 51.22.

WOMEN’S 200 MEDLEY RELAY:

• NCAA Record: Stanford (Howe, Williams, Hu, Manuel), 2018 – 1:33.11
• American Record: Stanford (Howe, Williams, Hu, Manuel), 2018 – 1:33.11
• Meet Record: Stanford (Howe, Williams, Hu, Manuel), 2018 – 1:33.11

Top 8 Qualifiers:

1. Tennessee- 1:35.28
2. NC State- 1:35.32
3. Cal- 1:35.67
4. Louisville- 1:36.16
5. Michigan- 1:36.18
6. Virginia- 1:36.27
7. Indiana- 1:36.28
8. Stanford- 1:36.41

Tennessee was the fastest team through to the final, with Maddy Banic (fly- 22.87) and Erika Brown (21.24) taking on the back half to bring the Vols (1:35.28) from behind. NC State was just 4 hundredths shy of their time as they won the previous heat in 1:35.28. The Wolfpack got a quick 26.51 breast split from Sophie Hansson. The only other team sub-1:36 was Cal (1:35.67), as they won the first heat with Abbey Weitzeil‘s 20.97 anchor split.

American Record holder Lilly King was the fastest breaststroker this morning in 26.26 as the Hoosiers (1:36.28) qualified 7th. That’s about a second short of her 25.38 from Big Tens, which stands as the fastest 50 breast split in history. The fastest backstroke split came from Haley Hynes, who helped Missouri (1:36.56) to a 9th place finish with her 23.52. That’s less than 2 tenths shy of Rachel Bootsma’s fastest split ever (23.36). USC (1:36.68) got a fly split from 100 fly NCAA Record holder Louise Hansson (22.38). They finished 12th overall. The fastest fly split overall came from Duke’s Alyssa Marsh (22.29) as the Blue Devils (1:36.60) placed 10th.

3-Meter Diving

Top 16:

1. Delaney Schnell, Arizona, 370.40
2. Alicia Blagg, Miami, 360.85
3. Eloise Belanger, UCLA, 359.45
4. Alison Gibson, Texas, 357.80
5. Maria Polykova, UCLA, 352.15
6. Sarah Bacon, Minnesota, 348.30
7. Vicky Xu, Kansas, 343.65
8. Brooke Schultz, Arkansas, 343.05
9. Meghan O’Brien, Texas, 337.50
10. Abigail Knapton, Nebraska, 333.90
11. Elizabeth Cui, LSU, 330.20
12. Carolina Sculti, Stanford, 328.10
13. Kristen Hayden, Minnesota, 326.40
14. Kyndal Knight, Kentucky, 319.25
15. Alison Maillard, Auburn, 318.30
16. Monica Marcello, Connecticut, 309.95

Arizona’s Delaney Schnell, who took fifth in consols on 1-meter yesterday, was the afternoon’s top qualifier on the 3-meter board by about 10 points, scoring 370.40.

Blagg, sixth in consols yesterday, was the No. 2 qualifier.

UCLA again put two divers in the A-final after Polyakova and Belanger finished second and fifth, respectively, last night. One-meter champion Sarah Bacon finished sixth on 3-meter in prelims, and Minnesota teammate Kristen Hayden made it into consols.

Kansas senior Vicky Xu, in her NCAA 3-meter debut, finished seventh, and defending 3-meter champion Brooke Schultz just snuck into the A-final with an eighth-place finish.