NCAA Championships Notes: Day 2
March 20, 2010 | Women's Swimming & Diving
March 20, 2010
Swim of the Day: After three consolation final performances on Thursday, it was a step up to the big final Friday in West Lafayette, Ind. The Badgers’ 200-yard medley relay team swam fast enough in the morning session to make the top eight in tonight’s championship finals. In the evening session, the Badgers improved their performance. The team composed of juniors Maggie Meyer and Karlyn Hougan and sophomores Ashley Wanland and Beckie Thompson swam a finals time of 1:37.68 to finish in fifth place and earn All-America honors.
Supporting Cast: Meyer wasn’t done after the relay. With a strong morning performance, Meyer swam her way into the championship finals in the 100-yard backstroke. In the evening session, Meyer cut time from the previous session and touched in with a time of 52.38 which was good enough to give the reigning Big Ten champion a sixth place finish and All-America honors.
Non-Badger Note: It was a roller coaster day at Purdue University for many of the teams in attendance. One team on the rise was the Arizona Wildcats, who came away with one relay win and one individual championship. The Arizona 200 medley relay outlasted Tennessee to bring home the gold. Individually, senior Ann Chandler swam the second-fastest time (58.06) in U.S. history en route to a victory in the 100 breaststroke.
Not to be outdone, Stanford added two individual championships as Julia Smit added another win in the 400 individual medley and Elaine Breeden came home with the gold in the 100 butterfly. Allison Schmitt of Georgia won her second title in as many days in the 200 freestyle and was a member on the winning 800 freestyle relay team for the Bulldogs. Gemma Spofforth of Florida won the 100 backstroke for the third year and Minnesota sophomore Kelci Bryant took the title on the three meter springboard.
Scoreboard: With one day of competition to go, Wisconsin sits in 14th position with 64 team points; well within striking distance of Minnesota (79 points), Tennessee (78.5) and Indiana (77). Michigan sits in 15th with 50 points. Atop the leader board, Stanford maintains a slim lead with 266.5 points. With Georgia (262.5), Arizona (259.5) and Cal (256) not far behind, the team title is up for grabs and will be decided Saturday evening.
Coach Hansen on the Badgers: “I’m really happy with the way the girls fought back today after not performing how they wanted to yesterday. They came in and put together two solid sessions today. The medley relay and Maggie (Meyer) were very impressive. We’re looking forward to taking today’s momentum into the last day of the championships.”
Up Next: The Badgers go in to the final day of competition looking to maximize their scoring opportunities. Individually, Wanland will compete in the 200 breaststroke and Meyer will look to repeat Friday’s success in the 200 backstroke. The 400 freestyle relay will be the final event of the competition and could prove crucial for the Badgers in the final team standings. The relay will also be the final event for senior Rosie Morahan who will be joined by Meyer, Thompson and freshman Laura Miller.
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Ryan Dean
UW Sports Medicine
