COLUMBUS, Ohio — The Badgers opened the NCAA championships with a performance in the 800-yard freestyle relay that was good enough for third-fastest in school history.  

The Wisconsin women's swimming and diving team was fast in the lone event contested during the meet's opening session Wednesday, scoring a 17th-place finish. The team of Abby Jagdfeld, Jess Unicomb, Emmy Sehmann and Beata Nelson raced to a time of 7 minutes, 2.58 seconds.

"That's the fastest we've been this year, so any time you can get your best time at NCAAs, you've done a great job," said head coach Whitney Hite. "We fell just a little bit short of scoring some points, but it's nothing we can't overcome."

Jagdfeld got things started by recording a leadoff split of 1:45.61, and Nelson anchored the unit with a blistering 1:42.58 split.

"Beata was as good as anybody in the pool — there were probably only 10 splits faster than hers out of the whole field," Hite said. "That bodes well for the rest of the meet."

The Badgers now turn their attention to the first full day of competition at the NCAA championships, which is set to begin with time trials Thursday at 9 a.m. (CT).

"Tomorrow's a big day for us. We've got two big relays, the 200 IM and the 50 free; so, it's an important morning," Hite said. "We'll be ready."