NCAA DIVISION I WOMEN’S CHAMPS: Arizona, Auburn and Georgia Pulling Away From the Pack

By Chris J. Starrs

ATHENS, Georgia, March 16. IT'S probably not surprising that Arizona, Auburn and Georgia, respectively, are on top after the first day of competition at the three-day 2006 NCAA Women’s Division I Swimming and Diving Championships, but it may be somewhat unsettling that all three schools are rapidly separating themselves from the rest of the pack.

With six events in the books at the Gabrielsen Natatorium on the University of Georgia campus, No. 4 Arizona has a first-day score of 161, with No. 2 Auburn (151) and defending national champion (and top-ranked) Georgia (147) in hot pursuit. But from that point, no team is even close – fourth-place Stanford has amassed 82 points while fifth-place California has recorded 79 points.

Thursday’s races also saw several records fall as Arizona’s 200-yard and 400-yard freestyle relay teams and Georgia’s Kara Lynn Joyce topped NCAA standards. In addition, two Gabrielsen Natatorium marks fell as well.

In the 200-yard freestyle relay, the Wildcat team of Courtney Cashion, Jenna Gresdal, Anna Turner and Lacey Nymeyer overcame a torrid start by Georgia’s Joyce to post a time of 1:27.98, topping the national record of 1:28.10 set by Georgia last year. Georgia finished second at 1:28.79 while Auburn was third at 1:30.25.

Arizona not only picked up 40 points with the victory but the Wildcats also wrested the 200-yard freestyle relay title from Georgia, which had won the event for the past four years.

“(Georgia) beat us last year and we finished second, and that didn’t feel too good,” said Arizona’s Cashion. “It feels amazing to win and that just makes it even more special.”

In the evening’s second event, Georgia’s Laura Conway set a new pool record in the 500-yard freestyle, finishing in a time of 4:40.01, narrowly bettering the pool mark of 4:40.22, set by Southern Cal’s Lindsay Benko in 1999. Auburn’s Hayley Peirsol was second at 4:41.78 and California’s Erin Reilly came in third in 4:41.84.

“I can’t believe it,” said Conway. “It’s been four years and I finally made it. It’s a great way to finish my college career.”

The 500-yard freestyle was a fruitful race for Auburn as the Tigers’ Adrienne Bender finished fourth (4:41.99) and Chelsea Haser was eighth (4:46.82), resulting in the collection of 44 big points.

Another Gabrielsen mark fell in the 200-yard individual medley as Whitney Myers posted a time of 1:54.88, breaking the previous record of 1:55.64, set by Martina Moracova of SMU in 1999. Myers bested Tricia Harm of Georgia (1:57.28) and Auburn’s Emily Kukors (1:57.50).

Georgia’s Joyce won the national title in the 50-yard freestyle for the third consecutive year, posting a time of 21.63 and topping the NCAA and American record of 21.69, set in 2002 by Georgia’s Maritza Correia. Arizona’s Nymeyer was second at 22.10 and Stanford’s Brooke Bishop was third at 22.17.

“My main goal was to win the race and break the records,” said Joyce. “My whole family is here and I’m so happy that I could swim with them here at my home pool and that they were able to watch me win.”

In the 1-meter diving event, Southern California’s Blythe Hartley finished first with 353.35 points, topping two former national titlists in 2004 winner South Carolina’s Allison Brennan (326.10) and 2005 defending national champion Qiong Jie Huang of Hawaii (324.05). Arizona earned 13 critical points when Tiffany Manning finished sixth with 305.75 points.

In the evening’s final race, yet another American record fell when Arizona’s 400-yard medley relay team – Gresdal, Erin Sieper, Myers and Nymeyer – finished in 3:31.70, topping Stanford’s previous best of 3:31.74, set in 2002. Southern Cal finished second in 3:33.97 and California was third at 3:34.10.

“Wow, what a night,” said Arizona coach Frank Busch. “We had NCAA records, pool records (fall). It is more than you can ask for. Winning the two relays was like a cherry on top of it all.”

The action continues Friday with preliminaries in eight events (200-yard medley relay, 400-yard individual medley, 100-yard butterfly, 200-yard freestyle, 100-yard breaststroke, 100-yard backstroke, 3-meter diving and 800-yard freestyle medley) beginning at 11 a.m. (EST) with the finals set for 7 p.m. (EST).

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