University of Minnesota Athletics
NCAA Day 3 Recap; Auburn Defends NCAA Title
3/10/2007 12:00:00 AM | Women's Swimming & Diving
Trailing by 35 points entering the final day of the NCAA Women’s Swimming and Diving Championships at University Aquatic Center in Minneapolis, Auburn staged a huge rally and dominated the final night to defend its team title and win its fifth title in the last six years. The Tigers had seven individuals finish in the top eight on the final evening and finished with 535 points. Arizona placed second with 477 points and California was third (372.50). Stanford (333), Georgia (290), Texas (220), Florida (203), Texas A&M (198), Michigan (191) and Tennessee (127) rounded out the top 10.
Auburn began the evening in with a huge team effort in the 1650 freestyle. Auburn senior Hayley Peirsol defended her NCAA title in a time of 15:49.92. Her senior teammate Adrienne Binder finished second in 15:53.44. Auburn sophomore Chelsea Haser finished ninth and freshman Maggie Bird took 15th and the Tigers racked up 48 points to claim the team lead with 391 points. North Carolina’s Whitney Sprague finished third in 15:58.74 and Michigan’s Emily Brunneman was fourth in 16:00.89. UCLA’s Katie Nelson was fifth in 16:05.04 and Michigan’s Emily Hanson took sixth in 16:08.69 to give the Wolverines two All-Americans in the event. Penn State’s Nicole Collins and Georgia’s Claire Maust rounded out the top eight.
Freshmen dominated the 200 backstroke with Florida’s Gemma Spofforth taking the title in 1:52.96. Stanford’s Julia Smit followed in 1:53.39 and Georgia’s Aleksandra Putra was third in 1:53.71. Florida’s Leah Retrum gave the Gators 15 more team points in fourth place in 1:54.06 and Texas A&M’s Kristen Heiss was fifth in 1:54.09. Arizona’s Caitlin Iversen, Florida State’s Romy Altmann and Auburn’s Melissa Marik rounded out the top eight.
Georgia’s Kara Lynn Joyce completed a career sweep of an event for the second time during the Championships, taking the 100 freestyle for the fourth straight year. Joyce clocked a 47.24 and was pushed hard by 200 free champion Lacey Nymeyer of Arizona who finished in 47.34. California’s Emily Silver took third in 47.45 and Auburn’s Kara Denby was fourth in 48.07. Auburn’s Emily Kukors placed fifth in 48.40 and Michigan’s Lindsey Smith was sixth in 48.93. Virginia Tech’s Sara Smith was seventh in 49.09 and Georgia’s Jessica Cole was eighth in 49.53. Auburn extended its team lead to 39 points in the event.
Rebecca Soni took over during the last 50 yards to win the 200 breaststroke for the second straight year in a time of 2:08.23. Wisconsin’s Yi Ting Siow was second in 2:10.42 while Stanford’s Caroline Bruce in 2:11.06. Virginia Tech’s Jessica Botzum had a strong swim to finish fourth in 2:11.07 while Texas’ Elizabeth Tinnon was fifth in 2:11.09. Alexi Spann of Texas (2:11.53), Jaquelyn Craft of Arizona (2:12.26) and Elle Weberg of Florida Atlantic (2:13.08) rounded out the top eight.
Another freshman claimed the 200 butterfly. Stanford’s Elaine Breeden cruised to a win in 1:54.24, followed by Arizona’s Whitney Myers in 1:53.75. California’s Dana Vollmer was third in 1:54.30, followed by teammate Erin Reilly in fourth in 1:54.98. Auburn had two finalists again with Kristin Hastrup placing fifth in 1:55.90 and Ava Ohlgren in seventh in 1:56.34. Oregon State’s Saori Haruguchi took sixth in 1:56.05 and Cal’s Rachel Ridgeway rounded out the top eight in 1:57.97. The Tigers all but clinched the championships, stretching their lead to 53 points.
Texas’ Jessica Livingston won the 10-meter platform title in dramatic fashion. Livingston won by the smallest margin of victory in the history of the event, just 1.3 points. She finished with a score of 357.85, just ahead of Indiana’s Lindsay Weigle (356.55). Livingston returned to the University of Minnesota for the meet, where she transferred from after her freshman season. Kentucky’s Taryn Ignacio placed third, followed by Purdue’s Amanda Miller and Miami’s Heather Bounds.
For the fifth time in as many relays, an NCAA record fell to end the night in the 400 freestyle relay. California’s team of Emily Silver, Erin Reilly, Jessica Hardy and Dana Vollmer finished in 3:12.13, shattering the mark of 3:12.77 set by Arizona in 2006. Arizona placed second in 3:13.36 and Georgia was third in 3:14.31. Auburn took fourth in 3:15.35 and Michigan placed fifth in 3:17.20.
2007 NCAA AWARDS
Athletes
2007 NCAA Division I Women’s Swimmer of the Year:
Kara Lynn Joyce – Georgia
2007 NCAA Division I Women’s Diver of the Year:
Cassidy Krug – Stanford
Coaches
2007 NCAA Division I Women’s Swimming Coach of the Year:
David Marsh and Dorsey Tierney-Walker – Auburn
2007 NCAA Division I Women’s Diving Coach of the Year:
Rick Schavone
Auburn began the evening in with a huge team effort in the 1650 freestyle. Auburn senior Hayley Peirsol defended her NCAA title in a time of 15:49.92. Her senior teammate Adrienne Binder finished second in 15:53.44. Auburn sophomore Chelsea Haser finished ninth and freshman Maggie Bird took 15th and the Tigers racked up 48 points to claim the team lead with 391 points. North Carolina’s Whitney Sprague finished third in 15:58.74 and Michigan’s Emily Brunneman was fourth in 16:00.89. UCLA’s Katie Nelson was fifth in 16:05.04 and Michigan’s Emily Hanson took sixth in 16:08.69 to give the Wolverines two All-Americans in the event. Penn State’s Nicole Collins and Georgia’s Claire Maust rounded out the top eight.
Freshmen dominated the 200 backstroke with Florida’s Gemma Spofforth taking the title in 1:52.96. Stanford’s Julia Smit followed in 1:53.39 and Georgia’s Aleksandra Putra was third in 1:53.71. Florida’s Leah Retrum gave the Gators 15 more team points in fourth place in 1:54.06 and Texas A&M’s Kristen Heiss was fifth in 1:54.09. Arizona’s Caitlin Iversen, Florida State’s Romy Altmann and Auburn’s Melissa Marik rounded out the top eight.
Georgia’s Kara Lynn Joyce completed a career sweep of an event for the second time during the Championships, taking the 100 freestyle for the fourth straight year. Joyce clocked a 47.24 and was pushed hard by 200 free champion Lacey Nymeyer of Arizona who finished in 47.34. California’s Emily Silver took third in 47.45 and Auburn’s Kara Denby was fourth in 48.07. Auburn’s Emily Kukors placed fifth in 48.40 and Michigan’s Lindsey Smith was sixth in 48.93. Virginia Tech’s Sara Smith was seventh in 49.09 and Georgia’s Jessica Cole was eighth in 49.53. Auburn extended its team lead to 39 points in the event.
Rebecca Soni took over during the last 50 yards to win the 200 breaststroke for the second straight year in a time of 2:08.23. Wisconsin’s Yi Ting Siow was second in 2:10.42 while Stanford’s Caroline Bruce in 2:11.06. Virginia Tech’s Jessica Botzum had a strong swim to finish fourth in 2:11.07 while Texas’ Elizabeth Tinnon was fifth in 2:11.09. Alexi Spann of Texas (2:11.53), Jaquelyn Craft of Arizona (2:12.26) and Elle Weberg of Florida Atlantic (2:13.08) rounded out the top eight.
Another freshman claimed the 200 butterfly. Stanford’s Elaine Breeden cruised to a win in 1:54.24, followed by Arizona’s Whitney Myers in 1:53.75. California’s Dana Vollmer was third in 1:54.30, followed by teammate Erin Reilly in fourth in 1:54.98. Auburn had two finalists again with Kristin Hastrup placing fifth in 1:55.90 and Ava Ohlgren in seventh in 1:56.34. Oregon State’s Saori Haruguchi took sixth in 1:56.05 and Cal’s Rachel Ridgeway rounded out the top eight in 1:57.97. The Tigers all but clinched the championships, stretching their lead to 53 points.
Texas’ Jessica Livingston won the 10-meter platform title in dramatic fashion. Livingston won by the smallest margin of victory in the history of the event, just 1.3 points. She finished with a score of 357.85, just ahead of Indiana’s Lindsay Weigle (356.55). Livingston returned to the University of Minnesota for the meet, where she transferred from after her freshman season. Kentucky’s Taryn Ignacio placed third, followed by Purdue’s Amanda Miller and Miami’s Heather Bounds.
For the fifth time in as many relays, an NCAA record fell to end the night in the 400 freestyle relay. California’s team of Emily Silver, Erin Reilly, Jessica Hardy and Dana Vollmer finished in 3:12.13, shattering the mark of 3:12.77 set by Arizona in 2006. Arizona placed second in 3:13.36 and Georgia was third in 3:14.31. Auburn took fourth in 3:15.35 and Michigan placed fifth in 3:17.20.
2007 NCAA AWARDS
Athletes
2007 NCAA Division I Women’s Swimmer of the Year:
Kara Lynn Joyce – Georgia
2007 NCAA Division I Women’s Diver of the Year:
Cassidy Krug – Stanford
Coaches
2007 NCAA Division I Women’s Swimming Coach of the Year:
David Marsh and Dorsey Tierney-Walker – Auburn
2007 NCAA Division I Women’s Diving Coach of the Year:
Rick Schavone
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