2021 NCAA Division I Women’s Championships: Virginia’s Ella Nelson Takes Top Seed in 400 IM

Photo Courtesy: NCAA Media

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 400 IM

Stanford’s Ella Eastin has the NCAA record in 3:54.60. Stanford has four of the top nine performers all time. Eastin won the past four titles in the event, a rare four-year sweep. She went 1-2 with Brooke Forde in 2019. Stanford has won eight of the past 12 championships in the event with Maya DiRado winning in 2014 and Julia Smit winning three in a row from 2008-2010. The Cardinal have won a stunning 12 titles in this event overall, including two by Summer Sanders and one from Janet Evans and Michelle Griglione.

Virginia kept the momentum going into the third day of the meet with sophomore Ella Nelson taking the top seed in the 400 IM in 4:04.47.

Kentucky sophomore Lauren Poole took the second seed in 4:04.54, ahead of Stanford senior Brooke Forde (4:04.92).

Indiana senior Josie Grote took the fourth seed in 4:05.33, followed by Ohio State senior Katie Trace (4:06.20), Texas senior Evie Pfeifer (4:06.29) and Virginia Tech senior Reka Gyorgy (4:06.77).

Michigan freshman Kathryn Ackerman rounded out the top eight with a swim of 4:07.35 in prelims.

NCAA Championships top 16:

Event 8  Women 400 Yard IM
==================================================================
         NCAA: N 3:54.60  3/16/2018 Ella Eastin, Stanford
         Meet: M 3:54.60  3/16/2018 Ella Eastin, Stanford
     American: A 3:54.60  3/16/2018 Ella Eastin, Stanford
      US Open: O 3:54.60  3/16/2018 Ella Eastin, Stanford
         Pool: P 4:02.47  3/20/2015 Sarah Henry, Texas A&M
    Name                 Year School               Seed    Prelims        
==================================================================
                      === Preliminaries ===                       
 
  1 Nelson, Ella           SO Virginia          4:02.62    4:04.47  
    r:+0.69  26.52        56.12 (29.60)
        1:27.96 (31.84)     1:59.06 (31.10)
        2:32.77 (33.71)     3:06.81 (34.04)
        3:36.05 (29.24)     4:04.47 (28.42)
  2 Poole, Lauren          SO Kentucky          4:03.90    4:04.54  
    r:+0.72  26.22        56.18 (29.96)
        1:26.70 (30.52)     1:56.80 (30.10)
        2:31.52 (34.72)     3:06.10 (34.58)
        3:35.73 (29.63)     4:04.54 (28.81)
  3 Forde, Brooke          SR Stanford          4:02.57    4:04.92  
    r:+0.72  26.10        55.71 (29.61)
        1:28.05 (32.34)     1:58.88 (30.83)
        2:32.88 (34.00)     3:07.30 (34.42)
        3:36.72 (29.42)     4:04.92 (28.20)
  4 Grote, Josie           SR Indiana           4:07.99    4:05.33  
    r:+0.81  26.71        56.20 (29.49)
        1:27.60 (31.40)     1:57.89 (30.29)
        2:32.68 (34.79)     3:08.56 (35.88)
        3:37.30 (28.74)     4:05.33 (28.03)
  5 Trace, Katie           SR Ohio St           4:07.90    4:06.20  
    r:+0.65  25.89        55.92 (30.03)
        1:27.27 (31.35)     1:57.78 (30.51)
        2:34.03 (36.25)     3:10.16 (36.13)
        3:38.52 (28.36)     4:06.20 (27.68)
  6 Pfeifer, Evie          SR Texas             4:04.61    4:06.29  
    r:+0.80  26.50        56.35 (29.85)
        1:28.00 (31.65)     1:58.42 (30.42)
        2:33.18 (34.76)     3:09.27 (36.09)
        3:38.59 (29.32)     4:06.29 (27.70)
  7 Gyorgy, Reka           SR Virginia Tech     4:04.77    4:06.77  
    r:+0.71  26.29        56.38 (30.09)
        1:27.55 (31.17)     1:58.05 (30.50)
        2:33.50 (35.45)     3:09.64 (36.14)
        3:38.73 (29.09)     4:06.77 (28.04)
  8 Ackerman, Kathryn      FR Michigan          4:08.37    4:07.35  
    r:+0.75  26.48        57.04 (30.56)
        1:27.71 (30.67)     1:57.71 (30.00)
        2:33.02 (35.31)     3:09.34 (36.32)
        3:38.65 (29.31)     4:07.35 (28.70)
 -----------------------------------------------------------------
  9 Yager, Alexis          SR Tennessee         4:07.69    4:08.17  
    r:+0.73  26.55        57.14 (30.59)
        1:29.83 (32.69)     2:01.25 (31.42)
        2:35.64 (34.39)     3:09.92 (34.28)
        3:39.36 (29.44)     4:08.17 (28.81)
 10 Romano, Kristen        SR Ohio St           4:06.75    4:08.20  
    r:+0.74  26.23        56.20 (29.97)
        1:27.89 (31.69)     1:58.55 (30.66)
        2:34.12 (35.57)     3:10.16 (36.04)
        3:39.66 (29.50)     4:08.20 (28.54)
 11 Bonnett, Bailey        SR Kentucky          4:07.83    4:08.26  
    r:+0.64  26.84        57.69 (30.85)
        1:30.23 (32.54)     2:02.33 (32.10)
        2:36.71 (34.38)     3:11.73 (35.02)
        3:41.05 (29.32)     4:08.26 (27.21)
 12 Moore, Kate            SR NC State          4:04.73    4:08.53  
    r:+0.71  26.24        56.43 (30.19)
        1:27.50 (31.07)     1:57.88 (30.38)
        2:33.82 (35.94)     3:10.28 (36.46)
        3:40.02 (29.74)     4:08.53 (28.51)
 13 Davey, Gillian         SO Kentucky          4:05.96    4:08.57  
    r:+0.70  26.75        57.16 (30.41)
        1:29.51 (32.35)     2:01.15 (31.64)
        2:34.49 (33.34)     3:08.45 (33.96)
        3:39.00 (30.55)     4:08.57 (29.57)
 14 Toney, Camryn          SR Texas A&M         4:08.75    4:08.61  
    r:+0.70  27.28        57.32 (30.04)
        1:29.51 (32.19)     2:00.72 (31.21)
        2:36.04 (35.32)     3:11.66 (35.62)
        3:40.62 (28.96)     4:08.61 (27.99)
 15 Hay, Abby              SO Louisville        4:08.67    4:08.71  
    r:+0.71  26.07        55.94 (29.87)
        1:27.68 (31.74)     1:59.09 (31.41)
        2:34.36 (35.27)     3:10.21 (35.85)
        3:40.21 (30.00)     4:08.71 (28.50)
 16 Rice, Anna Havens      FR Kentucky          4:09.53    4:09.81  
    r:+0.75  26.88        57.24 (30.36)
        1:30.03 (32.79)     2:01.60 (31.57)
        2:37.06 (35.46)     3:12.07 (35.01)
        3:41.78 (29.71)     4:09.81 (28.03)

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