2022 NCAA Division I Womens Championships: Day 2 Finals Live Recap – SwimSwam

2022 NCAA Division I Women’s Swimming and Diving Championships

Virginia leads the standings after Day One’s 200 medley and 800 free relays, and comes in with the #1 seeds in two of today’s three individual swimming events. Alex Walsh will be in lane four of the 200 IM and Kate Douglass, who broke the American, U.S. Open, and NCAA records in the 50 free in prelims, will be in the middle of the pool in that final.

Penn’s Lia Thomas is the top seed in the 500 free, and is poised to make history as the first transgender swimmer to win a national swimming title at NCAAs.

We will also have finals of one-meter diving and timed finals of the 200 free relay. Arizona junior Delaney Schnell led the field in prelims of the diving, with defending champion Sarah Bacon of Minnesota finishing second.

The top-10 teams through Day One are:

1. Virginia – 74
2. Texas – 58
3. California – 56
4. Stanford – 54
5. Louisville – 46
6. NC State – 44
7. Alabama / Ohio St – 38
8. –
9. Georgia / Tennessee – 34

Women 500 Yard Freestyle – Finals

• NCAA Record: 4:24.06 – Katie Ledecky, Stanford (2017)
• Meet Record: 4:24.06 – Katie Ledecky, Stanford (2017)
• American Record: 4:24.06 – Katie Ledecky, Stanford (2017)
• US Open Record: 4:24.06 – Katie Ledecky, Stanford (2017)
• Pool Record: 4:30.81 – Leah Smith, Virginia (2016)
• 2021 Champion: Paige Madden, Virginia – 4:33.61

Podium:

1. Lia Thomas, 5Y Penn – 4:33.24
2. Emma Weyant, FR Virginia – 4:34.99
3. Erica Sullivan, FR Texas – 4:35.92
4. Brooke Forde, 5Y Stanford – 4:36.18
5. Evie Pfeifer, 5Y Texas – 4:37.29
6. Paige McKenna, FR Wisconsin – 4:37.35
7. Kensey McMahon, SR Alabama – 4:40.06
8. Morgan Tankersley, SR Stanford – 4:40.08

Fifth-year Lia Thomas of the University of Pennsylvania won the 500 free, making history as the first transgender swimmer to win an NCAA title.

Texas freshman Erica Sullivan was the first to flip at the 100, leading Thomas 52.6 to 52.8. At the 200, it was Sullivan in 48.2 to Thomas’ 48.4. Thomas pulled even at the 250 wall and took over the lead at the 300. She moved half a body length ahead of Sullivan at the 350 but to her other side, Emma Weyant moved into second place. Thomas was 3:11.80 to Weyant’s 3:11.98.

Thomas powered home to win by a body length with 4:33.24. Weyant touched second (4:34.99) while Sullivan was third (4:35.92). It was Thomas’ best time this season by .78, and the top time in the NCAA for 2021-22.

Tennessee freshman Julia Mrozinski was out early in the B final but Arizona State’s Erica Laning took control at the 150. She led until the 400, when her teammate Emma Nordin, at the other end of the pool in lane 8, moved to the front. At the bell, Mrozinski put her legs into her last 50 and sprinted home to win in 4:37.35.

Women 200 Yard Individual Medley – Finals

• NCAA Record: 1:50.67 – Ella Eastin, Stanford (2018)
• Meet Record: 1:50.67 – Ella Eastin, Stanford (2018)
• American Record: 1:50.67 – Ella Eastin, Stanford (2018)
• US Open Record: 1:50.67 – Ella Eastin, Stanford (2018)
• Pool Record: 1:51.65 – Ella Eastin, Stanford (2016)
• 2021 Champion: Alex Walsh, Virginia – 1:51.87

Podium:

1. Alex Walsh, SO Virginia – 1:50.08
2. Torri Huske, FR Stanford – 1:51.81
3. Isabel Ivey, SR Cal – 1:53.02
4. Zoie Hartman, JR Georgia – 1:53.15
5. Kelly Pash, JR Texas – 1:53.31
6. Sally Foley, SO Duke – 1:54.38
7. Abby Hay, JR Louisville – 1:54.93
8. Ella Nelson, JR Virginia – 1:55.01

Stanford freshman Torri Huske was out quickly with a 23.87 butterfly, with defending champion Alex Walsh of Virginia (23.95) and Cal’s Isabel Ivey (23.97) a tenth behind. Huske and Walsh put half a body length behind them on the backstroke leg, both splitting 27.5.

Walsh exploded on the breaststroke, splitting 31.64 and moving to first place heading into the freestyle. Huske (32.7) and Ivey (33.7) were in second and third place, with Georgia’s Zoie Hartman just behind them.

Walsh came home in 26.99 to stop the clock at 1:50.08. She broke Ella Eastin’s 2018 American, U.S. Open, NCAA and meet records by nearly six-tenths, very nearly becoming the first sub-1:50 woman in history.

Ohio State fifth-year Kristen Romano touched out Wisconsin sophomore Phoebe Bacon, 1:54.31 to 1:54.39, for the B-final win.

Women 50 Yard Freestyle – Finals

Podium:

1. Kate Douglass, JR Virginia – 20.84N
2. Gretchen Walsh, FR Virginia – 20.95
3. Maggie MacNeil, SR Michigan – 21.38
4. Morgan Scott, SR Alabama – 21.43
5. Cora Dupre, JR Alabama – 21.47
6. Grace Countie, SR UNC – 21.54
7. Katharine Berkoff, JR NCSU – 21.55
8. Kylee Alons, SR NCSU – 21.68

For the second time in the span of eight hours, Kate Douglass established herself as the fastest 50 freestyler in history. After blasting a 20.87 in prelims for her first time under 21 seconds, the Virginia junior lowered her NCAA, meet, American, and U.S. Open record by another .03 to win the 50 free final in 20.84. She was out in 10:09 and back in 10.75, or .04 slower on the front half but .08 faster on the back half than in prelims.

Teammate Gretchen Walsh touched second in 20.95, her first sub-21, to become only the third performer ever to achieve that distinction. The Virginia freshman is now within .05 of Abbey Weitzeil’s 20.90 which, until this morning, had been the American, U.S. Open, and NCAA records.

Michigan’s Maggie MacNeil placed third in 21.38, holding off a pair from Alabama: Morgan Scott (21.43) and Cora Dupre (21.47).

Louisville’s Gabi Albiero touched out Alabama’s Kalia Antoniou, 21.69 to 21.73, to win the B final.

Women 1–Meter Diving – Finals

• Meet Record: 363.20 – Sarah Bacon, Minnesota (2019)
• Pool Record: 381.65 – Abby Johnson, Duke (2011)
• 2021 Champion: Sarah Bacon, Minnesota – 357.20

Podium:

1. Mia Vallee, JR Miami (Florida) – 365.75M
2. Sarah Bacon, SR Minnesota – 356.60
3. Aran Vasquez Montano, SO UNC – 354.75
4. Hailey Hernandez, FR Texas – 348.50
5. Delaney Schnell, JR Arizona – 339.05
6. Margo O’Meara, FR Duke – 322.75
7. Maha Amer, JR Florida – 316.70
8. Tarrin Gilliland, SO Indiana – 293.90

Miami’s Mia Valley won the 1-meter diving with a new meet record of 365.75 points. It was a huge upset victory for the junior who finished eighth in 2021 with 289.70 points. Valley found her rhythm and finished with two big dives to secure her win over defending champion and previous meet record-holder, Sarah Bacon of Minnesota (356.60).

Aran Vasquez Montano of North Carolina scored 73.50 on her last dive to jump to third overall with 354.75 points. She was runner-up to Bacon in 2021.

Texas freshman Hailey Hernandez was fourth with 348.50 points, beating Arizona’s Delaney Schnell, last year’s fourth-place finisher, by 9.45 points.

Duke’s Margo O’Meara (322.75), Florida’s Maha Amer (316.70), and Tarrin Gilliland of Indiana (293.90) rounded out the championship final.

Women 200 Yard Freestyle Relay – Timed Finals

• NCAA Record: 1:24.47 – Virginia/ K Douglass, A Walsh, A Cuomo, G Walsh (2022)
• Meet Record: 1:24.55 – California/ M Murphy, K McLaughlin, A Bilquist, A Weitzeil (2019)
• American Record: 1:24.47 – Virginia/ K Douglass, A Walsh, A Cuomo, G Walsh (2022)
• US Open Record: 1:24.47 – Virginia/ K Douglass, A Walsh, A Cuomo, G Walsh (2022)
• Pool Record: 1:24.47 – Virginia/ K Douglass, A Walsh, A Cuomo, G Walsh (2022)
• 2021 Champion: Cal – 1:25.78

Podium:

1. Virginia – 1:24.96
2. Alabama – 1:25.47
3. NCSU – 1:26.37
4. Ohio St – 1:26.74
5. Louisville – 1:26.83
6. Stanford – 1:26.90
7. Michigan – 1:27.04
8. Missouri – 1:27.06

Kate Douglass (21.06), Alex Walsh (21.46), Lexi Cuomo (21.86), and Gretchen Walsh (20.58) combined for 1:24.96 to win the 200 free relay. The Cavs were pushed by Alabama, who led at the 150 exchange, after legs from Kalia Antoniou (21.64), Morgan Scott (21.28), and Kailyn Winter (21.42). Gretchen Walsh trailed by .04 as she dove in for, but her anchor was .53 fast than Cora Dupre’s (21.13). The Crimson Tide quartet finished second with 1:25.47.

NC State (Katharine Berkoff, Kylee Alons, Sophie Hansson, and Abby Arens) finished third in the heat with 1:26.37. Ohio State (1:26.74), Louisville (1:26.83), Stanford (1:26.90), and Michigan (1:27.04) were next to the wall.

Missouri, who touched out Cal, 1:27.06 to 1:27.36, in the previous heat, finished eighth overall.

Team Scores – Day Two

  1. Virginia                          210   2. Texas                             128
  3. Stanford                          123   4. Alabama                           120
  5. NC State                           99   6. Louisville                         95
  7. California                         89   8. Ohio St                            83
  9. Michigan                           66  10. Florida                            62
 11. Georgia                            57  12. Tennessee                          53
 12. UNC                                53  14. Wisconsin                          34
 14. Indiana                            34  16. Miami (Florida)                    27
 16. Southern California                27  18. Duke                               26
 19. Missouri                           24  19. Kentucky                           24
 21. Penn                               20  22. Arizona St                         19
 23. Minnesota                          17  24. Arizona                            16
 25. Northwestern                       15  26. South Carolina                      9
 27. Arkansas                            6  28. Lsu                                 4
 28. UCLA                                4  30. Notre Dame                          3
 31. Virginia Tech                       2  32. Yale                                1