University of Minnesota Athletics
Wednesday, March 17
Greensboro, NC
5:00 PM
University of Minnesota
at
NCAA Championships
Players Mentioned
Diving
/ Women's Swimming & Diving
Sprint Freestyle/Backstroke
/ Women's Swimming & Diving
Freestyle/Backstroke/IM
/ Women's Swimming & Diving
Breaststroke/IM
/ Women's Swimming & Diving
Middle/Distance Freestyle/Backstroke
/ Women's Swimming & Diving
Diving
/ Women's Swimming & Diving
Breaststroke/IM
/ Women's Swimming & Diving
Preview: Gopher Women Head to Greensboro for NCAA Championships
3/16/2021 12:00:00 PM | Women's Swimming & Diving
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
The Minnesota women's swimming and diving program will officially wrap up its 2021 season this week as they prepare for the 2021 NCAA Championships. Three Gophers have qualified for the Championships throughout the year, and will compete from Thursday-Saturday at the Championships.
In order to maintain social distancing standards, no fans will be permitted to attend the event to ensure the health and safety of all competing student-athletes, coaches and essential staff.
"We are limited in our events, so we will need to be at our best with every opportunity we get this week," said head coach Kelly Kremer. "I'm proud of the women who are representing us in Greensboro, and am looking forward to seeing them compete with the best in the country."
WHEN/HOW TO TUNE IN
As no fans are to be permitted in the venue, the entirety of the championships will be streamed via ESPN3, of which a link can be found above. Each stream will only appear on ESPN3 once the event has begun.
The exact dates and start times of each day of competition can be found below.
2021 NCAA Championships (Greensboro, N.C.)
Wednesday, March 17: 5 p.m. CT (finals)
Thursday, March 18: 9 a.m. CT (prelims)
Thursday, March 18: 5 p.m. CT (finals)
Friday, March 19: 9 a.m. CT (prelims)
Friday, March 19: 5 p.m. CT (finals)
Saturday, March 20: 9 p.m. CT (prelims)
Saturday, March 20: 5 p.m. CT (finals)
Saturday, March 20: 8 p.m. CT (trophy ceremony)
WHO'S IN
Three Gophers managed to punch their tickets to the 2021 NCAA Championships throughout the season, including redshirt-senior Sarah Bacon (1m, 3m) and freshmen Megan Phillip (1m) and Megan Van Berkom (400 IM, 200 fly). Bacon and Phillip were only selected last week, after competing at the 2021 NCAA Zone D Diving Championships for their spot while Van Berkom secured her invite a few weeks earlier at the 2021 Big Ten Conference Championships.
SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
Below is a full breakdown of the dates of Minnesota's events and the respective student-athletes competing in them, along with their season bests in each event.
Thursday, March 18
1-meter Diving // Sarah Bacon (353.40), Megan Phillip (337.35)
Friday, March 19
3-meter Diving // Sarah Bacon (410.90)
400 Individual Medley // Megan Van Berkom (4:13.19)
Saturday, March 20
200 Butterfly // Megan Van Berkom (1:58.13)
WHAT IT TOOK
In a unique season unlike any we've seen before, the path to NCAAs was just as interesting as ever.
Bacon's invite came as a result of a springboard sweep at the NCAA Zone Diving Championships last weekend, where the Indianapolis, Ind. native bested the rest of the field by 35 points in the three-meter and nearly 94 points in the one-meter.
Phillip qualified for the nation's top meet during the first day of competition at Zones as well, just making the cut with an eighth place finish in the one-meter (569.75 - 12 dives).
Van Berkom's bid to the NCAA Championships came on the tails of an outstanding Big Ten Championships debut in late February, where the freshman's seventh place finish in the 400 IM (4:13.19) and 10th place finish in the 200 fly (1:58.13) earned the Gophers two of their top-eight performances at the meet. Ultimately, it was the Chatham, Ill. native's 400 IM performance that proved strong enough to punch her ticket, though having NCAA 'B' cuts in each, she will be eligible to compete in both later this week.
AIMING AT THREE
Strong as Bacon's Zone performance maybe have been, another legacy stands even taller for the diving phenom: her 2018 and 2019 NCAA Championship titles.
Before taking an off-year in 2020 to prepare for the upcoming 2020 Tokyo Olympics, Bacon secured the title of NCAA Champion on the one-meter board in both 2018 and 2019, becoming the third Gopher to earn multiple diving titles since Kelci Bryant did so from 2010-11 (3m - 2010, 1m - 2011). Yu Zhou did so as well, claiming the 3m title in both 2015 and 2017 giving the Gophers a remarkable 30 percent share of the springboard titles over the past 10 years.
In fact, not only are Bacon's third and fourth titles on the line at this year's championships, but her title as the reigning champion is as well. As the 2020 NCAA Championships were canceled due to COVID-19 concerns, no student-athlete has taken the title of NCAA 1m Champion since Bacon in 2019, giving her a shot at what would be an unprecedented "three-peat" in the event.
FRESHMEN MEGANS
The Gophers' 2021 freshman class was one of the largest in recent history for the Gophers with 14 newcomers joining the ranks. Of those 14, only two managed to reach the nation's pinnacle meet in their first collegiate season, and interestingly, both go by the name Megan.
Many others including the likes of speedsters Indy Jongman and Pyper Doo were close to managing the feat with NCAA 'B' cuts of their own throughout the season, boding well for Minnesota's future.
NCAA HISTORY
Minnesota's last trip to the NCAA Championships in 2019 saw them finish 11th with 158.5 team points behind exceptional performances a number of former and current Gophers including Bacon, Lindsey Kozelsky, Chantal Nack, and many others.
- Three Gophers are headed to Greensboro, N.C. this week to compete at the women's 2021 NCAA Championships.
- The Championships will be held from March 17-20 at the Greensboro Aquatic Center.
- In Minnesota's last appearance at NCAAs in 2019, the Gophers finished 11th overall with 158.5 team points.
- Social Media: Twitter | Instagram | Facebook
The Minnesota women's swimming and diving program will officially wrap up its 2021 season this week as they prepare for the 2021 NCAA Championships. Three Gophers have qualified for the Championships throughout the year, and will compete from Thursday-Saturday at the Championships.
In order to maintain social distancing standards, no fans will be permitted to attend the event to ensure the health and safety of all competing student-athletes, coaches and essential staff.
"We are limited in our events, so we will need to be at our best with every opportunity we get this week," said head coach Kelly Kremer. "I'm proud of the women who are representing us in Greensboro, and am looking forward to seeing them compete with the best in the country."
WHEN/HOW TO TUNE IN
As no fans are to be permitted in the venue, the entirety of the championships will be streamed via ESPN3, of which a link can be found above. Each stream will only appear on ESPN3 once the event has begun.
The exact dates and start times of each day of competition can be found below.
2021 NCAA Championships (Greensboro, N.C.)
Wednesday, March 17: 5 p.m. CT (finals)
Thursday, March 18: 9 a.m. CT (prelims)
Thursday, March 18: 5 p.m. CT (finals)
Friday, March 19: 9 a.m. CT (prelims)
Friday, March 19: 5 p.m. CT (finals)
Saturday, March 20: 9 p.m. CT (prelims)
Saturday, March 20: 5 p.m. CT (finals)
Saturday, March 20: 8 p.m. CT (trophy ceremony)
WHO'S IN
Three Gophers managed to punch their tickets to the 2021 NCAA Championships throughout the season, including redshirt-senior Sarah Bacon (1m, 3m) and freshmen Megan Phillip (1m) and Megan Van Berkom (400 IM, 200 fly). Bacon and Phillip were only selected last week, after competing at the 2021 NCAA Zone D Diving Championships for their spot while Van Berkom secured her invite a few weeks earlier at the 2021 Big Ten Conference Championships.
SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
Below is a full breakdown of the dates of Minnesota's events and the respective student-athletes competing in them, along with their season bests in each event.
Thursday, March 18
1-meter Diving // Sarah Bacon (353.40), Megan Phillip (337.35)
Friday, March 19
3-meter Diving // Sarah Bacon (410.90)
400 Individual Medley // Megan Van Berkom (4:13.19)
Saturday, March 20
200 Butterfly // Megan Van Berkom (1:58.13)
WHAT IT TOOK
In a unique season unlike any we've seen before, the path to NCAAs was just as interesting as ever.
Bacon's invite came as a result of a springboard sweep at the NCAA Zone Diving Championships last weekend, where the Indianapolis, Ind. native bested the rest of the field by 35 points in the three-meter and nearly 94 points in the one-meter.
Phillip qualified for the nation's top meet during the first day of competition at Zones as well, just making the cut with an eighth place finish in the one-meter (569.75 - 12 dives).
Van Berkom's bid to the NCAA Championships came on the tails of an outstanding Big Ten Championships debut in late February, where the freshman's seventh place finish in the 400 IM (4:13.19) and 10th place finish in the 200 fly (1:58.13) earned the Gophers two of their top-eight performances at the meet. Ultimately, it was the Chatham, Ill. native's 400 IM performance that proved strong enough to punch her ticket, though having NCAA 'B' cuts in each, she will be eligible to compete in both later this week.
AIMING AT THREE
Strong as Bacon's Zone performance maybe have been, another legacy stands even taller for the diving phenom: her 2018 and 2019 NCAA Championship titles.
Before taking an off-year in 2020 to prepare for the upcoming 2020 Tokyo Olympics, Bacon secured the title of NCAA Champion on the one-meter board in both 2018 and 2019, becoming the third Gopher to earn multiple diving titles since Kelci Bryant did so from 2010-11 (3m - 2010, 1m - 2011). Yu Zhou did so as well, claiming the 3m title in both 2015 and 2017 giving the Gophers a remarkable 30 percent share of the springboard titles over the past 10 years.
In fact, not only are Bacon's third and fourth titles on the line at this year's championships, but her title as the reigning champion is as well. As the 2020 NCAA Championships were canceled due to COVID-19 concerns, no student-athlete has taken the title of NCAA 1m Champion since Bacon in 2019, giving her a shot at what would be an unprecedented "three-peat" in the event.
FRESHMEN MEGANS
The Gophers' 2021 freshman class was one of the largest in recent history for the Gophers with 14 newcomers joining the ranks. Of those 14, only two managed to reach the nation's pinnacle meet in their first collegiate season, and interestingly, both go by the name Megan.
Many others including the likes of speedsters Indy Jongman and Pyper Doo were close to managing the feat with NCAA 'B' cuts of their own throughout the season, boding well for Minnesota's future.
NCAA HISTORY
Minnesota's last trip to the NCAA Championships in 2019 saw them finish 11th with 158.5 team points behind exceptional performances a number of former and current Gophers including Bacon, Lindsey Kozelsky, Chantal Nack, and many others.
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