Women’s NCAA Division I Preview: Butterfly

By John Lohn

MINNEAPOLIS, Minnesota, March 6. THROUGHOUT the week, SwimmingWorldMagazine.com will preview the Women's NCAA Division I Championships to be held in Minneapolis, Minn., from March 8-10. Next up, here's a look at the butterfly events.

Also, as a treat for our premium members, click here to find out how you can obtain an extensive resource package on the meet.

100 Butterfly
She went to the University of Florida, found the fit wasn't right and decided to transfer to California. Now, in a training environment that better suits her needs, Dana Vollmer could take home an individual NCAA title. Vollmer is the top seed in the 100 fly, her 50.80 clocking doing the trick. She's also preparing to contest the 200 freestyle at the World Championships in Melbourne.

While Vollmer is the favorite, she can expect some quality competition, particularly from Stanford freshman Elaine Breeden, the second seed. Breeden is entered with a seed time of 51.44 and the dropoff to the third seed, Tennessee's Christine Magnuson, is significant. Magnuson has a qualifying time of 52.04, so the possibility of a Vollmer-Breeden showdown is very much possible.

200 Butterfly
In this grueling discipline, Cal's Dana Vollmer and Stanford's Elaine Breeden switch positions from the 100 fly. This time around, Breeden is seeded on top, with Vollmer in second. Breeden has a qualifying time of 1:52.99 to the 1:54.02 of Vollmer. With this race on the last day of action, their order of finish could very well decide a top-five place in the team standings.

Arizona's Whitney Myers is the third seed and could be a factor for top honors, as she's expected to slice a decent chunk of time off her entry mark of 1:55.17. The Cal Bears have the fourth and fifth-seeded athletes, Erin Reilly and Rachel Ridgeway, and will be looking to score a significant amount of points late in the final-day program.

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