Women’s NCAA Day 3 Finals Preview: Virginia Holds 3 of 5 Top Seeds

2021 NCAA WOMEN’S SWIMMING & DIVING CHAMPIONSHIPS

Day 3 Finals Heat Sheet

The Virginia Cavaliers continue their dominant performance in Greensboro with tonight’s scoring finals session, featuring the 400 IM, 100 fly, 200 free, 100 breast, 100 back, and 200 medley relay timed finals. Virginia will have at least one A-finalist in each of the five individual events this evening while Texas, NC State, and Cal will see four swimmers in the A-final. Here’s a breakdown of the races to watch this evening.

400 Individual Medley

Leading prelims this morning was Virginia sophomore Ella Nelson, swimming less than a tenth ahead of Kentucky sophomore Lauren Poole. Yet the top seed on the psych sheet was Stanford senior Brooke Forde, last season’s top performer. Sneaking into the final for Michigan was Kathryn Ackerman, the only freshman in the A-final.

The 9th-15th place qualifiers are separated by a half second, led by seniors Alexis Yager of Alabama and Kristen Romano of Ohio State.

100 Butterfly

It will be Douglass V. MacNeil Part II in the 100 fly A-final, with Virginia sophomore Kate Douglass leading the event with her sub-50 morning effort over Michigan junior Maggie MacNeil. Juniors Alabama’s Rhyan White and Cal’s Izzy Ivey swam identical times for 3rd this morning, sandwiching Douglass and MacNeil. Virginia sophomore Lexi Cuomo just snuck in for 8th into the championship final.

Notre Dame sophomore Coleen Gillilan leads the B-final this evening over Virginia freshman Abby Harter and Kentucky junior Izzy Gati.

200 Freestyle

After winning the 500 free yesterday, Virginia senior Paige Madden will aim for a second title in Greensboro in the 200 free. Behind her are sophomores Talia Bates of Florida and Kelly Pash of Texas, ahead of Virginia freshman and last night’s 200 IM champion Alex Walsh.

In the B-final, Cal sophomore Ayla Spitz holds almost a second over Houston senior Mykenzie Leehy. Alabama junior Morgan Scott has the fastest psych sheet seed of the other B-finalists.

100 Breaststroke

NC State junior Sophie Hansson will aim for the 100 breast NCAA title after placing third as a freshman in 2019. Tennessee freshman Mona McSharry, Ohio State sophomore Hannah Bach, and USC freshman Kaitlyn Dobler were within 0.06s this morning.

Northwestern sophomore Hannah Brunzell leads the B-final over NC State senior Olivia Calegan and Texas freshman Anna Elendt, who tied for 10th in prelims. Juniors Ema Rajic of Cal and Allie Raab of Stanford will also swim in the consolation final.

100 Backstroke

Alabama’s Rhyan White will be back in the water as the 100 back top seed, tied with NC State sophomore Katharine Berkoff. Wisconsin freshman Phoebe Bacon will also be a top-3 contender in this race along with Cal’s Izzy Ivey, also an 100 fly A-finalist, and freshman teammate Isabelle Stadden.

UNC junior Grace Countie qualified 7th into the A-final while her junior teammate Sophie Lindner qualified as the top seed in the B-final.

200 Medley Relay

Virginia holds the top seed in this relay after breaking the American record at the 2021 ACC Championships. However, NC State is coming off their NCAA record in the 400 medley relay from last night. Likewise, the Cal Bears will avenge their 400 medley relay DQ after surprising with the 200 free relay title.

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About Nick Pecoraro

Nick Pecoraro

Nick has had the passion for swimming since his first dive in the water in middle school, immediately falling for breaststroke. Nick had expanded to IM events in his late teens, helping foster a short, but memorable NCAA Div III swim experience at Calvin University. While working on his B.A. …

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