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AUBURN, Alabama, March 16. CALIFORNIA's Cindy Tran, Caitlin Leverenz, Colleen Fotsch and Liv Jensen topped the 200 medley relay with an American, U.S. Open and NCAA record time of 1:34.24 at the NCAA Division I Women's Championships.
That swim cleared the 1:35.03 set by the same foursome at the NCAA Championships last year, and defended the title for the Golden Bears. California has now won the event three times since its inception in 1982. The third victory came when Haley Cope, Staciana Stitts, Waen Minpraphal and Joscelin Yeo took home the short course meter crown with a 1:49.23 in 2000.
Arizona's Sarah Denninghoff, Chelsey Salli, Lauren Smart and Margo Geer took second overall in 1:35.71, while Tennessee's Jenny Connolly, Molly Hannis, Kelsey Floyd and Caroline Simmons earned third in 1:35.91. Auburn (1:36.15), Texas A&M (1:36.20), Stanford (1:36.82), Wisconsin (1:37.83) and Southern California (1:37.96) also competed in the finale. Breeja Larson posted a 26.36 breaststroke split as a sign of things to come in the 100 breast later tonight. Geer broke 21 seconds with a stunning anchor leg of 20.98, while Tran clocked a 23.44 to lead the backstroke legs. Fotsch posted a 22.97 for the top butterfly leg.
Texas' Lily Moldenhauer, Laura Sogar, Ellen Lobb and Kelsey Amundsen won the B final with a time of 1:37.70, while Georgia's Kristen Shickora, Megan Molnar, Lauren Harrington and Madeline Locus placed a close second in 1:37.73. Arizona State's Kelli Kyle, Rebecca Ejdervik, Caroline Kuczynski and Shannon Landgrebe finished third in 1:37.99. SMU (1:38.27), Penn State (1:38.43), Minnesota (1:38.43), Ohio State (1:38.53) and UCLA (1:39.50) also competed in the consolation heat.
California led the team race with 172 points after the race. Stanford (144), Arizona (141), Southern California (140) and Auburn (124) held the top five.
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