For those unfamiliar with swimming terminology, the concept of “Ups” and “Downs” is a good way to track which teams performed best at prelims. In prelims, swimmers qualify for one of two finals heats: the top 8 finishers make the A final and places 9 through 16, the B final. In finals, swimmers are locked into their respective final, meaning a swimmer in the B heat (spots 9-16) can only place as high as 9th or as low as 16th, even if they put up the fastest or slowest time of any heat in the final.
With that in mind, we’ll be tracking “Ups” and “Downs” after each prelims session. “Up” refers to swimmers in the A final, and “Down” to swimmers in the B final.
The big winners in Day 3 prelims were Lindenwood (+22), IUP (+19), Saint Leo (+10), Wayne State (+10), and West Chester (+10), all of whom beat expectations by double digits. One team’s gain is another’s loss, and Drury, Indy and Nova S’eastern all had a few misses in the morning session. Indy and Nova S’eastern, in particular, are locked in a tight race for the overall team runner-up behind Queens, who looks to have already run away with their seventh consecutive title.
Anne Lepesant is the mother of four daughters, all of whom swam in college. With an undergraduate degree from Princeton (where she was an all-Ivy tennis player) and an MBA from INSEAD, she worked for many years in the financial industry, both in France and the U.S. Anne is currently …
