By Anya Pelshaw on SwimSwam
NCAA WOMEN’S SWIMMING & DIVING CHAMPIONSHIPS
- When: Wednesday, March 16 – Saturday, March 19, 2021
- The place: McAuley Aquatics Heart / Georgia Tech / Atlanta, GA (Japanese Time Zone)
- Brief course yards (SCY) format
- Defending champion: Virginia (1x) – Meet Outcomes
- Psych Sheets
WOMEN’S 200 BUTTERFLY
- NCAA: 1:49.51 2/24/2018 Ella Eastin Stanford
- Meet: 1:50.01 3/17/2018 Ella Eastin Stanford
- American: 1:49.51 2/24/2018 Ella Eastin Stanford
- US Open: 1:49.51 2/24/2018 Ella Eastin Stanford
Final 12 months’s closing of the 200 butterfly solely featured one senior, and all seven returning swimmers are entered into the occasion this 12 months. Apparently sufficient, although, regardless of that returning depth, each of the highest two seeds weren’t within the A closing final 12 months.
Highlighting as an addition to the meet is Stanford freshman Regan Smith. Smith received silver within the lengthy course model of the occasion on the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. She is the highest seed within the occasion after swimming a time of 1:50.99 to win Pac-12s. The most important distinction between Pac-12s and NCAAs will likely be that she is taking over the 200 backstroke and 200 butterfly double. Each happen on the final day, and the butterfly is after the backstroke.
Making large strikes from final 12 months is Kentucky senior Riley Gaines who completed twenty second within the occasion final 12 months with a time of 1:56.21. This 12 months, Gaines has already been a lot sooner as she is seeded with a time of 1:51.51 which she swam to win SECs. Gaines has already been a profitable 200 freestyler as she was sixth within the occasion at NCAAs final 12 months, so this the 200 butterfly is a brand new breakout occasion for her.
Defending champion Olivia Carter of Michigan has been one of many massive names within the occasion over the past couple of years. In her freshman 12 months at Georgia she was seventh within the occasion, she was seeded seventh in 2020 earlier than the meet was canceled attributable to COVID-19, after which received the occasion final 12 months as a junior. At this 12 months’s B1G’s, she was sooner than she was on the meet a 12 months in the past, which could possibly put her barely sooner than she was at NCAAs final 12 months as nicely.
Georgia’s Dakota Luther has been a constant butterfly power in her time at Georgia. She was ninth as a freshman in 2019 and third as a junior in 2021. That development is promising for her in addition to her development in SEC time as that point has gotten sooner every year.
Virginia’s Alex Walsh enters the combination this 12 months after not swimming the occasion in any respect in her freshman 12 months. She has already dropped over six seconds from her earlier better of 1:58.10 from 2019 to be seeded fifth with a time of 1:51.83 which she swam at midseason. She didn’t swim the occasion at ACCs so she may need the likelihood to swim a lot sooner.
Final 12 months’s runner up Olivia Bray of Texas didn’t race the occasion at conferences so she may additionally have slightly bit extra within the tank than her seed time of 1:52.14. Final 12 months she was second in a 1:52.87.
Teammate Emma Sticklen received the occasion at conferences in a 1:52.82 however was simply off of her finest time of 1:52.47 which she swam at midseason. These instances are all beneath her earlier bests as she hadn’t been beneath 1:53 previous to this season.
Megan Van Berkom of Minnesota has already made large drops this season going from a 1:58.13 final season to a 1:53.89 this season. She competed within the occasion final 12 months as a freshman so she has some expertise beneath her belt. The way in which she improved from final season to this season, she has the potential to make the A closing right here.
| TOP 8 PICKS: | ||||
| Place | Swimmer | Faculty | Season Finest | Lifetime Finest |
| 1 | Alex Walsh | Virginia | 1:51.83 | 1:51.83 |
| 2 | Olivia Carter | Michigan | 1:51.62 | 1:51.33 |
| 3 | Riley Gaines | Kentucky | 1:51.51 | 1:51.51 |
| 4 | Regan Smith | Stanford | 1:50.99 | 1:49.78 |
| 5 | Dakota Luther | Georgia | 1:51.65 | 1:51.65 |
| 6 | Olivia Bray | Texas | 1:52.14 | 1:52.03 |
| 7 | Emma Sticklen | Texas | 1:52.47 | 1:52.47 |
| 8 | Megan Van Berkom | Minnesota | 1:53.89 | 1:53.89 |
Darkhorse- Sydney Harrington (Navy) Harrington was seeded ninth going into final 12 months’s meet with a 1:53.74 and completed sixteenth with a time of 1:57.04 in finals. Her 1:53.74 was from a twin meet in opposition to Loyola-MD on the finish of February 2021 because the Patriot League didn’t have a championship meet final 12 months attributable to COVID-19. She might make some waves if she is ready to replicate or surpass that twin meet time.
Learn the complete story on SwimSwam: 2022 W. NCAA Previews: Sooner than 1:50 to Win the 200 Butterfly?
