Cal Golden Bear Rachel Bootsma Swims 2nd Fastest Backstroke in NCAA History

2013 Women’s NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships – 100 Backstroke Final (as reported by Braden Keith)

This video was captured by Garrett McCaffrey.

This year’s freshman backstroking class is surely living up to the hype early in their careers. The top three finishers in the A-Final were all rookies, with Cal’s Rachel Bootsma swimming a 50.13 for the victory. She was followed by two Canadians: Florida’s Sinead Russell (51.46) and Indiana’s Brooklyn Snodgrass (51.52) on the medal podium.

Add to that Virginia’s Courtney Bartholomew as the B0Final champion, and youth has been most definitely served. What’s scary is we’ve got another killer class of backstrokers coming into college next year, including swimmers like Missy Franklin (Cal) and Olivia Smoliga (Georgia). Georgia will really bea ble to use those points to fight back Cal, as the Bulldogs didn’t score in this 100 backstroke.

Stanford’s Felicia Lee was 4th in 51.58, and the two-time defending champ from Cal Cindy Tran was 5th in 51.92.

Texas A&M’s Paige Miller was 6th in 51.93, followed by MIssouri’s Dominique Bouchard and A&M’s Tess Simpson.

The Top 6 in the A-Final and the top 5 in the B-Final were all underclassmen.

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Keith
11 years ago

Considering all the racing she did that 100 back time is impressive. I wonder what she has in store this summer.

Jean Michel
11 years ago

Usa feminin team for Barcelona will be able to count on at least 2 great backstrokers for both 100 and 200 back races . Owesome talent .

bobo gigi
11 years ago

Congrats Miss Bootsma! You are the girl of the meet with the performance of the meet so far. The American record will be for next year.

About Gold Medal Mel Stewart

Gold Medal Mel Stewart

MEL STEWART Jr., aka Gold Medal Mel, won three Olympic medals at the 1992 Olympic Games. Mel's best event was the 200 butterfly. He is a former World, American, and NCAA Record holder in the 200 butterfly. As a writer/producer and sports columnist, Mel has contributed to Yahoo Sports, Universal Sports, …

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