3 Things from the Last Morning of Women’s NCAA Championships

Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick

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By David Rieder

It’s the last morning of the women’s NCAA championships. The swimmers are tired. The coaches are tired. Even the media is tired. But none of that matters now as there’s a team title to be handed out tonight and three teams very much in the race. With that said, here are the three things that were on my mind when I woke up this morning.

1. Team race coming down to the wire. We hoped for a close meet. I don’t know that anyone quite expected something this good. Georgia is clinging to a narrow lead with 285 points, while Cal barely leads Stanford for second, 267.6 to 265. Price Fishback has calculated that if all seeds hold today, Stanford would end up winning the meet with 379 points, just ahead of Cal (376.5) and Georgia (376). Three points would separate the top three teams.

Obviously, there will be changes in the psych sheet. While the meet could come down to the last relay, one team could have a big prelims session and move way up all across the board. Based on their performances so far this meet and also their history of getting it done on the last day, one has to like the Georgia Bulldogs to do just that. They lead despite what head coach Jack Bauerle calls a major lack of depth and mixing and matching along the way.

The Bulldogs have arguably their best day on the final day, but they still need big points from Hali Flickinger and Megan Kingsley in the 200 fly, Kylie Stewart in the 200 back, and Brittany MacLean in the mile. Georgia also hopes to squeeze more points out of two of their unsung heroes of the meet, Emily Cameron in the 200 breast and Meghan Raab in the 100 free.

Cal is loaded in the 200 back – Kathleen Baker, Amy Bilquist and Elizabeth Pelton – and 100 free – Farida Osman and Rachel Bootsma – but Stanford should have big points coming from Ella Eastin in the 200 fly, Sarah Haase in the 200 breast and Lia Neal in the 100 free. But for the Cardinal, the disqualification of their 200 free relay – and the 40 points lost – still looms large.

2. The quest for the top of the podium. Saturday’s finals will present perhaps the best chances two elite swimmers will get to earn their first career individual NCAA title. For Courtney Bartholomew, it will be her last chance. The Virginia senior finished a narrow second in the 100 back behind Rachel Bootsma, but she said afterwards she thinks the 200 back may be a better event for her right now. Bartholomew – who finished second in the event a year ago behind Missy Franklin – holds the top seed in the event at 1:49.63.

Then there’s Lia Neal, who has waited around all weekend through the 50 free (she finished sixth) and the 200 free (third) for her best event, the 100 free. She came in second behind teammate Simone Manuel a year ago, and Neal is now heavily favored to make it a second straight win for the Cardinal in the event.

In Manuel’s absence, Neal has stepped into the role of sprint ace, anchoring both medley relays to national titles and emerging as one of the leaders of a young Stanford squad. This 100 free may be Neal’s best shot at individual glory on the NCAA level, especially with Manuel set to return next season and Abbey Weitzeil on the way for Cal. Neal arrived at Stanford already an Olympian on a relay, but on the collegiate level, Saturday night could be her shining individual moment.

3. The ultimate showdown in the last individual event. How often does it work out like this? Tonight, the breakout performer of the meet, Stanford’s Ella Eastin, will face off against Louisville’s Kelsi Worrell in the 200 fly. The freshman and the senior are, along with Indiana’s Lilly King, the top contenders for the swimmer of the meet award, and now they are the top two seeds in the 200 fly.

Both have set American records at this meet, Eastin in the 200 IM on Thursday night and Worrell in her dominant 100 fly effort on Friday. Worrell admitted after the 100 fly she was glad she had not had to face off against the freshman sensation from the Farm in previous years but that she looked forward to this one.

Just like in the 200 free on Friday, this should be a race of two very different styles. In that, sprinter Neal was aggressive early before distance swimmer MacLean reeled her in at the very end. In this, Worrell will use her power underwater to try to build a lead and then hang on against what should be some great finishing speed from Eastin. Elaine Breeden’s American record-time of 1:49.92 has not been approached since she set that mark in 2009, but this matchup could perhaps conjure up some magic.

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