March 20, 2011
Complete Results 
MADISON, Wis. – “I was thinking about moving my arms as fast as I could and moving as much water as possible. I wasn’t really aware of where my competition was; I just wanted to get to the wall.”
That’s what was going through the mind of Wisconsin senior Maggie Meyer over the final yards of the 200 yard backstroke on Saturday at the NCAA Division I Swimming and Diving Championships in Austin, Texas.
After qualifying for the championship final of the 200-yard backstroke with the fastest time in the preliminaries, she did one better during her final individual race as a Badger – she brought home a national title.
The White Bear Lake, Minn., native finished the 200 back in 1:50.76, which is a new school record. She ends the 2010-11 season undefeated in the event with the fastest time in the country this year.
“I feel really tired and really relieved,” Meyer said after the race. “It was my dream to be an NCAA Champion, but I didn’t really feel that was in my grasp until about 35 yards to go. I was happy I could be strong and bring it home.”
Her national title is the first for the Wisconsin women’s swimming and diving program. The Badgers’ previous best finish in an individual event was second, most recently Friday night in the 200-yard medley relay.
Meyer also contributed to the Badgers’ All-America performance in the 400-yard freestyle relay to end the 2011 NCAA Women’s Swimming and Diving Championships in Austin, Texas on Saturday.
“It (was) a really special night,” head coach Eric Hansen said. “We capped off the meet with four of four relays making it into the (championship) finals, and (Meyer’s) national title was the icing on the cake.”
Meyer, freshman Rebecka Palm, junior Beckie Thompson and sophomore Laura Miller finished seventh in the preliminaries (3:15.29) to move on to the championship final in the 400 free relay. The foursome went on to finish eighth in the finals (3:15.95).
All six swimmers who represented Wisconsin in the three-day meet, including sophomore Ruby Martin and junior Ashley Wanland, were awarded with first team All-America honors.
Meyer finished the meet as a six-time All-American and ended her collegiate career with 18 All-America or honorable mention All-America accolades.
“The fact that all six of our swimmers are first team All-Americans says a lot about the girls we brought,” Hansen said. “The work they did was spectacular.”
The Badgers finished the championships in 11th place with 160 points, their best finish as a team since taking ninth place in 2006. California won the team title with 424 points.
Hansen says his expectations for the team going into the championships were exceeded.
“We’re happy with the standings,” he said. “We did a majority of the things we set out to do.”
All-America Honors
100 Backstroke: 4th (52.01) – Maggie Meyer
200 Backstroke: 1st (1:50.76) – Maggie Meyer
100 Breaststroke: 6th (59.57) – Ashley Wanland
200 Freestyle Relay: 6th (1:28.67) – Beckie Thompson, Maggie Meyer, Rebecka Palm, Ruby Martin
400 Freestyle Relay: 8th (3:15.95) – Rebecka Palm, Beckie Thompson, Laura Miller, Maggie Meyer
200 Medley Relay: 2nd (1:35.71) – Maggie Meyer, Ashley Wanland, Rebecka Palm, Beckie Thompson
400 Medley Relay: 5th (3:31.73) - Maggie Meyer, Ashley Wanland, Rebecka Palm, Beckie Thompson
Honorable Mention All-America
50 Freestyle: 15th (22.52) – Beckie Thompson
