NCAA Women’s Championships: 27 Teams Secure Friday Evening Swims But Team Status Quo Unchanged (Heat Sheet)
None of the results from Friday morning’s preliminary session at the NCAA Women’s Championships changed the notion that Virginia is in prime position to win its fifth consecutive national title while Stanford has the edge for second place. However, the session did brine numerous new schools into position to score, with 27 total squads securing top-16 performances and a spot in the evening finals.
Click here to view the heat sheet for Friday’s finals.
Seven teams are projected to score their first points of the meet Friday, barring a disqualification. Houston’s Henrietta Fangli, BYU’s Mackenzie Miller and Cincinnati’s Joleigh Crye all qualified for the championship final of the 100 breaststroke, and Southern Illinois swimmer Celia Pulido accomplished the same feat in the 100 backstroke. Princeton had two consolation finals swimmers in the 400 IM while Akron and Washington State each put their first swimmers into finals.
Moreover, Duke and Virginia Tech each secured an eight-place result (Kaelyn Gridley and Carmen Weiler Sastre, respectively) to ensure that both teams will more than double their current single-digit point totals in the evening.
As for the teams at the top of the scoreboard, Virginia did its job with six A-finalists Friday, two more than any other team. Gretchen Walsh (100 fly), Alex Walsh (100 breast) and Claire Curzan (100 back) all have the top times in their respective events while freshmen Katie Grimes, Leah Hayes and Anna Moesch all secured spots in the top heat. The Cavaliers surely hoped for Aimee Canny (200 free) and Emma Weber (100 breast) to reach the top-eight, but their placement in consolation finals will not be crushing. No expected scorers missed out.
Stanford has outperformed expectations thus far, and that trend continued Friday. As Torri Huske cruised into the 100 fly final as expected, Lillie Nordmann and Gigi Johnson each dropped time as they took 15th and 16th, respectively. Caroline Bricker and Lucy Bell are title contenders in the 400 IM while freshman Emily Thompson made her second medley B-final of the meet. Kayla Wilson (sixth) and Aurora Roghair (ninth) got spots in the 200 free, although Roghair surely had her sights on the A-final, and a big drop for Lucy Thomas resulted in a B-final swim in the 100 breast.
Thursday’s prelims were near-disastrous for Florida, with last year’s third-place team sitting ninth after getting zero A-finalists. But the Gators stabilized Friday as both Emma Weyant and Bella Sims came back from non-scoring performances in the 500 free to finish at or near the top of their respective events. Olivia Peoples snuck into a loaded 100 fly final as the eighth seed while Mabel Zavaros had a big drop to tie for second in the 400 IM.
Also much improved were Texas and Tennessee. Diving bailed out the Longhorns Thursday, with a pair of top-eight finishers in the 1-meter event helping compensate for a just two A-finalists in swimming. Longhorns Emma Sticklen and Abby Arens made the top heat of the 100 fly, although Olivia Bray falling from third last year to 18th will hurt. Erin Gemmell (200 free) and Piper Enge (100 breast) also made A-finals.
The Lady Vols took hits when Josephine Fuller finished three hundredths out of the 100 back A-final and Camille Spink missed scoring territory in the 200 free (she was an A-finalist last year before she was disqualified), but Mona McSharry and McKenzie Siroky went 2-3 in the 100 breast after a strong swim from Brooklyn Douthwright in the 200 free.
Indiana also has three A-finalists, with Anna Peplowski a title contender in the 200 free while Miranda Grana reached the top-eight in both the 100 fly and 100 back. Cal has two top-eight finishers with Lea Polonsky in the 200 free and Mary-Ambre Moluh in the 100 back while Louisville’s Ella Welch and Gabi Albiero both reached the top heat in the 100 fly). Wisconsin’s Callahan Dunn snuck into the 400 IM A-final before teammate Phoebe Bacon took her usual place in the 100 back field.
Day 3 Prelims Up-Downs
- Virginia: 6 up, 2 down
- Stanford: 4 up, 5 down
- Florida: 4 up, 3 down
- Texas: 4 up, 2 down
- Tennessee: 3 up, 3 down
- Indiana: 3 up, 2 down
- Cal: 2 up, 2 down
- Louisville: 2 up, 2 down
- Wisconsin: 2 up, 0 down
- NC State: 1 up, 5 down
- USC: 1 up, 2 down
- Michigan: 1 up, 1 down
- Ohio State: 1 up, 1 down
- BYU: 1 up, 0 down
- Cincinnati: 1 up, 0 down
- Duke: 1 up, 0 down
- Houston: 1 up, 0 down
- SIU: 1 up, 0 down
- Virginia Tech: 1 up, 0 down
- Pitt: 0 up, 2 down
- Princeton: o up, 2 down
- Akron: 0 up, 1 down
- Alabama: 0 up, 1 down
- Miami (FL): 0 up, 1 down
- North Carolina: 0 up, 1 down
- Texas A&M: 0 up, 1 down
- Washington State: 0 up, 1 down
Women - Team Rankings - Through Event 7 1. Virginia 225 2. Stanford 178 3. Texas 152 4. Louisville 106.5 5. Indiana 102 6. Tennessee 93 7. Michigan 92 8. California 89.5 9. Florida 71 10. NC State 54 11. Wisconsin 53 12. Miami (Fl) 42.5 13. Georgia 38 14. Southern California 35 15. UNC 34 16. Alabama 33 17. Arizona St 31.5 18. Ohio St 23 19. Lsu 15 19. Arizona 15 21. Pittsburgh 14 22. Kansas 12 23. South Carolina 9 24. Duke 7 25. Texas A&M 6 25. Auburn 6 25. Virginia Tech 6 28. Purdue 5 29. Minnesota 2
