2022 NCAA Division II Women’s Championships – Day 4 Finals Live Recap

2022 NCAA Division II Women’s Swimming and Diving Championships

It’s the last day of competition in Greensboro. We’ll begin with the fastest heat of the 1650 free, then move to finals of the 100 free, 200 back, 200 breast, and 1-meter diving. The session will end with timed finals of the 400 free relay.

Top-seeded Sophie Lange (16:30.04), Wingate’s Kate Agger (16:41.69), and Allison Weber of Drury (16:44.68) will occupy the middle lanes in the mile. Marina Amorim of Drury went 17:01.56 in the afternoon heats to set the standard for tonight.

Queens teammates Monica Gumina (49.16) and Danielle Melilli (49.45) are the ones to beat in the 100 free; Gumina won the 200 free on Thursday and Melilli won the 50 on Wednesday.

The 200 back final will be a tight race, with Luna Mertins of Lynn (1:56.14) and Nova S’eastern’s Cassie Wright (1:56.58) and Celina Marquez (1:56.64) leading the field.

Colorado Mesa’s Lily Borgenheimer posted the fastest time in prelims of the 200 breast with 2:11.34. 2021 runner-up Claire Mikesell of IUP (2:12.96) and Indy’s Marizel Van Jaarsveld (2:13.73) will be on either side of her.

Gracyn Segard of Grand Valley was the top performer in prelims of 1-meter diving and will seek to defend her 2021 title tonight.

Women’s 1650 Freestyle – Fastest Heat

  • NCAA DII Record: 16:17.66 – Kristen Frost, Southern Conn St (2008)
  • Meet Record: 16:17.66 – Kristen Frost, Southern Conn St (2008)
  • 2021 Champion: Francesca Bains, Queens – 16:30.98

Podium:

  1. Sophie Lange, Queens – 16:32.44
  2. Allison Weber, Drury – 16:40.08
  3. Kate Agger, Wingate – 16:40.44
  4. Taylor Beagle, Augustana – 16:45.83
  5. Marina Amorim, Drury – 17:01.56
  6. Amber Tydzewski, Queens – 17:02.54
  7. Rachel Peden, Carson-Newman – 17:02.99
  8. Megan Slowey, Mines – 17:03.11

Sophie Lange of Queens added the mile to her 1000 title with 16:32.44. Lange was never really challenged, having built up about a body-length lead by the 300. Allison Weber of Drury was in second place throughout the race, and Kate Agger from Wingate, the 500 free champion, trailed in third. Taylor Beagle of Augustana moved into third place from lane 7 at the 600, where she remained the rest of the race.

Agger made up a several body-length deficit over the final 250 yards and very nearly caught Weber at the end.

Both Marina Amorim of Drury and Rachel Peden from Carson-Newman made the podium with their swims from the afternoon heats.

Women’s 100 Freestyle – Finals

  • NCAA DII Record: 48.16 – Polina Lapshina, Queens (NC) (2019)
  • Meet Record: 48.16 – Polina Lapshina, Queens (NC) (2019)
  • 2021 Champion: Lexie Baker, Queens (NC) – 49.49

Podium:

  1. Danielle Melilli, Queens – 48.91
  2. Monica Gumina, Queens – 49.17
  3. Ester Rizzetto, West Florida – 49.30
  4. Krystal Caylor, Indy – 49.81
  5. Ann Carozza, West Chester – 49.87
  6. Elizaveta Bazarova, Tampa – 50.04
  7. Kaleigh Sharkey, Simon Fraser – 50.29
  8. Kiara Pozvai, Henderson State – 50.41

It was a wire-to-wire victory in the final of the 100 free for Danielle Melilli of Queens, the national record-holder in the 50 free. She was out in 23.15, more than .3 faster than her teammate Monica Gumina in the next-door lane, and more than six-tenths faster than Ester Rizzetto in lane 3. Gumina and Rizzetto came home a little faster than Melilli but she remained out of reach until the end.

Melilli stopped the clock at 48.91, her first sub-49. Gumina touched out Rizzetto, 49.17 to 49.30, for second place.

Indy’s Krystal Caylor moved up a spot from prelims to finish fourth with 49.81 and West Chester’s Ann Carozza clocked in at 49.87 for fifth.

Women’s 200 Backstroke – Finals

  • NCAA DII Record: 1:54.48 – Hannah Peiffer, Queens (NC) (2017)
  • Meet Record: 1:54.48 – Hannah Peiffer, Queens (NC) (2017)
  • 2021 Champion: Katie McCoy, Indy – 1:56.39

Podium:

  1. Celina Marquez, Nova S’eastern – 1:55.79
  2. Luna Mertins, Lynn – 1:56.52
  3. Cassie Wright, Nova S’eastern – 1:57.02
  4. Katie McCoy, Indy – 1:57.36
  5. Heidi Billings, Northern Michigan – 1:59.15
  6. Shelby Kasse, Lindenwood – 1:59.42
  7. Lauren White, Colorado Mesa – 1:59.87
  8. Stephanie Marks, Lindenwood – 1:59.95

It began with lanes 3, 4, 5, and 6 turning together at the 50 wall, but by the 75 wall, Nova S’eastern’s Celina Marquez had established herself as the leader. At the 100, it was Marquez, followed by Luna Mertins of Lynn, Cassie Wright of Nova S’easter, and Indy’s Katie McCoy. McCoy eased past Wright into third place at the 150, but Wright came back to finish third at the end.

Marquez won with 1:55.79, half a body length ahead of Mertins (1:56.52), who beat Wright by the same margin. Wright (1:57.02) touched out McCoy (1:57.36) by three-tenths for third place.

Women’s 200 Breaststroke – Finals

  • NCAA DII Record: 2:09.12 – Bailee Nunn, Drury (2017)
  • Meet Record: 2:09.12 – Bailee Nunn, Drury (2017)
  • 2021 Champion: Bec Cross, Drury – 2:13.59

Podium:

  1. Lily Borgenheimer, Colorado Mesa – 2:11.56
  2. Kailee Morgan, Carson-Newman – 2:12.33
  3. Marizel Van Jaarsveld, Indy – 2:13.33
  4. Claire Mikesell, IUP – 2:13.97
  5. Isabelle Roth, Simon Fraser – 2:14.84
  6. Savanna Best, Nova S’eastern – 2:14.85
  7. Claire Conover, Drury – 2:15.22
  8. Maddy Koehle, West Chester – 2:18.03

Marizel Van Jaarsveld of Indy, the 2022 national champion in the 200 and 400 IMs, and Savanna Best of Nova S’estern were out first at the 50, followed by last year’s runner-up, Claire Mikesell of IUP. Lily Borgenheimer of Colorado Mesa moved to the front of the pack at the 100 wall. Her third 50 was the fastest by a full second over most of the field. Kailee Morgan of Carson-Newman also made a move on the third 50. She pulled even with Van Jaarsveld at the 150 wall.

Borgenheimer had nearly a body-length advantage at the 150, and while she came home half a second slower than Morgan, she was far enough in front to withstand the challenge. Borgenheimer stopped the clock at 2:11.56 for the win. Morgan went 2:12.33, a full second faster than Van Jaarsveld. Mikesell went 2:13.97 for fourth place.

Simon Fraser’s Isabelle Roth touched out Best by .01 for fifth place.

Women’s 1-Meter Diving – Finals

  • NCAA DII Record: 511.55 – Kayla Kelosky, Clarion (2011)
  • Meet Record: 511.55 – Kayla Kelosky, Clarion (2011)
  • 2021 Champion: Gracyn Segard, Grand Valley – 448.35

Podium:

  1. Gracyn Segard, Grand Valley – 459.75
  2. Kelsey DeJesus, West Florida – 434.50
  3. Mikaela Senkus, Wayne State – 433.30
  4. Madison Brinkman, St Cloud St – 427.90
  5. Amy Crayne, Azusa Pacific – 422.85
  6. Regan Gubera, McKendree – 418.60
  7. Jolynn Harris, Colorado Mesa – 417.95
  8. Melia Stout, Azusa Pacific – 408.60

After a fourth-place finish on the 3-meter board on Thursday, Grand Valley’s Gracyn Segard was back on the top step of the podium in 1-meter diving with 459.75 total points. In 2021, she was the national champion on both boards.

West Florida’s Kelsey DeJesus finished second with 434.50 points, just beating Mikaela Senkus of Wayne State (433.30). DeJesus was third in 3-meter diving.

Women’s 400 Freestyle Relay – Timed Finals

  • NCAA DII Record: 3:18.04 – Queens (NC) (2018 and again in 2019)
  • Meet Record: 3:18.04 – Queens (NC) (2018 and again in 2019)
  • 2021 Champion: Indy – 3:19.98

Podium:

  1. Queens – 3:19.14
  2. Indy – 3:20.86
  3. West Chester – 3:21.60
  4. Lindenwood – 3:23.17
  5. Simon Fraser – 3:23.62
  6. Drury – 3:24.02
  7. Tampa – 3:24.41
  8. Wingate – 3:24.46

Queens wrapped up the meet and sealed their national title with a victory in the 400 free relay. Monica Gumina (49.48), Danielle Melilli (48.62), Anna De Boer (50.15), and Kayla Tennant (50.89) combined for 3:19.14.

Indy finished 1.7 seconds behind with swims from Johanna Buys (50.27), Leticia Vaselli, Marizel Van Jaarsveld, and Krystal Caylor (49.86).

Third place went to West Chester’s Ann Carozza (50.29), Mckenzie Hemingway (50.73), Mikayla Niness (50.09), and Keeley Durkin (50.49).

Final Team Scores

                     Women - Team Rankings - Through Event 41                     
 
  1. Queens (Nc)                     536.5   2. Indy                              423
  3. Nova S'Eastern                  368.5   4. Drury                           342.5
  5. Colorado Mesa                     241   6. West Chester                      231
  7. Lindenwood                        213   8. Simon Fraser                      187
  9. Tampa                             150  10. Carson-Newman                     148
 11. Wingate                           144  12. West Florida                      125
 13. Nmu                               108  14. Lynn                               97
 15. Delta State                        85  16. Wayne State                        81
 17. Iup                                67  18. Msu Mankato                        58
 19. McKendree                          56  20. Saint Leo                          46
 21. Grand Valley                       45  22. Azusa Pacific                      43
 23. St Cloud St                        37  24. Augustana                          30
 24. Florida Tech                       30  26. Florida Southern                   26
 27. Rollins                          16.5  28. Mines                              16
 28. Henderson St.                      16  30. Umsl                               14
 31. Clarion University                 11  32. Saginaw Valley State Univ           8
 33. Umary                               7  34. Csu East Bay                        6
 35. Oklahoma Christian                  4  36. Sioux Falls                         1
 36. Gannon                              1

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About Anne Lepesant

Anne Lepesant

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 …

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