Site: Athens, Ga. (Gabrielsen Natatorium)
Event: NCAA Women’s Swimming and Diving Championships (Day 1 of 4)
Score: 10th of 20 teams (32 points)
Next U-M Event: Thursday, March 21 — at NCAA Women’s Swimming and Diving Championships – Day 2 (Athens, Ga.)
ATHENS, Ga. — The No. 13-ranked University of Michigan women’s swimming and diving team kicked off the NCAA Women’s Swimming and Diving Championships on Wednesday (March 20) at Gabrielsen Natatorium with the 200-yard medley and 800-yard freestyle relays.
On the first night of the NCAAs, Michigan scored in both relays and finished 10th overall with 32 points. After two events, the Florida Gators had a 72-point advantage over Virginia, the reigning national champion.
Lindsay Flynn, Lexi Greenhawt, Natalie Kan, and Brady Kendall dominated the 200-yard medley relay, placing 12th overall and earning All-America Honorable Mention. With a 50-yard split of 21.43 in the freestyle leg, Flynn put the Wolverines right in the thick of things at the end, ultimately placing fourth in the heat.
The 800-yard freestyle relay saw the second heat of competition, which had Katie Crom, Christine Liang, Stephanie Balduccini, and Malai Amuan competing after a 45-minute break. Early on, the Maize and Blue trailed behind, but Balduccini’s 1:42.38 200-yard split caught up to the Wolverines, giving Liang a chance to win the heat. Throughout the last leg, Liang maintained a close distance from Georgia’s Zoie Hartman; however, the Bulldog was able to outtouch Liang by three hundredths of a second, winning the heat for the home team. The foursome received All-America recognition for placing eighth overall on the podium.
Michigan will return for the second day of the NCAA Championships on Thursday (March 21) for the 500-yard freestyle, 200-yard IM, 50-yard freestyle and 200-yard freestyle relay. Preliminaries for the individual events will start at 10 a.m. with the finals getting underway at 6:00 p.m.
Team Standings Through Day 1
1. No. 2 Florida — 72 points
2. No. 1 Virginia — 70 points
3. No. 6 Tennessee — 62 points
4. No. 7 Stanford — 54 points
5. No. 3 Texas — 50 points
6. No. 4 California — 48 points
T-7. No. 8 Indiana — 36 points
T-7. No. 5 Southern California — 36 points
T-7. No. 9 Ohio State — 36 points
10. No. 13 MICHIGAN — 32 points
11. No. 15 Georgia — 26 points
T-12. No. 18 Wisconsin — 20 points
T-12. No. 10 Louisville — 20 points
14. No. 17 Duke — 18 points
15. No. 14 North Carolina — 14 points
16. No. 23 Arizona State — 10 points
17. No. 25 Virginia Tech — 6 points
T-18. No. 16 Auburn — 4 points
T-18. No. 12 Texas A&M — 4 points
20. No. 19 Alabama — 2 points
