2021 NCAA Division I Women’s Championship: Virginia’s Paige Madden Top Seed in 200 Free

Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick

The 2021 NCAA Division I Women’s Swimming & Diving Championships continued with the second preliminary session of the meet on Friday.

Friday’s prelim events are the 400 IM, 100 butterfly, 200 free, 100 breaststroke, 100 backstroke and 3-meter diving. The relays are all timed finals and will take place during the finals session.

Virginia leads the meet after winning the 800 free relay on opening night of the NCAA Championships, then claiming all three individual titles on Day 2, while also taking runner-up in both relays. The Cavaliers have plenty of fire power in today’s events as well.

NCAA Championships: Women’s 200 Free

Cal’s Missy Franklin holds the NCAA and American record in the event at 1:39.10, set in 2015, the last time the meet was in Greensboro, North Carolina, before this season. It was her second of two titles in the event. After Mallory Comerford (1:39.80), Stanford has the next three spots with Katie Ledecky finishing 1:40.36 and Simone Manuel and Taylor Ruck each swimming 1:40.37. But it was Comerford of Louisville, who won the even the past three championships, including a tie with Ledecky in 2018.

All-time, Florida and Georgia lead the way with seven NCAA titles in the event. Florida’s Nicole Haislett and SMU’s Martina Moracova each swept the event for four years, with Comerford and Georgia’s Allison Schmitt each winning three times.

Virginia senior Paige Madden made it three top seeds in a row for the Cavaliers with the top seed in the 200 free. She touched the wall in 1:43.03.

Florida sophomore Talia Bates took the second seed in 1:43.28, just ahead of Texas sophomore Kelly Pash (1:43.45).

Virginia looks to score big points in the event as freshman Alex Walsh took the fourth seed in 1:43.61.

Cal senior Robin Neumann was also under 1:44, taking the fifth seed in 1:43.83.

Kentucky junior Riley Gaines took the sixth spot in 1:44.06, followed by Texas A&M freshman Chloe Stepanek (1:44.23) and Georgia senior Courtney Harnish (1:44.32).

NCAA Championships: top 16

Event 10  Women 200 Yard Freestyle
==================================================================
         NCAA: N 1:39.10  3/20/2015 Missy Franklin, California
         Meet: M 1:39.10  3/20/2015 Missy Franklin, California
     American: A 1:39.10  3/20/2015 Missy Franklin, California
      US Open: O 1:39.10  3/20/2015 Missy Franklin, California
         Pool: P 1:39.10  3/20/2015 Missy Franklin, California
    Name                 Year School               Seed    Prelims        
==================================================================
                      === Preliminaries ===                       
 
  1 Madden, Paige          SR Virginia          1:42.39    1:43.03  
    r:+0.73  24.45        50.21 (25.76)
        1:16.36 (26.15)     1:43.03 (26.67)
  2 Bates, Talia           SO Florida           1:43.38    1:43.28  
    r:+0.69  24.21        50.41 (26.20)
        1:17.07 (26.66)     1:43.28 (26.21)
  3 Pash, Kelly            SO Texas             1:42.70    1:43.45  
    r:+0.70  23.98        49.85 (25.87)
        1:16.53 (26.68)     1:43.45 (26.92)
  4 Walsh, Alex            FR Virginia          1:45.79    1:43.61  
    r:+0.76  23.90        49.89 (25.99)
        1:16.56 (26.67)     1:43.61 (27.05)
  5 Neumann, Robin         SR California        1:43.19    1:43.73  
    r:+0.64  24.01        50.20 (26.19)
        1:16.99 (26.79)     1:43.73 (26.74)
  6 Gaines, Riley          JR Kentucky          1:42.70    1:44.06  
    r:+0.68  24.68        50.98 (26.30)
        1:17.41 (26.43)     1:44.06 (26.65)
  7 Stepanek, Chloe        FR Texas A&M         1:43.36    1:44.23  
    r:+0.70  24.22        50.67 (26.45)
        1:17.07 (26.40)     1:44.23 (27.16)
  8 Harnish, Courtney      SR Georgia           1:42.96    1:44.32  
    r:+0.77  24.60        51.04 (26.44)
        1:17.58 (26.54)     1:44.32 (26.74)
 -----------------------------------------------------------------
  9 Spitz, Ayla            SO California        1:44.10    1:44.47  
    r:+0.72  24.51        50.75 (26.24)
        1:17.61 (26.86)     1:44.47 (26.86)
 10 Leehy, Mykenzie        SR Houston           1:45.33    1:45.28  
    r:+0.72  24.80        51.38 (26.58)
        1:18.18 (26.80)     1:45.28 (27.10)
 11 Mortensen, Amalie      FR Arizona           1:44.81    1:45.60  
    r:+0.70  24.99        51.54 (26.55)
        1:18.52 (26.98)     1:45.60 (27.08)
 12 Scott, Morgan          JR Alabama           1:43.69    1:45.61  
    r:+0.70  24.62        51.44 (26.82)
        1:18.40 (26.96)     1:45.61 (27.21)
 13 Housey, Sophie         FR Michigan          1:45.46    1:45.69  
    r:+0.70  24.86        51.35 (26.49)
        1:18.46 (27.11)     1:45.69 (27.23)
 14 Wheeler, Kaitlynn      SO Kentucky          1:45.19    1:45.72  
    r:+0.64  24.93        51.81 (26.88)
        1:18.75 (26.94)     1:45.72 (26.97)
 15 Haebig, Autumn         SR Nebraska          1:44.39    1:45.74  
    r:+0.76  25.20        52.12 (26.92)
        1:18.70 (26.58)     1:45.74 (27.04)
 16 Valls, Kyla            SR Virginia          1:44.63    1:45.81  
    r:+0.66  24.73        51.47 (26.74)
        1:18.80 (27.33)     1:45.81 (27.01)

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