Visit Swimming World's Event Landing Page for complete coverage and photo gallery of the meet.
WEST LAFAYETTE, Indiana, March 20. JUST one event after Julia Wilkinson won Texas A&M's first NCAA title ever with a win in the 100 free, Alia Atkinson doubled the tally with a 200 breast triumph.
Atkinson clocked a 2:07.38, just off her personal best time of 2:06.99 set last year at this meet. She smashed the pool record of 2:08.48 set by Minnesota's Haley Spencer at Big Tens last month.
"It doesn't matter how you feel coming in," Atkinson said. "It doesn't matter what you did last year or the day before, it's that moment, that race. It's who wants it more."
Stanford's Elizabeth Smith finished second overall in 2:07.50, breaking her personal best of 2:07.65 and moving up to sixth all time. Arizona's Ann Chandler claimed third in 2:07.68 after winning the 100 breast earlier in the meet with an NCAA record. The effort jumped her up to 10th all time in the event.
Chandler's third-place finish gave the Wildcats the lead with 326.5 points, while Stanford jumped into second with 319.5 points. California sat third with 318 points, while Georgia fell back to fourth with 310.5 points. Florida completed the top five with 296 points, while Texas A&M began to hover towards a potential top five with 275 points.
Swimming World's NCAA DI Women's Championships Notes Package Sponsored by Nike