Alabama Closes Out NCAAs With Their First Ever Relay Title (Splits Analysis)

2021 NCAA WOMEN’S SWIMMING & DIVING CHAMPIONSHIPS

The final day of the 2021 NCAA Women’s Swimming & Diving Championships was full of firsts. Not only did we have an ACC team crack the top two overall finishes for the first time ever, as UVA won and NC State took 2nd, but the Alabama Crimson Tide women closed out the meet with their first NCAA relay victory ever.

Swimming in the final heat, Morgan Scott led off with a 47.78, the 3rd-fastest leadoff leg in the field, behind UVA’s Kate Douglass (46.76) Michigan Maggie MacNeil (46.94), both of whom were swimming the same heat.

Alabama closed the gap with a pair of 47s from Kalia Antoniou (47.16) and Flora Molnar (47.94), then anchor Cora Dupre dropped the hammer with a 46.90, the 3rd-fastest overall split, and 2nd-fastest on a flying start, to get past UVA and touch in a time of 3:09.78 and set a new school record.

Cal junior Isabel Ivey had the fastest overall split in the field by a wide margin, anchoring the Bears with a 46.10 that was 0.66s ahead of the next-fastest time, Douglass’ leadoff.

Team Swimmer Time
Cal Isabel Ivey 46.10
Virginia Kate Douglass 46.76
Alabama Cora Dupre 46.90
Michigan Maggie MacNeil 46.94
NC State Kylee Alons 47.05
Alabama Kalia Antoniou 47.16
Tennessee Tjasa Pintar 47.35
Georgia Zoie Hartman 47.51
Texas Julia Cook 47.61
Virginia Alex Walsh 47.63
Texas Kelly Pash 47.72
Alabama Morgan Scott 47.78
NC State Sophie Hanson 47.80
Ohio State Katherine Zenick 47.86
Ohio State Amy Fulmer 47.93
Alabama Flora Molnar 47.94
Cal Elise Garcia 47.94
NC State Katharine Berkoff 47.94
Northwestern Maddie Smith 47.95
Virginia Paige Madden 47.98
Tennessee Bailey Grinter 47.98
Virginia Lexi Cuomo 48.08
UNC Grace Countie 48.10
Virginia Tech Sarah Shackelford 48.12
Florida Talia Bates 48.14
Georgia Gabi Fa’Amausili 48.17
Cal Emily Gantriis 48.20
Stanford Amalie Fackenthal 48.23
Louisville Alena Kraus 48.28
Georgia Maxine Parker 48.37
Stanford Lauren Green 48.37
Cal Robin Neumann 48.4o
Florida Katie Mack 48.4
Ohio State Taylor Petrak 48.41
Wisconsin Phoebe Bacon 48.41
Virginia Tech Reka Gyorgy 48.42
UCLA Claire Grover 48.42
Louisville Tristen Ulett 48.43
Virginia Tech Emma Atkinson 48.45
NC State Julia Poole 48.46
Tennessee Trude Rothrock 48.50
Northwestern Ally Larson 48.5
Louisville Paige Hetrick 48.53
Indiana Ashley Turak 48.56
Michigan Megan Glass 48.58
Missouri Sarah Thompson 48.58
Louisville Gabi Albiero 48.60
Stanford Anya Goeders 48.66
Wisconsin Alana Palmer 48.69
Indiana Abby Kirkpatrick 48.74
Northwestern Selen Ozbilen 48.76
Missouri Amy Fedderson 48.77
Tennessee Mona McSharry 48.83
Ohio State Freya Rayner 48.83
Michigan Olivia Carter 48.83
Indiana Elizbeth Broshears 48.91
Missouri Sierra Smith 48.91
Stanford Emma Wheal 48.94
Wisconsin Isabel Lampre 48.94
UNC Sophie Lindner 48.96
UCLA Delaney Smith 48.96
Indiana Laurel Eiber 48.99
Michigan Sophie Housey 49.00
UCLA Sophia Kosturos 49.03
UCLA Ella Kirschke 49.03
Georgia Courtney Harnish 49.04
UNC Amy Dragelin 49.05
Missouri Megan Keil 49.06
Texas Olivia Bray 49.07
Virginia Tech Joelle Vereb 49.08
UNC Heidi Lowe 49.15
USC Kaitlyn Dobler 49.22
Wisconsin Lillie Hosack 49.23
USC Jemma Schlicht 49.28
USC Marta Ciesla 49.31
Northwestern Annika Wagner 49.37
Texas Bridget Semenuk 49.42
Florida Gabrielle Hillis 49.70
Florida Kathleen Golding 49.75
USC Isabelle Odgers 49.84

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Swimily
3 years ago

Love the energy of the Bama women, 5 of top 22 100 FR including Diana! Thank you Ozzie and Margo (and all the other coaches) for their help training these swimmers against all odds, in a year full of ups and downs. But most importantly, love the attitude expressed by Morgan- just have fun! Roll Tide!!!!

Treefanboy
3 years ago

Stanford has it in the bag next year. Shaw, who will be a freshman next season, has already split a 47.4 before. Should be under 47 with her rapid improvements lately. Not to mention that Taylor Ruck will be returning who is 45 easily, plus Smith who we all know can pull off at least a 46, 4th swimmer can also be 47.

W_P_1
Reply to  Treefanboy
3 years ago

Something tells me Tori Huske can pull off a 46 as well

Treefanboy
Reply to  W_P_1
3 years ago

LOL sorry totally forgot. So 46×3 possibly and a 45. That’s scary.

RTR
3 years ago

I love Morgan’s interview after the 400 Free Relay!

Joshua
Reply to  RTR
3 years ago

MOMO

Col. Trautman
3 years ago

Congratulations to Coley Stickels. Took a 34th place team and brought them into the top 5 in only two years.

Swim3057
Reply to  Col. Trautman
3 years ago

If Coley deserves any kudos, then he also should accept the responsibility of his personal actions that cost him his job and disrupted the team!
Kudos to Ozzie, the staff and team that drew strength from each other to finish strong.
And if we are crediting those no longer with the program; Denny and Jonty recruited McMahon, White and Antoniou and coached them for a year before they left.

PappaSnurf
Reply to  Swim3057
3 years ago

Of course. Here we go again w the unsubstantiated nonsense. Give the guy a break. He coached those 100 freestylers for the past 2 years and set that team up for their performances which is undeniable. Denny and Jonty have nothing to do with it. The women’s team was almost non existent when they left.

Ferb
Reply to  PappaSnurf
3 years ago

Maybe, but these are college kids, and performance measured by the numbers, at any cost, is not necessarily the optimal goal for a program. How many athletes were chewed up and spit out in order to make the coach look good by the numbers?

Doug
Reply to  PappaSnurf
3 years ago

Stickels is the primary reason this relay performed the way it did. Not mentioned in any previous comments is the AD and associate AD have been nothing but a disgrace in their support of the swimming and diving program. That information will come out, soon. A previous coach took it upon himself to undermine the new coaching staff and is still active in his efforts even after Stickels resigned. In spite of all the distractions the girls found the strength and desire to push through everything and show their talent. Congratulations to the girls!

Coach
Reply to  Doug
3 years ago

I disagree. The athletes are the primary reason this relay performed the way it did.

Swim3057
Reply to  Doug
3 years ago

This is certainly getting tiresome….
Coley Stickels is no longer at Alabama and he can continue to post under other names on this site or have those that he has convinced of his side of the story but the facts are:
Someone who yearned to be a college head coach and got a Power 5 job left after 19 1/2 months on the job either because he “resigned” prior to being terminated for actions he committed or because he quit on his team to “coach pro swimmers for the Olympics”. What coach walks out in the middle of the season – he could have left after NCAA’s? He was supposedly going to coach Olympic hopefuls in the Alabama… Read more »

Coach
3 years ago

Congrats to the Alabama ladies. In a year full of distractions, they made school history.

Tyler
3 years ago

Kalia is the LOML

Hint of Lime
3 years ago

Crazy to think that Bama, NC State, and UVA had all yet to win a relay title before this year, but kudos. Milestones for all!

Broken record, but that split from Ivey is monster. I know there’s the relay start to factor in, but top-notch for her!

BearlyBreathing
Reply to  Hint of Lime
3 years ago

I worry that she is going to be the best swimmer who never won an individual title.

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