Produced by Coleman Hodges.
Reported by Stephen Parsons.
200 FREE RELAY – FINALS
- NCAA Record: Arizona (Lara Jackson, Lindsey Kelly, Justine Schluntz, Taylor Baughman), 1:26.20
- American Record: Arizona (Lara Jackson, Lindsey Kelly, Justine Schluntz, Taylor Baughman), 1:26.20
- U.S. Open Record: Arizona (Lara Jackson, Lindsey Kelly, Justine Schluntz, Taylor Baughman), 1:26.20
- 2015 NCAA Champion: California (Kaylin Bing, Missy Franklin, Rachel Bootsma, Farida Osman), 1:26.41
The leaders of the B final changed owners four times. First off the blocks was Liz Li of Ohio State (21.62), then on the second leg Kelsi Worrell popped off a slower-than-this-morning leg of 21. Mizzou took charge on the third exchange, but was out touched by Wisconsin’s anchor, Annie Tamblyn, who stopped the clock at 1:28.86.
The A final race, however, was neck-to-neck throughout the race with a seemingly even field. Faith Johnson led the charge for the Lady Vols on the first 25, then Olivia Smoliga of Georgia split a 21.46 to give the Bulldogs the edge at the quarter mark. Janet Hu of Stanford blasted off the blocks to give the Cardinal the lead and her teammates carried it the last 100 yards for the unofficial win. Unfortunately, Stanford’s relay was disqualified due to an early take-off on the anchor, resulting in California taking the gold in 1:26.80. Kira Toussaint brought it home in 22.14 to seal Tennessee’s silver medal finish (1:27.42), moving up the Bulldogs up to bronze (1:27.53).
