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Kathleen Baker put together a solid 200 back morning swim with a 2:08.56 to lead the qualifiers into tonight’s A-final. Baker will be looking to qualify for her second straight World Championships after making her debut in 2015. Baker now sits in sixth in the world rankings for the year behind Australia’s Emily Seebohm (2:06.66), Canada’s Kylie Masse (2:07.23), Russia’s Daria Ustinova (2:07.23), Canada’s Hilary Caldwell (2:07.29) and Hungary’s Katalin Burns (2:08.38).
Baker leads 15-year-old Regan Smith from Minnesota’s Riptide Aquatics (2:08.95) who is in line for a potential first major senior international trip. Kentucky’s Bridgette Alexander (2:09.44), Texas A&M’s Lisa Bratton (2:09.85), Lakeside’s Asia Seidt (2:09.95), Georgia’s Hali Flickinger (2:10.21), Georgia’s Kylie Stewart (2:10.34) and Alex Sumner (2:10.36) will swim in the A-final.
Flickinger already has a spot on the team for Budapest after she won the 200 fly last night. Baker is looking for her second straight Worlds appearance as the rest of the field is looking for their first.
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Go Regan!