Kelsi Worrell will swim the same event set in her final NCAA Championships as she did in 2015. Although Worrell’s performances over the course of this final year had teased that some new events were possible, Worrell stuck with what works.
According to the just released pre-cut NCAA psych sheet, The Louisville senior elected to defend her NCAA titles in both butterflies as well as her third place showing in the 50 freestyle.
Worrell has flashed versatility all year, swimming at times backstroke and IM in smaller competitions. At the 2015 Louisville Invitational, she recorded a 52.53 in the 100 backstroke. That time would have put her in 27th on the pre-cut psych sheet. She also swam a 1:55.63 in a dual meet with Indiana and a 1:56.75 in the 200 IM at the invitational.
Although it would seem obvious for Worrell to continue to swim the three races, she has elected to swim (and win) the 100 freestyle at the ACC Championships the past two years.
Swimming the 200 Butterfly gives Louisville more balance in it’s NCAA lineup. The Cardinals have a decent chance to score in the 100 freestyle behind Mallory Comerford. Comerford is 17th on the psych sheet.
While a second straight NCAA victory in the 100 fly looks likely, Worrell has strong competition in the 200. Stanford’s Ella Eastin just swam a 1:51, making it likely that Worrell will have to swim even faster than her 2015 winning time (1:51.1) to stay on top.
