SMU Sends Eight to 2014 Women’s NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships

Championship Info…
For all your NCAA Championship information click here. Schedules, live results and video, ticket information and much more can be found on the site. Thursday, Friday and Saturday preliminaries will be available online, while only Thursday finals will be streamed. Friday andSaturday finals can be found on ESPN3.

NCAA Standards…
The Mustangs posted 18 individual `B’ standard times and four provisional relay times during the 2013-14 season. Of those qualifying times, SMU will compete with five relay teams and four individuals (Nina Rangelova, Marne Erasmus, Tara-Lynn Nicholas and Rachel Nicol) at the NCAA Championship. Isabella Arcila, Monika Babok, Nathalie Lindborg and Ursa Bezan will represent the Mustangs as part of relay events. Marne Erasmus posted a pool and school record in the 100-yard butterfly to earn an `A’ standard time of 51.73 at the American Athletic Conference Championship (Feb. 19-22). The freshman was also a member of the 400-yard medley relay team of senior Nina Rangelova and juniors Isabella Arcila and Rachel Nicol that clocked in at 3:31.21 to meet the qualifying standard.  

American Standouts…
The SMU women’s swimming and diving team placed nine student-athletes on the 2014 Swimming and Diving All-Conference Team. Participants were awarded the honor for placing top three in their respective events at the inaugural conference championship held Feb. 19-22. Isabella Arcila, Monika Babok, Ursa Bezan, Marne Erasmus, Nathalie Lindborg, Kirsty McLauchlan, Tara-Lynn Nicholas, Rachel Nicol and Nina Rangelova were All-AAC selections. 

Looking Back…
The Mustangs finished tied for 24th at the 2013 NCAA Championship. Now seniors Nina Rangelova and Monika Babok and juniors Nathalie Lindborg and Isabella Arcila were two-time All-America honorees for their finishes in the 200-yard freestyle relay and the 400-yard freestyle relay. SMU has 16 top-10 finishes at the NCAA Championships, 10 of those in the top five.

Ranking The Competition…
At the SMU Classic Oct. 18-19, the Mustangs faced four teams that were ranked in the top 25 of the final 2012-13 NCAA/CSCAA Rankings. USC (1), Indiana (13), North Carolina (15) and Louisville (16) were all present on the Hilltop. The Texas A&M Invite Nov. 21-23featured the host Aggies, who were then-ranked No. 4, and then-No. 7 Stanford. When the Mustangs traveled to College Station on Jan. 11, Texas A&M held the No. 2 spot in the polls. At The American Athletic Conference Championship, Louisville was tied for 13th in the poll.

Last Time Out: American Athletic Conference Championship…
Night 1: To start the swimming events, the Ponies earned a second place finish in the 800-yard freestyle relay. The team of senior Nina Rangelova, junior Nathalie Lindborg and freshmen Ursa Bezan and Kirsty McLauchlan clocked in at 7:10.70, which was also a season-best performance dropping from the previous time of 7:16.35. In the 200-yard medley relay, senior Monika Babok, Lindborg and fellow juniors Isabella Arcila and Rachel Nicol finished in an time of 1:38.58. SMU’s previous season-best time in the event was 1:39.31.
Night 2: The 200-yard freestyle relay team of senior Monika Babok, juniors Isabella Arcila and Nathalie Lindborg and freshman Marne Erasmus won the 200-yard freestyle relay in a time 1:29.83 good for a new pool record and an NCAA `B’ standard time. SMU also accounted for four of the top eight spots in the 50-yard freestyle to highlight a successful night two. Erasmus led the way with a second place finish as she clocked in at 22.68, while Arcila (22.80) finished fourth. Both recorded times under that of the previous pool record in the event. Senior Nina Rangelova led the Mustangs in the 500-yard freestyle with a runner-up finish and a personal-best time of 4:43.97.
Night 3: Freshman Marne Erasmus took home the championship in the 100-yard butterfly in a time that set a new school standard and pool record. Erasmus clocked in at 51.73, which bested a 51.89 posted by Martina Moravcova in 1999 and qualifies her for the NCAA Championship with an `A’ standard time. Erasmus was also a part of the championship 400-yard medley relay team that finished with a 3:33.21 and posted both an NCAA qualifying time and a pool record finish. The championship squad also included senior Nina Rangelova and juniors Rachel Nicol and Isabella Arcila. Nicol also posted a new school standard for SMU in the 100-yard breaststroke finishing second in the event with a time of 1:00.11, which breaks a record set by Corrie Clark (1:00.74) in 2005. In the 200-yard freestyle, Rangelova swam a season-best 1:45.00 and placed second, while freshman Ursa Bezan finished fourth clocking in with a season-best 1:47.87. In the consolation final of the event, junior Nathalie Lindborg (1:48.29) swam the event’s fifth-fastest time for the top spot. Arcila also earned runner-up honors for the Ponies as she finished the 100-yard backstroke in a time of 53.80.
Night 4: Freshman Tara-Lynn Nicholas set a pool record in the 200-yard breaststroke to take home a conference championship. Nicholas posted a 2:10.10 to narrowly edge out teammate Rachel Nicol, who clocked in at 2:10.33 to earn the silver for SMU. The 400-yard freestyle relay team concluded the night with a second-place finish to give one final boost to the Mustangs’ team score. The combination of seniors Monika Babok and Nina Rangelova and juniors Isabella Arcila and Nathalie Lindborg finished in a time of 3:17.20. In the 200-yard backstroke, Arcila posted a runner-up finish for SMU with a season-best 1:55.27, and the 100-yard freestyle saw Rangelova tie for third place with a season-best 49.43, and teammate Marne Erasmus place eighth in a time of 50.31, also a season best.

This release was provided to SwimSwam courtesy of SMU Swimming and Diving.