Stanford Collects Fourth Relay Win In 400 Free Relay Barnburner

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MINNEAPOLIS, Minnesota, March 22. IT took an epic anchor leg from Olympian Lia Neal to overcome a near American-record leadoff from Arizona’s Margo Geer as the Stanford Cardinal closed out the women’s 400-yard free relay with their fourth relay title of the NCAA Division I Women’s championships.

Stanford’s Maddy Schaefer (47.91), Felicia Lee (47.92), Maya DiRado (47.86) and Lia Neal (47.14) pulled off a 3:10.83 to win the event this evening. That time just missed Arizona’s American record of 3:10.63 from 2013, but was good enough to give them a fourth relay triumph. The only relay Stanford missed out on was the 800 free relay.

Arizona’s Margo Geer (46.86), Alana Pazevia (48.20), Bonnie Brandon (48.00) and Grace Finnegan (47.93) finished second overall in 3:10.99 as Geer joined Natalie Coughlin as just the second American to ever break 47 seconds. She nearly beat Coughlin’s American record of 46.84 in the process.

Califronia’s Kaylin Bing (48.72), Rachael Acker (48.02), Missy Franklin (47.08) and Farida Osman (47.55) finished third in 3:11.37. Georgia’s Shannon Vreeland (48.03), Melanie Margalis (48.74), Maddie Locus (47.78) and Olivia Smoliga (47.54) closed out Georgia’s sixth team title with a 3:12.09 for fourth.

Florida (3:12.44), USC (3:13.01), Tennessee (3:14.10) and Wisconsin (3:14.90) also competed in the championship finale.

Texas A&M’s Sammie Bosma (48.64), Erica Dittmer (48.80), Kelli Benjamin (48.97) and Lili Ibanez (49.54) snared the B final triumph with a 3:14.95. Auburn (3:15.26) and NC State (3:15.29) finished second and third behind them.

Minnesota (3:15.31), Texas (3:15.69), Florida State (3:16.07), UCLA (3:16.18) and Penn State (3:16.41) put together the rest of the finishes in the consolation heat.

Splits
1 Stanford 3:13.09 3:10.83 40
1) Schaefer, Maddy JR 2) r:0.31 Lee, Felicia SR
3) r:0.26 DiRado, Maya SR 4) r:0.35 Neal, Lia FR
r:+0.71 22.87 47.91 (47.91)
1:10.87 (22.96) 1:35.83 (47.92)
1:58.76 (22.93) 2:23.69 (47.86)
2:46.30 (22.61) 3:10.83 (47.14)
2 Arizona 3:11.35 3:10.99 34
1) Geer, Margo SR 2) r:0.29 Pazevic, Alana SR
3) r:0.36 Brandon, Bonnie SO 4) r:0.26 Finnegan, Grace SR
r:+4.48 22.34 46.86 (46.86)
1:09.37 (22.51) 1:35.06 (48.20)
1:57.84 (22.78) 2:23.06 (48.00)
2:45.63 (22.57) 3:10.99 (47.93)
3 California 3:13.50 3:11.37 32
1) Bing, Kaylin JR 2) r:0.37 Acker, Rachael SO
3) r:0.29 Franklin, Missy FR 4) r:0.25 Osman, Farida FR
r:+2.82 23.16 48.72 (48.72)
1:11.64 (22.92) 1:36.74 (48.02)
1:59.36 (22.62) 2:23.82 (47.08)
2:46.27 (22.45) 3:11.37 (47.55)

Team Standings
1. Georgia 528
2. Stanford 402.5
3. California 386
4. Texas A&M 336
5. USC 252
6. Florida 239
7. Tennessee 223
8. Arizona 156
9. Texas 144
10. Minnesota 136.5

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