March 15, 2012
Results
MADISON, Wis. - Senior Beckie Thompson made sure the NCAA Championships in Auburn, Ala., started off on the right foot for the Badgers on Thursday, finishing seventh in the 50 free and breaking her own school record in the event.
Thompson's record time came in the prelims of the 200 free relay, where she led off with a time of 21.94, which surpassed the school record of 22.04 that she established just weeks ago at the 2012 Big Ten Championships. Powered by Thompson's record time, the UW relay team of Ivy Martin, Ruby Martin, Rebecka Palm and Thompson earned the 9th seed in the event (1:28.63) and held on for a 10th-place finish in the finals, cutting their time to 1:28.51 in the process.
Thompson followed up her record-breaking swim with a seventh-place finish in the 50 free, posting a time of 22.16. Also competing for the Badgers in the 50 free was Ivy Martin, who sprinted to a time of 22.67 in the prelim, but missed qualifying for the finals.
Danielle Beckwith and Monika Stitski swam well in the 500 free, but ultimately missed qualifying for the finals, as their respective times of 4:45.76 and 4:47.61 were the 36th and 41st best on the day.
Wisconsin was also well-represented in the 200 IM, with four swimmers finishing in the top 60. Aja Van Hout led the way with a 25th-place finish (1:58.68), followed closely by Laura Miller in 37th (1:59.81). Ashley Wanland and Brittany Kimmitt rounded out the event for Wisconsin, racing to 47th (2:00.62) and 56th (2:02.15) place, respectively. Van Hout's time was her fastest of the season and Wanland missed a season-best time of her own by only .04 seconds.
The Badgers capped off the evening with a good performance in the 400 medley relay, where Amie Osten, Wanland, Palm and Thompson touched in at 3:34.78 for 15th place.
California leads the meet with 132 points, 102 ahead of the 14th place Badgers. The Badgers trail 12th place Indiana by two points, and will try to close that gap tomorrow, when the 200 medley relay, 400 IM, 100 fly, 200 free, 100 breast, 100 back, and 800 free relay are among events scheduled. Competition will resume at 11 a.m.
