NCAA Women’s Championships: Lucy Bell’s Breaststroke Split Leads 200 IM Win
Just about everyone had their turn near the front of the women’s 200 individual medley Saturday night.
But when Lucy Bell and her bombing breaststroke went to the front, that was that.
Bell split 31.28 on breaststroke, vaulting from eighth at 100 yards to first at 150 and ultimately 200 in claiming her second national title in as many days.
Bell, the two-time champ in the 200 breaststroke, went 1:52.09 to win by six tenths of a second. She was sixth in this race last year and fourth in 2024.
Bell split 31.3 on three of her four legs of the 200 breast. She was 31.28 on Saturday in that stroke, then her 26.75 coming home was the fastest of the freestyle legs.
Teagan O’Dell, who was first at 100 yards, finished second for Cal in 1:52.76. She has the 200 back final later in the night. Her teammate Mia West was third in 1:52.69; she was first after 50 yards. Anastasia Gorbenko, one of the other breaststrokers in the group, was in good position in third as they turned to that stroke, but Bell was two seconds quicker than her in the 50. Gorbenko was fourth in 1:52.98.
Fifth was Texas’ Campbell Chase, her 1:53.48 edging Virginia’s Aimee Canny by .01 seconds. Canny and Leah Hayes augmented the Virginia title parade – another 28 points in the bank – while UCLA’s Rosie Murphy was eighth.
Texas, which has been short in individual scorers, got Angie Coe in ninth. Pitt’s Sydney Gring was 11th in another top-11 swim for the Panthers. Stanford got points in the team race with Emily Thompson 14th, as did titlist-in-waiting Virginia (Sophia Umstead in 12th) and Cal (Ava Chavez in 13th).
Event 16 Women 200 Yard IM
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NCAA: N 1:48.37 3/16/2023 Kate Douglass, Virginia
Meet: M 1:48.37 3/16/2023 Kate Douglass, Virginia
American: A 1:48.37 3/16/2023 Kate Douglass, Virginia
US Open: O 1:48.37 3/16/2023 Kate Douglass, Virginia
Pool: P 1:50.08 3/17/2022 Alex Walsh, Virginia
Name Year School Prelims Finals Points
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=== Championship Final ===
1 Bell, Lucy SR Stanford 1:53.75 1:52.09 20
r:+0.64 24.82 54.06 (29.24)
1:25.34 (31.28) 1:52.09 (26.75)
2 O'Dell, Teagan FR California 1:53.68 1:52.76 17
r:+0.71 24.30 52.05 (27.75)
1:25.58 (33.53) 1:52.76 (27.18)
3 West, Mia SO California 1:52.40 1:52.96 16
r:+0.66 23.99 52.23 (28.24)
1:25.47 (33.24) 1:52.96 (27.49)
4 Gorbenko, Anastasia SO Louisville 1:53.96 1:52.98 15
r:+0.64 24.15 52.38 (28.23)
1:25.54 (33.16) 1:52.98 (27.44)
5 Chase, Campbell SO Texas 1:53.06 1:53.48 14
r:+0.71 24.32 53.09 (28.77)
1:25.91 (32.82) 1:53.48 (27.57)
6 Canny, Aimee SR Virginia 1:54.36 1:53.49 13
r:+0.70 25.07 53.85 (28.78)
1:26.54 (32.69) 1:53.49 (26.95)
7 Hayes, Leah SO Virginia 1:54.01 1:53.56 12
r:+0.74 24.52 52.43 (27.91)
1:25.35 (32.92) 1:53.56 (28.21)
8 Murphy, Rosie SR UCLA 1:54.19 1:54.18 11
r:+0.69 24.38 52.66 (28.28)
1:26.50 (33.84) 1:54.18 (27.68)
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