Sophie Hansson Moves to Third All-Time to Win First NCAA Individual Title in 100 Breaststroke

Photo Courtesy: Carlos Morales

Much like Michigan’s Maggie MacNeil earlier in the night in the 100 butterfly, it is hard to believe NC State’s Sophie Hansson had yet to win an individual NCAA title in her strong career, as she was expected to contend for both the 100 and 200 breast titles last season. But on Friday in Greensboro, Hansson made the dream a reality wit a 57.23 to win the 100 breaststroke for her first NCAA title individually in her career, backing up her 57.0 relay split to win the medley relay last night.

This field was incredibly competitive as five swimmers broke 58 seconds with five of the 15 fastest swimmers all side by side in one pool. USC freshman Kaitlyn Dobler finished in second at 57.46 as she looked dangerous out in lane six, along with Virginia’s Alexis Wenger out in lane 2, who was third at 57.67. Dobler moved to eighth all-time in the 100 breaststroke.

Hansson led at the 50 with a 27.05 with Wenger (27.15) and Dobler (27.20) in second and third. Hansson seems to have a knack for getting her hand on the wall first every time she swims as she has frequently come out on the winning side when races come down to the last few strokes so when Hansson had the lead at the 75, most everyone in the venue knew there was no way she would let up.

This is also not the first title for the Hansson family as Sophie joins sister Louise, who won three butterfly titles in 2018 and 2019 while at USC.

This was a very unique field with two freshmen in Dobler and Tennessee’s Mona McSharry, who was fourth at 57.80, and two sophomores in Ohio State’s Hannah Bach (57.94), who was fifth, and Georgia’s Zoie Hartman (58.25), who was sixth.

NC State’s Andrea Podmanikova was seventh (58.62) and Northwestern’s Sophie Angus (59.04), the only senior in the field, was eighth.

All-Time Rankings:

55.73, Lilly King, Indiana, 2019
56.64, Molly Hannis, Tennessee, 2017
57.23, Sophie Hansson, NC State, 2021
57.23, Breeja Larson, Texas A&M, 2014
57.29, Alia Atkinson, South Florida, 2014
57.36, Sarah Haase, Stanford, 2016
57.40, Zoie Hartman, Georgia, 2021
57.46, Kaitlyn Dobler, USC, 2021

History made: AGAIN.@HanssonSophie becomes the first women’s swimmer in team history to win an NCAA individual title!#GoPack pic.twitter.com/RXNehais3z

— NC State Swimming & Diving (@packswimdive) March 19, 2021

 Event 11  Women 100 Yard Breaststroke
=========================================================================
         NCAA: N 55.73  3/22/2019 Lilly King, Indiana
         Meet: M 55.73  3/22/2019 Lilly King, Indiana
     American: A 55.73  3/22/2019 Lilly King, Indiana
      US Open: O 55.73  3/22/2019 Lilly King, Indiana
         Pool: P 57.45  2/19/2021 Sophie Hansson, NC State
    Name                 Year School            Prelims     Finals Points 
=========================================================================
                       === Championship Final ===                        
 
  1 Hansson, Sophie        JR NC State            57.67      57.23P  20  
    r:+0.73  27.05        57.23 (30.18)
  2 Dobler, Kaitlyn        FR USC                 58.22      57.46   17  
    r:+0.64  27.20        57.46 (30.26)
  3 Wenger, Alexis         JR Virginia            58.33      57.67   16  
    r:+0.59  27.15        57.67 (30.52)
  4 McSharry, Mona         FR Tennessee           58.16      57.80   15  
    r:+0.65  27.26        57.80 (30.54)
  5 Bach, Hannah           SO Ohio St             58.21      57.94   14  
    r:+0.65  27.22        57.94 (30.72)
  6 Hartman, Zoie          SO Georgia             58.49      58.25   13  
    r:+0.80  27.59        58.25 (30.66)
  7 Podmanikova, Andrea    JR NC State            58.59      58.62   12  
    r:+0.65  27.44        58.62 (31.18)
  8 Angus, Sophie          SR Northwestern        58.59      59.04   11  
    r:+0.74  27.98        59.04 (31.06)
 
                        === Consolation Final ===                        
 
  9 Brunzell, Hannah       SO Northwestern        58.63      58.50    9  
    r:+0.72  27.56        58.50 (30.94)
 10 Wheeler, Kaylee        JR Louisville          59.04      58.67    7  
    r:+0.66  27.31        58.67 (31.36)
 11 Thormalm, Klara        SR San Diego St        59.16      58.68    6  
    r:+0.77  27.25        58.68 (31.43)
 12 Elendt, Anna           FR Texas               58.88      58.93    5  
    r:+0.75  27.68        58.93 (31.25)
 13 Calegan, Olivia        SR NC State            58.88      59.12    4  
    r:+0.74  27.68        59.12 (31.44)
 14 Rajic, Ema             JR California          58.96      59.17    3  
    r:+0.68  27.64        59.17 (31.53)
 15 Peplowski, Noelle      JR Indiana             59.10      59.19    2  
    r:+0.76  27.93        59.19 (31.26)
 16 Raab, Allie            JR Stanford            58.97      59.25    1  
    r:+0.68  27.98        59.25 (31.27)

Women - Team Rankings - Through Event 11                 
 
  1. Virginia                          290   2. NC State                          181
  3. Texas                             172   4. California                        151
  5. Ohio St                         137.5   6. Michigan                        125.5
  7. Kentucky                          114   8. Alabama                           112
  8. Stanford                          112  10. Georgia                           109
 11. Louisville                         71  12. Florida                          70.5
 13. Tennessee                          70  14. UNC                                61
 15. Missouri                           55  16. Northwestern                       52
 16. Texas A&M                          52  18. Indiana                            47
 19. Southern California                38  20. Wisconsin                          23
 21. Virginia Tech                      22  22. Miami                              20
 22. Minnesota                          20  24. Arizona                          17.5
 25. Arkansas                           16  26. Nebraska                           11
 27. Houston                             6  27. San Diego St                        6
 29. Akron                               3  29. Notre Dame                          3
 31. Duke                                2

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