2024 Women’s Division 1 NCAA Championships: Day 2 Prelims Live Recap

2024 WOMEN’S NCAA SWIMMING AND DIVING CHAMPIONSHIPS

• March 20-23, 2024
• Gabrielsen Natatorium, Athens, Georgia
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• Day 1 Finals Recap

Day 2 Prelims Heat Sheet 

Good Morning, Good Morning, Good Morning and welcome to the first preliminary session of the 2024 Women’s NCAA Championships. If you woke up and expected Virginia to be in the lead after day 1, I would suggest you check the results again, as Florida is holding onto the slimmest of leads. However, the sky has not fallen for the defending Champs, as the Cavaliers enter today with two of our three top seeds.

Unsurprisingly, the Walsh sisters are expected to lead the charge this morning, with Alex Walsh, the top seed in the 200 IM, and her younger sister Gretchen Walsh carrying the torch in the 50. The pair are not alone, however, as teammates, Aimee Canny (#6 in the 500), Cavan Gormsen (#15 in the 500), Ella Nelson (#7 in the 200 IM), Jasmine Nocentini (#2 in the 50) and Maxine Parker (#10 in the 50) are all seeded within scoring range.

Looking to break up that stranglehold at the top of the 50 free is an experienced set of rival ACC swimmers. Katharine Berkoff will lead the first of the circle-seeded heats and will look to repeat her swim from last night of 20.35, albeit without the attached DQ. Behind her and trying to hold off the surge of swimmers are Louisville’s 1-2 punch of Christiana Regenauer and Gabi Albiero.

UVA and Louisville are not the only schools projected to put two swimmers into the A-Finals as Florida, fresh off their 800 Freestyle Relay title, will look to take the two middle lanes tonight in the 500 as Bella Sims (#1 seed) and Emma Weyant (#3) seed lead the charge for the Gators. Standing in their way is Georgia’s Rachel Stege, who sits just .34 behind in the seeding and will look to home-pool advantage to revenge her loss from the Georgia Invite. Stege and the Georgia Bulldogs will look to jump up the team rankings tonight from this event; they are seeded to place two other swimmers within the A-final as fellow juniors Dune Coetzee and Abigail McCulloh are seeded 6th and 8th, respectively.

If the 50 is led by the ACC and the 500 by the SEC, then the 200 IM is no [wo]man’s land. Alex Walsh holds down the top spot and will follow Isabel Ivey (Florida) and Josephine Fuller (Tennesse) in lane 4 of the circle-seeded heats. Big-12 rep and Texas fifth-year Kelly Pash will look to give Texas some momentum after a muted Day 1, and the PAC-12 schools of Stanford and Cal will look to rep their conference one last time with freshman Stanford Cardinal Caroline Bricker and junior Cal Bear Lea Polonsky holding down the 5th and 6th seeds.

500 YARD FREESTYLE – Prelims

• NCAA Record: 4:24.06, Katie Ledecky (Stanford) 4:24.06 — 2017
• Meet Record: 4:24.06, Katie Ledecky (Stanford) — 2017
• American Record: 4:24.06, Katie Ledecky (Stanford) — 2017
• US Open Record: 4:24.06, Katie Ledecky (Stanford) — 2017
• Pool Record: 4:24.06, Katie Ledecky (Stanford) — 2017
• 2023 Champion: 4:36.62, Kensey McMahon (Alabama)

Top 16:

1. Emma Weyant (Florida) – 4:34.32
2. Anna Peplowski (Indiana) – 4:34.72
3. Bella Sims (Florida) – 4:35.01
4. Aurora Roghair (Stanford) – 4:35.34
5. Cavan Gormsen (Virginia) – 4:36.07
6. Dune Coetzee (Georgia) – 4:36.07
7. Abby McCulloh (Georgia) – 4:36.40
8. Rachel Stege (Georgia) – 4:37.40
9. Katelyn Crom (Michigan) – 4:37.55
10. Claire Tuggle (USC) – 4:37.77
11. Abby Carlson (Wisconsin) – 4:37.84
12. Hayden Miller (Texas A&M) – 4:37.89
13. Rachel Klinker (California) – 4:38.07
14. Ayla Spitz (Northwestern) – 4:38.51
15. Mia Motekaitis (Cal) – 4:38.56
16. Lindsay Looney (ASU) – 4:38.87

Welp! That was a fast start to the day. Jumping straight into the race with no preamble or introductions, LSU’s Megan Barnes smashed a new PB en route to taking the first heat in a time of 4:41.01, a new personal best by over four seconds. It should be noted that it took 4:40.81 to make the top 16 last year, so expect more fast times to come.

Heat 3 saw two swimmers swim under Barnes’s time, with Emma Hastings posting a new PB of 4:40.67, a time that would have qualified 15th last year, and there are still 40 swimmers remaining. Following the NC State swimmer was open-water specialist Mariah Denigan. The Indiana Hoosier sat out most of the collegiate year, swimming only at Big-Tens. Already qualified for the 2024 Olympics in the 10K, Denigan’s 500 time of 4:40.93 is just off her PB of 4:40.52.

Halfway through and already there are three swimmers under last year’s top 16. Heat 4’s Nicole Maier (Michigan) and Elyse Heiser (Indiana) both nipped under Hastings’s time, hitting the wall in 4:39.73 and 4:40.57, respectively. Seeing as Emma Weyant was 4:39.51 last year and placed 8th in prelims, so with 32 more swimmers, every expecting to sail in easily should take notice.

Seeded just outside of the circle seed heats, last year’s runner-up Abby Carlson surged through the heat and took the win in heat 5 handily. Last year, Carlson qualified 2nd with a time of 4:37.56, and this morning posted a time of 4:37.84. Joining Carlson under 4:40 was Northwestern’s Ayla Spitz with a time of 4:38.51. Spitz was 4:41.20 last year, representing Cal, and placed 20th in prelims.

In the first of the circle seeded heats, Florida’s Emma Weyant looks smooth and in control, easily pacing herself to a time of 4:34.32, nearly matching her seed time of 4:34.25. Notably, last year, Weyant was 4:39.51 in the morning (8th) and swam a 4:38.46 in the finals to place 6th. UVA had mixed results in this heat. Cavan Gormsen shadowed Weyant much of the race and placed 2nd in the heat with a time of 4:36.07, while her teammate Aimee Canny, who entered as the 6th seed, swam a 4:39.11 and sits 7th with two heats remaining.

After hanging with Bella Sim last night in the opening leg of the relay, Indiana’s Anna Peplowski is still throwing down fast times. Entered with a seed time and PB of 4:37.47, the junior rocketed out to a new best of 4:34.72 and placed second overall. Of the Georgia trio, Dune Coetzee had the best time, posting a 4:36.27 to place ahead of her teammates Abby McCulloh (4:36.40) and Rachel Stege (4:37.40).

Heat 8 was a lot closer affair than many would have thought, perhaps due to nerves of Sims’s first individual swim, or it was just race strategy, but Sims had to use a strong last 50 to take the win. Her time of 4:35.01 was well off her entry time by over two seconds, but was enough to qualify through into the final as the #3 seed. Stanford junior Aurora Roghair pushed Sims much of the race and led much of the way.

Note: 8th last year was 4:39.51 and 16th was 4:40.81, while this year it took 4:37.40 and 4:38.87. Coincidentally, ASU’s Lindsay Looney was 16th last year and is 16th this year. The top 17 would have all made the A-final last year, and the top 24 this year were faster than 16th last year.

200 YARD INDIVIDUAL MEDLEY – Prelims

• NCAA Record: 1:48.37, Kate Douglass (Virginia) – 2023
• Meet Record: 1:48.37, Kate Douglass (Virginia) – 2023
• American Record: 1:48.37, Kate Douglass (Virginia) – 2023
• US Open Record: 1:48.37, Kate Douglass (Virginia) – 2023
• Pool Record: 1:51.62, Meghan Small (Tennessee) – 2019
• 2023 Champion: 1:48.37, Kate Douglass (Virginia)

Top 16:

1. Alex Walsh (Virginia) – 1:51.95
2. Josephine Fuller (Tennessee) – 1:52.95
3. Ella Nelson (Virginia) – 1:53.05
4. Kelly Pash (Texas) – 1:53.37
5. Lucy Bell (Stanford) – 1:53.50
6. Phoebe Bacon (Wisconsin) – 1:53.53
7. Isabel Ivey (Florida) – 1:53.63
8. Zoe Dixon (Florida) – 1:53.73
9. Zoie Hartman (Georgia) – 1:53.79
10. Caroline Bricker (Stanford) – 1:54.32
11. Lea Polonsky (Cal) – 1:54.34
12. Kennedy Noble (NC State) – 1:54.62
13. Emma Sticklen (Texas) – 1:55.12
14. Sarah Foley (Duke) – 1:55.18
15. Fernanda Gomes Celidonio (Louisville) – 1:55.21
16. Abby Daniel (Akron) – 1:55.45

The early leader halfway through the heats was Louisville’s Tristen Ulett. Ulett, who swam out of heat 4, posted a time of 1:56.38, dropping a second off her seed time. Her time would hold up until heat 6 where her teammate Fernanda Gomes Celidonio would overtake her time with a 1:55.21. Joining the Louisville junior under 1:56.00 was Akron’s Abby Daniel, who posted a time of 1:55.45.

The first of the circle-seeded heats saw the SEC take charge of the leaderboard. Continuing their impressive run from last night, Tennessee’s Josephine Fuller took over the top time, swimming a speedy 1:52.95, using a speedy last 50 of 27.50 to distance herself over Florida’s Zoe Dixon.

With one heat remaining, Flordia’s Isabel Ivey did enough to win the heat and sit behind only Fuller. Ivey’s time of 1:53.63 was more than a second slower than her seed time but closed in 26.94 split, showing off that freestyle ability.

The last heat was an all UVA affair as Alex Walsh and Ella Nelson cruised to the wall. Walsh’s time of 1:51.95 was just off the pool record of 1:51.62 and she should have more in the tank tonight as she swam 1:50.07 last year in finals. Ella Nelson‘s time of 1:53.05 is already faster than both her prelims and final swim from 2023 and sets her up nicely to try to go 1-2 in the 200 with Walsh. After adding time last year and failing to make the A-final, Texas’s Kelly Pash used a strong front half to keep within range of Walsh and safely qualified through to the final in 4th after fading on the breaststroke leg.

Note: It took 1:54.43 to qualify for the A-Final and 1:55.48 for the B-Final last year, and this year, while the top 8 was .7 faster, the B-final was essentially the same with Akron’s Abby Daniel’s time of 1:55.45 earning her a second swim.

50 YARD FREESTYLE – Prelims

• NCAA Record: 20.57, Gretchen Walsh (Virginia) — 2024
• Meet Record: 20.79, Maggie MacNeil (LSU) — 2023
• American Record: 20.57, Gretchen Walsh (Virginia) — 2024
• US Open Record: 20.57, Gretchen Walsh (Virginia) — 2024
• Pool Record: 21.15, Erika Brown (Tennessee) – 2019
• 2023 Champion: 20.79, Maggie MacNeil (LSU) — 2023

Top 8:

1.  Gretchen Walsh (Virginia) – 20.41 *** New Everything Record***
2.  Katharine Berkoff (NC State) – 21.23
3.  Jasmine Nocentini (Virginia) – 21.29
4.  Christiana Regenauer (Louisville) – 21.37
5.  Gabi Albiero (Louisville) – 21.54
6.  Brady Kendall (Michigan) – 21.69
7.  Julia Dennis (Louisville)/ Maxine Parker (Virginia)/Grace Cooper (Texas) – 21.71
10. Amy Tang (Stanford) – 21.75
11. Caroline Famous (USC) – 21.78
12. Amy Fulmer (OSU) – 21.80
13. Kristina Paegle (Indiana) – 21.83
14. Teresa Ivan (OSU) – 21.85
15. Ashley Turak (Indiana) – 21.91
16. Eloise Riley (Cal) – 21.93

Sorry folks, if you were expecting a heat-by-heat summary of the 50, my typing skills aren’t that fast, especially considering the speed at which these swimmers were going.

Taking the top seed, unsurprisingly, was Virginia Gretchen Walsh. What may have been slightly surprising was Walsh’s new NCAA record of 20.41, but it seems like every time she touches the water, she seems to be breaking a record, so maybe I should be surprised. Walsh was 9.99 to the feet on the first 25 and just looked so effortless on the backhalf. One should note that all of this comes with a reaction time of .76, the slowest amongst the entire field, not just the top 8.

After getting DQed last night in the relay, Katharine Berkoff redeemed herself and will take lane 5 tonight, swimming 21.23 this morning out of the first of the circle-seeded heats. I mentioned above how the 50 free had an ACC tilt to it, and the results only confirm it. Louisville managed to place three swimmers into the top 9 as did Virginia. Michigan’s Brady Kendall is the only lock in the A-Final to come from a non-ACC school, as Texas’s Grace Cooper tied with Julia Dennis (Louisville) and Maxine Parker (Virginia) at 21.71.

The three will swim off for the two outside lanes in the 50 tonight, with the slowest of the three relegated to the B-Final.

Looking at the team race, the 50 tilted heavily away from the SEC programs as Mona McSharry posted the fastest time for her conference at 21.99, tying for 22nd.

Note: Last year at NCAAs, it took 21.71 and 21.98 to make it back, and this year, the three-way tie for 7th sits at 21.71. The 16th place time this year was a 21.93 swum by Cal fifth-year Eloise Riley.

Swim-Offs

There will be two swim-offs in the 50 Free.

• 7th: Julia Dennis, Maxine Parker, and Grace Cooper tied at 21.71, and the fastest two will move into the A-final
• 17th: Sofia Maksimova (Cal Baptist), Abby Arens (NC State), and Ava Longi (Texas) all tied for 1st alternate at 21,94, and the fast will take that spot.

7th Place – Top 2 Advance to A-final

1.  Maxine Parker (Virginia) – 21.61
2.  Julia Dennis (Louisville) – -21.83
3.  Grace Cooper (Texas) – 21.86

Well, that was fun. Parker was out the slowest of the trio at the 25 with a 10.56 but closed less than half a second slower (11.05) to not only improve upon her morning swim but secure lane 1 tonight in the A-final, making it three Cavaliers in the A-final. Julia Dennis of Louisville accomplishes the same feat swimming a tad slower but still becoming the third Louisville swimmer into the 50 free and 7th ACC  swimmer. With three each from Virginia and Louisville, expect the 200 Free Relay night to be blistering fast.

17th Place

1. Ava Longi (Texas) – 21.89
2. Abby Arens (NC State) – 21.93
3. Sofia Maksimova (Cal Baptist) – 22.01

Texas’s Ava Longi took a similar strategy to Parker and was the slowest at the 25 but used a strong back half to surge to the win. It’s a little bittersweet of a victory as had she swum that time in the prelims; she would have qualified in 15th. Abby Arens’s swim-off time of 21.93, which makes her the 2nd alternate, would have also been fast enough, maybe, to grant a second swim, as her 21.93 would have tied for 16th.