University of Minnesota Athletics
Gophers Head to Athens, Ga For NCAA Championships
3/14/2006 12:00:00 AM | Women's Swimming & Diving
The No. 23 University of Minnesota women’s swimming and diving team will have 10 members competing at the NCAA Championships this weekend in Athens, Ga. The championships begin on Thursday, March 16-18. The University of Georgia, who is ranked No. 1 in the College Swimming Coaches Association of America poll, is the host institution. Preliminary rounds begin at 11 a.m. (ET), while the finals are scheduled for a 7 p.m. start.
LIVE SCORING AVAILABLE
The University of Georgia will have live results available on their website, www.georgiadogs.com. Both preliminary heats and finals will be available for the NCAA Championships.
DID YOU KNOW?
The Gophers have 10 swimmers qualify for the NCAA Championships. It is the most NCAA Gopher participants since the 1997-98 season. In the 1998 championship, the Gophers scored 65 points and placed 16th in the nation. The Gophers placed second in the Big Ten Championships that same year as they earned 644.5 points.
MINNESOTA RANKED NO. 23 IN CSCAA POLL
Minnesota holds the No. 23 ranking in the final CSCAA poll. In the top 25, six ranked teams are from the Big Ten Conference. Wisconsin holds the highest ranking, set at 12th, while Penn State is ranked 14th. Indiana and Purdue are ranked 16th and 17th, while Michigan is ranked 22nd.
ON THE PSYCH SHEETS
The Gophers will be represented in a variety of events. Arguably, Minnesota’s strongest events will be in the freestyle events with nine of its 10 participants competing in the freestyle. Yuen Kobayashi holds the Gophers’ highest seeds, ranking fifth in the 1,650 free and sixth in the 500 free. Christine Jennings enters the NCAA Championships with the 10th fastest time of 4:43.52. Jenny Shaughnessy ranks 10th in the 400-yard individual medley, 14th in the 200 IM and 32nd in the 100 free. Stacy Busack’s time of 22.57 in the 50 free is seeded 11th overall. The Gophers will have three relays competing in the championships in the 200 free relay (ranked 11th), the 400 free relay (10th) and the 800 free relay (sixth).
Players Mentioned
