Predictions: Who Wins What at the Women’s NCAA Championships

lilly king, women's ncaa championships
Lilly King -- Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick

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Let’s be honest: No one expects Lilly King to finish anywhere but first in the 100 breast at the women’s NCAA championships. Ditto Katie Ledecky in the 1650 free. But plenty of races will be extremely competitive, and how individuals and relay teams perform in the racing pool will make a big impact in the team scores.

The meet will feature 13 individual swimming events and five relays, so Swimming World’s David Rieder and Andy Ross each predicted their expected top three finishers for each event. Check out who they picked — some agreements and some major disagreements — and see who comes out looking smart when all is said and done.

Psych sheet
Meet preview

Wednesday, March 14

4×200 Free Relay

David’s Picks:
1. Stanford
2. Cal
3. Michigan

Andy’s Picks:
1. Stanford
2. Cal
3. Michigan

Thursday, March 15

4×50 Free Relay

David’s Picks:
1. Cal
2. Stanford
3. Louisville

Andy’s Picks:
1. Cal
2. Stanford
3. Tennessee

500 Free

David’s Picks:
1. Katie Ledecky, Stanford
2. Mallory Comerford, Louisville
3. Courtney Harnish, Georgia

Andy’s Picks:
1. Katie Ledecky, Stanford
2. Joanna Evans, Texas
3. Mallory Comerford, Louisville

200 IM

David’s Picks:
1. Ella Eastin, Stanford
2. Kathleen Baker, Cal
3. Sydney Pickrem, Texas A&M

Andy’s Picks:
1. Kathleen Baker, Cal
2. Ella Eastin, Stanford
3. Sydney Pickrem, Texas A&M

50 Free

David’s Picks:
1. Simone Manuel, Stanford
2. Abbey Weitzeil, Cal
3. Liz Li, Ohio State

Andy’s Picks:
1. Liz Li, Ohio State
2. Simone Manuel, Stanford
3. Abbey Weitzeil, Cal

4×100 Medley Relay

David’s Picks:
1. Stanford
2. Cal
3. Indiana

Andy’s Picks:
1. Stanford
2. Cal
3. Texas A&M

Friday, March 16

400 IM

David’s Picks:
1. Katie Ledecky, Stanford
2. Ella Eastin, Stanford
3. Sydney Pickrem, Texas A&M

Andy’s Picks:
1. Ella Eastin, Stanford
2. Katie Ledecky, Stanford
3. Sydney Pickrem, Texas A&M

100 Fly

David’s Picks:
1. Erika Brown, Tennessee
2. Louise Hansson, USC
3. Janet Hu, Stanford

Andy’s Picks:
1. Louise Hansson, USC
2. Liz Li, Ohio State
3. Janet Hu, Stanford

200 Free

David’s Picks:
1. Mallory Comerford, Louisville
2. Simone Manuel, Stanford
3. Siobhan Haughey, Michigan

Andy’s Picks:
1. Mallory Comerford, Louisville
2. Siobhan Haughey, Michigan
3. Simone Manuel, Stanford

100 Breast

David’s Picks:
1. Lilly King, Indiana
2. Lindsey Kozelsky, Minnesota
3. Miranda Tucker, Michigan

Andy’s Picks:
1. Lilly King, Indiana
2. Lindsey Kozelsky, Minnesota
3. Miranda Tucker, Michigan

100 Back

David’s Picks:
1. Kathleen Baker, Cal
2. Ally Howe, Stanford
3. Beata Nelson, Wisconsin

Andy’s Picks:
1. Kathleen Baker, Cal
2. Ally Howe, Stanford
3. Janet Hu, Stanford

4×50 Medley Relay

David’s Picks:
1. Cal
2. Stanford
3. Indiana

Andy’s Picks:
1. Cal
2. Indiana
3. Stanford

Saturday, March 17

1650 Free

David’s Picks:
1. Katie Ledecky, Stanford
2. Hannah Moore, NC State
3. Ally McHugh, Penn State

Andy’s Picks:
1. Katie Ledecky, Stanford
2. Hannah Moore, NC State
3. Joanna Evans, Texas

200 Back

David’s Picks:
1. Kathleen Baker, Cal
2. Asia Seidt, Kentucky
3. Janet Hu, Stanford

Andy’s Picks:
1. Kathleen Baker, Cal
2. Asia Seidt, Kentucky
3. Janet Hu, Stanford

100 Free

David’s Picks:
1. Simone Manuel, Stanford
2. Mallory Comerford, Louisville
3. Abbey Weitzeil, Cal

Andy’s Picks:
1. Simone Manuel, Stanford
2. Mallory Comerford, Louisville
3. Abbey Weitzeil, Cal

200 Breast

David’s Picks:
1. Lilly King, Indiana
2. Sydney Pickrem, Texas A&M
3. Bethany Galat, Texas A&M

Andy’s Picks:
1. Lilly King, Indiana
2. Sydney Pickrem, Texas A&M
3. Bethany Galat, Texas A&M

200 Fly

David’s Picks:
1. Ella Eastin, Stanford
2. Louise Hansson, USC
3. Katie McLaughlin, Cal

Andy’s Picks:
1. Ella Eastin, Stanford
2. Louise Hansson, USC
3. Megan Kingsley, Georgia

4×100 Free Relay

David’s Picks:
1. Cal
2. Stanford
3. Virginia

Andy’s Picks:
1. Stanford
2. Cal
3. Michigan

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USRPT fan
USRPT fan
6 years ago

I REALLY like this because lots of people give commentary but never stake out a clear prediction. This format requires each of you to lock it in! Of course we do not know. Of course you are just speculating. But when you must choose, you are probably choosing your very best guess, which is far more interesting than saying “but so-and-so had a great mid-season and she could do real well”. One more thing would really perk up my interest. You could have actually stated your predicted first, second and third place times. Would you have picked 4:19.99 in the 500 Free? (I say/hope yes.) Would you pick 1:39.10 in the 200 Free? (I say no. I say … 1st 1:40.1; 2d 1:40.6; 3rd 1:41.1)

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