INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. — The Georgia women’s swimming and diving team grabbed the first-day lead on Thursday at the NCAA Championships.
UGA women's swimming team in lead at NCAA championships
From staff reports
The Lady Bulldogs rolled up 163 points on the opening day, staking themselves to 12.5-point lead over Southeastern Conference rival Tennessee (150.5). Arizona is third with 127 points, and California is fourth with 102.
The Lady Bulldogs opened the session by coming in second in the 200-yard freestyle relay. The team of Maddie Locus, Chantal Van Landeghem, Jessica Graber and Megan Romano stopped the clock in 1:27.38 — the second-fastest time in school history.
Amber McDermott took silver in the 500-yard freestyle for the second year in a row as she touched in 4:34.86. Shannon Vreeland was third in 4:35.95, followed by Allison Schmitt in sixth at 4:36.73. In the consolation final, Brittany MacLean claimed 11th in 4:39.08 and Jordan Mattern was 13th in 4:39.87.
Romano was the runner-up in the 50-yard freestyle, posting a time of 21.88 — fourth-best in Georgia history. Van Landeghem took eighth in 22.10.
Melanie Margalis came in sixth in the 200-yard individual medley with a time of 1:54.71, while Annie Zhu placed 11th in 1:56.88.
The 400-yard medley of Romano, Margalis, Lauren Harrington and Schmitt placed sixth in 3:30.90.
The NCAA championships will continue today with the 200 freestyle, the 100 butterfly, the 100 breaststroke, the 100 backstroke, the 400 individual medley, the 200 medley and 800 freestyle relays, and 3-meter diving.
