Event 7 (200 medley relay – FINAL) Stanford set a new NCAA record in the 200 medley relay with a time of 1:37.80 breaking the mark of 1:38.56 set earlier this season by Auburn (Katie Ryan, Brook Monroe, Mimi Bowen, Katie Taylor) at the SEC championships. The Cardinal squad consisted of Catherine Fox, Elin Austevoll, Misty Hyman Siobhan Cropper. It’s the second NCAA relay title in the 1998 championships for the foursome. They combined in the same order to win the 400 medley relay with an NCAA record time of 3:33.61. The 1998 200 medley relay title is the fifth won by Stanford in the event in the 1990’s. Auburn, the 1997 champion, placed second in 1:38.58.
Event 8 (400 individual medley – FINAL) Columbia sophomore Cristina Teuscher won her second title in this year’s NCAA’s capturing the crown in the 400 individual medley with a Dorothy L. Sheppard Pool record of 4:05.62. Her winning mark is the fourth-fastest all-time behind Summer Sanders (4:02.28, 1992 and 4:05.19, 1991) and Tracy Caulkins (4:04.63, 1981). Teuscher entered the championships seeded 10th in the event and shaved over 10 seconds off her qualifying time (4:16.44). Teuscher won her other title in the 1998 NCAA championships in the 500 freestyle.
Event 9 (100 butterfly – FINAL) After tying the NCAA record in the prelims, Stanford first-year swimmer Misty Hyman bettered the field by over a second in capturing the 100 butterfly crown with an NCAA record time of 51.34 seconds. She previously shared the record of 51.75 with Crissy Ahmann-Leighton (Arizona, 1992). Hyman was also a member of the Cardinal’s national champion 400 medley relay. Placing second was North Carolina’s Richelle Fox in 52.69, while 1997 champion Mimi Bowen of Auburn was third in 53.21.
Event 10 (200 freestyle – FINAL) SMU’s Martina Moravcova won her third consecutive NCAA title in the 200 freestyle posting a time of 1:45.11. Moravcova, the 1997 NCAA swimmer of the year, open the U.S. Open and NCAA records in the event with a 1:43.08 at the 1997 NCAA championships. Overall, Moravcova has won nine NCAA titles, including the 200 individual medley and 200 freestyle in this year’s championships. Two Michigan swimmers, Shannon Shakespeare and Talor Bendel, tied for second place with a time of 1:46.58.
Event 11 (100 breaststroke – FINAL) Georgia sophomore Kristy Kowal posted a time of 59.05 seconds in the 100 breaststroke to become just the second swimmer to swim the event in under one minute. The time set a new U.S. Open, American and NCAA record,.bettering Beata Kaszuba’s (Arizona State) time of 59.71 during the 1995 NCAA championships. UCLA’s Lindsay Etter placed second in 1:00.45. Former American record holder and 1997 NCAA champion Gretchen Hegener of Minnesota placed seventh in 1:01.60.
Press release from www.gophersports.com