Silver bullets: Badgers take second in medley relay
March 20, 2009 | Women's Swimming & Diving
The Wisconsin women's swimming team came agonizingly close to its first NCAA championship Friday, but it wasn't hard for the Badgers to find a silver lining.
UW matched its best-ever finish in an individual event, as the Badgers' 200-yard medley relay team scored a runner-up finish on the second day of the NCAA Swimming & Diving Championships in College Station, Texas.
The finish was an agonizingly-close one for the Badgers, as the quartet of sophomore Maggie Meyer, freshman Ashley Wanland, senior Christine Zwiegers and freshman Beckie Thompson came within eight one-hundredths of a second of the program's first NCAA title.
The Badgers finished in the runner-up spot with a time of 1:36.53, as Georgia edged UW for the title in 1:36.45.
The performance was one of two outstanding finishes for UW, which stands 11th in the team standings with a score of 96.5. California leads the championship race at 302 with one day of competition remaining.
In addition to her contribution to the Badgers' silver-medal swim in the medley relay, Wanland collected All-America honors with a third-place finish in the 100 breaststroke, as well.
'We started the meet off really well yesterday and we got better today, ' UW head coach Eric Hansen said. 'We put ourselves in position for a national title in the medley relay and we finished second, and that type of performance out of such a young group is something I'm very proud of.'
On the relay, Meyer split a lap of 24.45 as she opened things up for the Badgers on the lead backstroke leg and had UW among several teams who touched just behind then-leader Tennessee.
Wanland followed with a a time of 27.01 over her 50-yard breaststroke segment, pulling the Badgers even with the lead as Zwiegers entered the pool. She clocked her butterfly leg in 23.74 and kept the Badgers with the lead group heading into the final 50 yards.
Thompson took over for the anchor leg and clocked a split of 21.33 -- fastest of any of the eight anchor swimmers in the race -- to bring the Badgers home with their best-ever NCAA finish in the event.
She was nearly a tenth of a second faster than the anchor legs for both Georgia and third-place Tennessee.
UW earned honorable mention All-America honors in the relay last year, finishing 11th.
Wanland's individual race was the latest chapter in what has been an outstanding rookie season, as she clocked in at 59.14 to take third and lower her own school record in the process. USC's Rebecca Soni claimed the title in 58.36, while Minnesota's Jillian Tyler was second in 58.53.
'Ashley has been phenomenal all season and she's been great since the meet started Thursday,' Hansen said. 'To go out and finish third as a true freshman is outstanding, and I'm just excited to watch her 200 breaststroke tomorrow."
