University of Minnesota Athletics
Blog: Gophers at NCAA Saturday Prelims
3/21/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Swimming & Diving
The final day of the 2015 NCAA Women's Swimming and Diving Championships began with preliminary heats of the 200 back, 100 free, 200 breast, 200 fly, 400 free relay and platform diving at the Greensboro Aquatic Center.
Freshman Brooke Zeiger's third individual event at the NCAA Championships was the 200 backstroke. Zeiger finished with a time of 1:58.83 for 53rd place in prelims.
Rebecca Weiland and Lauren Votava raced in the 100 free prelims. Weiland finished with a time of 48.98 for 32nd place. Junior Votava posted a 49.16 for 38th place.
Kierra Smith crushed the 200 breaststroke prelims with a 2:04.95 to record the ninth fastest time in NCAA history, as well as breaking Smith's Minnesota school record (2:05.12). The junior will be the number one seed heading into tonight's 200 breast championship final.
Rookie Danielle Nack competed in the 200 fly prelims for the Gophers. Nack finished with a time of 1:58.57 for 44th place. Nack was the 2015 Big Ten silver medalist in the event.
Gophers Rebecca Weiland, Lauren Votava, Tori Simenec and Jessica Plant combined for a 3:16.01 in the 400 free relay. Their 13th place finish in prelims qualifies them for tonight's consolation final.
Katy Etterman, Lexi Tenenbaum and Yu Zhou competed in the platform diving prelims. Zhou finished third with 328.20 points, qualifying for the championship final on platform tonight. Zhou is three for three for championship finals at the 2015 NCAA Championships. Senior Katy Etterman placed 33rd with a total of 222.45 points,while Lexi Tenenbaum collected 218.60 points for 35th.
The 1650 freestyle will begin at 3:45 p.m. CT in Greensboro. Junior Samantha Harding will represent Minnesota in the event, seeded 16th.
Players Mentioned
