With all the attention focused on first-place Stanford, Louise Hansson<\/strong>\u2019s performance at the NCAA Division I championships had gone unnoticed.<\/p>\n

The USC sophomore from Sweden opened the meet by swimming the leadoff leg of the 800 free relay in 1:42.47.<\/p>\n

In the 200 medley relay, Hansson\u00a0<\/strong>swam a 22.33 butterfly split. She split a 49.24 in the 400 medley relay.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt has been feeling great all week since we got here,\u201d she said. \u201cI knew I had it in my body going into the meet.\u201d<\/p>\n

But after her performance in the 100 fly on Friday, her performance could not go unnoticed any longer.<\/p>\n

Hanson raced to the NCAA title in the 100 fly, swimming in 49.80, the second fastest time in history.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have been wanting to go under 50 all season and it felt really good to final do it,\u201d Hansson said. \u201cYou can\u2019t really affect how others are swimming, so my goal was to break 50. Winning the race is incredible. For the team, it is great to feel that support.\u201d<\/p>\n

Only Louisville\u2019s\u00a0Kelsi Worrell<\/strong>,\u00a0<\/strong>at 49.43 in 2016, has been faster.<\/p>\n

It wasn\u2019t just the win, either. It was a win over a pack of elite swimmers hungry for their first individual title. She finished ahead of Tennessee sophomore\u00a0Erika Brown\u00a0<\/strong>(50.34), Stanford senior\u00a0Janet Hu\u00a0<\/strong>(50.56), Cal\u2019s\u00a0Noemie Thomas\u00a0<\/strong>(50.92) and Ohio State\u2019s\u00a0Liz Li\u00a0<\/strong>(50.94).<\/p>\n

“Louise’s win tonight was the culmination of a lot of determined hard work this season,” USC coach Dave Salo<\/strong> told USCTrojans.com. “I’m proud of another Trojan individual championship. She is an important leader for the team and she sparked everyone’s strong efforts today.”<\/p>\n

Hansson came close to a title as a freshman at USC, taking third, but has grown in her second year of college in the United States. She is a two-time Pac-12 champion.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was definitely more comfortable. I knew what to expect from myself,\u201d she said. \u201cMy freshman year, I had no idea about times. First time swimming yard and my underwaters were not good. I definitely feel more comfortable now.\u201d<\/p>\n

After the butterfly win on Friday, Hansson joined teammates Hannah<\/strong> Weiss<\/strong>, Riley Scott<\/strong> and Marta Ciesla<\/strong> in USC’s first \u2018A\u2019 final relay of the meet, finishing seventh in the 4×50 medley relay in 1:36.44.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel like we have had a really good season. Everything has been going well. I haven\u2019t been sick. I had a good taper. It is just fun being here.\u201d<\/p>\n

A lot more fun after standing on the top podium for the first time \u2014 and it is the kind of fun that Hansson, an underclassman, could get used to.<\/p>\n