Swimming World Biweekly: Championship Season is Here! Full Finals Recap From NCAA DII Championships

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In this issue of SW Biweekly, catch up with our full finals recap of the 2019 NCAA Division II Championships! Cardinal Mallory Comerford and Hoosier Lilly King reflect on their NCAA careers drawing to a close, while Stanford’s Taylor Ruck and Michigan’s Maggie MacNeil discuss going into their first NCAA Champs.

Read about how 17-year-old Regan Smith became the fastest female short course yards backstroker in history, and how Butler’s Ashley Backus qualified for her first Big East Championships after recovering from a severe spinal injury.

Find out why Michael Andrew claims moving from snowy Kansas to sunny California has favorably impacted his training, or what 2016 US Olympic team co-caption Elizabeth Beisel thinks it means to lead in mentoring and inspiring others in the sport.

In other news, France’s retired Florent Manaudou announces a return to swimming, Jovan Vavic is fired as USC Men’s & Women’s head water polo coach for accepting bribes in the nationwide admissions scandal, and NCAA Division III athletes are partnering with the Special Olympians in their towns to help make a difference that will last a lifetime.

And of course, check out our 2019 Swim Camp Directory!

[PHOTO CREDIT: PETER H. BICK]

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FEATURES

008 MALLORY COMERFORD’S ELATIONS AND FRUSTRATIONS LEAD TO FINAL NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS
by David Rieder
With her final NCAA Championships approaching, Mallory Comerford looks back on her four years as a Louisville Cardinal as well as her breakthrough among the international elite.

012 LILLY KING GROWING UP AS SHE REACHES CONCLUSION OF HER NCAA CAREER
by David Rieder
Senior Lilly King experienced winning her first team championship—“in anything”—when Indiana won this year’s Big Ten Championships. Not only did the Olympic champion take care of business in her own races, but she also embraced a leadership role on the team, modeling both excellence and self-confidence for her younger teammates.

016 TAYLOR RUCK EMBRACING NERVES FOR FIRST NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS
by Dan D’Addona
Stanford’s Taylor Ruck admits to being nervous before her big races. But that nervousness is something that pushes her to greatness as she approaches her first NCAA Championships.

018 Q&A: ELIZABETH BEISEL ON WHAT IT MEANS TO LEAD
by Xonzy Gaddis
Elizabeth Beisel, a co-captain of the 2016 U.S. Olympic team, is now retired and serves as a RISE mentor, inspiring other athletes to be leaders in the sport.

020 WHAT REGAN SMITH’S STUNNING SECTIONALS MEANS FOR THE WORLD
by David Rieder
In the span of an hour on the final evening of Sectionals, March 10, at Cary, N.C., 17-year-old high school junior Regan Smith became the fastest female short course yards backstroker in history. Smith first bettered Kathleen Baker’s American record in the 200 back (1:47.16) before leading off Riptide’s 400 medley relay in 49.66—1-hundredth faster than Beata Nelson’s U.S. mark.

022 ASHLEY BACKUS MADE BIG EAST CHAMPIONSHIPS AFTER SPINAL INJURY
by Dan D’Addona
Butler University junior Ashley Backus qualified for her first Big East Championships after enduring a severe spinal injury in September 2016 that required multiple fractures in her vertebrae to be fused with 12 screws in her spine.

024 JOVAN VAVIC FIRED AS USC MEN’S & WOMEN’S HEAD WATER POLO COACH
by Michael Randazzo
After a quarter-century leading USC water polo to 10 men’s and six women’s NCAA titles and an overall record of 1,156-238, Trojan head coach Jovan Vavic—the winningest water polo coach in NCAA history—was fired for allegedly accepting $250,000 in bribes in a nationwide college admissions scandal, dubbed Operation Varsity Blues.

025 MICHAEL ANDREW THRIVING WITH SUNSHINE TRAINING
by Grace Nordquist
Michael Andrew recently exchanged the snowy winters of Kansas for the sunshine of California, and he claims it has favorably impacted his training. Returning to the Midwest for his first meet—the TYR Pro Series in Des Moines—since his move last December, Andrew claimed first-place finishes in five events.

026 MAGGIE MacNEIL AIMS TO KEEP FRESHMAN PHENOM SEASON GOING AT NCAAs
by Dan D’Addona
Michigan’s Maggie MacNeil was named Big Ten Freshman of the Year after winning two individual titles, finishing runner-up in her third event and contributing to two relay wins. Headed into the NCAAs, The London, Ontario (Canada) native will be seeded second in the 100 fly, third in the 100 back and seventh in the 50 free.

027 NCAA DIII ATHLETES MAKING A DIFFERENCE BY PARTERNING WITH SPECIAL OLYMPICS
by McKenna Ehrmantraut
NCAA Division III student-athletes across the country are partnering with the Special Olympians of their towns to help coach, motivate and create friendships with them that will last a lifetime.

029 FLORENT MANAUDOU ANNOUNCES RETURN TO SWIMMING
by Andy Ross
2012 Olympic gold medalist Florent Manaudou of France announced his comeback to the sport of swimming after taking a break from the sport when he finished second in the 50 free at the 2016 Olympics, losing to Anthony Ervin by 1-hundredth of a second. Since then, he has competed only in a few small European short course meters meets.

030 SWIMMING WORLD’S 2019 SWIM CAMP DIRECTORY

038 2019 DIVISION II NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS – FULL FINALS RECAP
by Dan D’Addona, Andy Ross and Cathleen Pruden
Full event-by-event coverage of all four nights from Indianapolis, Ind.

047 PARTING SHOT

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Swimming World Biweekly: Championship Season is Here! Full Finals Recap From NCAA DII Championships

Get Swimming World Magazine and Swimming World Biweekly FREE When You Become A Member of the International Swimming Hall of Fame

Want More? Subscribe With This Special 2-Year Offer!

New! 1-Year Digital Only Subscription for just $39.95 Order Now!

Get Swimming World Magazine and Swimming World Biweekly FREE When You
Become A Member of the International Swimming Hall of Fame