Maggie MacNeil Nearly Becomes Third Under 46 Seconds in 100 Freestyle For Second NCAA Title

maggie-macneil-ncaa-minnesota-invitational

Photo Courtesy: Mike Comer/NCAA Photos via Getty Images

It was one of the most anticipated races of the day, and the third matchup between arguably the two best swimmers in the NCAA right now in Michigan’s Maggie MacNeil and Virginia’s Kate Douglass. After Douglass won the 50 free and MacNeil won the 100 fly (in record time), all eyes were on the middle of the pool for round three between the two.

The race certainly lived up to expectations as MacNeil nearly became the third swimmer to break 46 seconds from a flat start at 46.02 to win ahead of Douglass’ 46.30. MacNeil is now third all-time while Douglass is now tied for seventh.

“(Kate) is a great competitor and it is an honor to race her and she is definitely bringing out the best in me,” Maggie MacNeil said after the race.

Cal’s Izzy Ivey, who is certainly one of the five best swimmers at the meet in Greensboro, finished in third in a very respectable 46.95 that puts her just on the outside of the top 15 all-time as she will have one more year to represent the Golden Bears.

Alabama scored big points with Morgan Scott (47.48), Kalia Antoniou (47.64) and Cora Dupre (47.72) placing fourth, fifth and seventh place as they should play a factor into the 400 freestyle relay later on in the session.

NC State’s Kylee Alons (47.71) and Texas A&M’s Chloe Stepanek (48.30) also swam in the championship final. NC State sits firmly in front of Texas for second place but Texas is back loaded in the 200 butterfly and platform diving.

This is MacNeil’s second NCAA title of her career and is also Michigan’s first in the 100 freestyle.

All-Time Rankings:

45.56, Simone Manuel, Stanford, 2017
45.83, Erika Brown, Tennessee, 2020
46.02, Maggie MacNeil, Michigan, 2021
46.20, Mallory Comerford, Louisville, 2019
46.20, Anna Hopkin, Arkansas, 2020
46.29, Abbey Weitzeil, California, 2014
46.30, Kate Douglass, Virginia, 2021
46.30, Olivia Smoliga, Georgia, 2017

Listen to MacNeil and teammate Olivia Carter talk about their night:

 Event 17  Women 100 Yard Freestyle
=========================================================================
         NCAA: N 45.56  3/18/2017 Simone Manuel, Stanford
         Meet: M 45.56  3/17/2017 Simone Manuel, Stanford
     American: A 45.56  3/18/2017 Simone Manuel, Stanford
      US Open: O 45.56  3/18/2017 Simone Manuel, Stanford
         Pool: P 46.09  3/21/2015 Simone Manuel, Stanford
    Name                 Year School            Prelims     Finals Points 
=========================================================================
                       === Championship Final ===                        
 
  1 MacNeil, Maggie        JR Michigan            47.34      46.02P  20  
    r:+0.63  22.16        46.02 (23.86)
  2 Douglass, Kate         SO Virginia            46.54      46.30   17  
    r:+0.65  22.04        46.30 (24.26)
  3 Ivey, Isabel           JR California          47.30      46.95   16  
    r:+0.74  22.59        46.95 (24.36)
  4 Scott, Morgan          JR Alabama             47.88      47.48   15  
    r:+0.67  22.61        47.48 (24.87)
  5 Antoniou, Kalia        JR Alabama             47.96      47.64   14  
    r:+0.66  23.14        47.64 (24.50)
  6 Alons, Kylee           JR NC State            47.89      47.71   13  
    r:+0.64  22.78        47.71 (24.93)
  7 Dupre, Cora            SO Alabama             47.88      47.72   12  
    r:+0.62  22.61        47.72 (25.11)
  8 Stepanek, Chloe        FR TAMU                48.06      48.30   11  
    r:+0.68  23.31        48.30 (24.99)
 
                        === Consolation Final ===                        
 
  9 Countie, Grace         JR UNC                 48.15      47.84    9  
    r:+0.75  22.90        47.84 (24.94)
 10 Bates, Talia           SO Florida             48.26      48.09    7  
    r:+0.67  23.10        48.09 (24.99)
 11 Smith, Maddie          SR Northwestern        48.41      48.15    6  
    r:+0.64  23.09        48.15 (25.06)
 12 Parker, Maxine         FR Georgia             48.09      48.30    5  
    r:+0.75  23.50        48.30 (24.80)
 13 Neumann, Robin         SR California          48.29      48.54    4  
    r:+0.59  23.42        48.54 (25.12)
 14 Gantriis, Emily        FR California          48.54      48.58    3  
    r:+0.65  23.27        48.58 (25.31)
 15 Pintar, Tjasa          SR Tennessee           48.16      48.61    2  
    r:+0.65  23.45        48.61 (25.16)
 16 Leehy, Mykenzie        SR Houston             48.56      48.80    1  
    r:+0.72  23.49        48.80 (25.31)

Women - Team Rankings - Through Event 17                 
 
  1. Virginia                          401   2. NC State                          289
  3. California                        249   4. Texas                             248
  5. Alabama                           226   6. Ohio St                         189.5
  7. Michigan                        182.5   8. Stanford                          140
  9. Kentucky                          135  10. Georgia                           127
 10. UNC                               127  12. Tennessee                         109
 13. Texas A&M                          87  14. Florida                          81.5
 15. Northwestern                       81  15. Louisville                         81
 17. Missouri                           79  18. Indiana                            63
 19. Wisconsin                          59  20. Virginia Tech                      43
 21. Southern California                42  21. Miami                              42
 23. Minnesota                          40  24. Arkansas                           26
 25. Nebraska                           22  26. Arizona                          17.5
 27. Georgia Tech                       16  28. Purdue                             13
 29. Houston                             9  29. Lsu                                 9
 31. Notre Dame                          7  32. San Diego St                        6
 33. Duke                                4  34. Akron                               3
 35. Oakland                             1

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