INDIANAPOLIS, Indiana, March 22. IN the closest finish in NCAA history in the 100 fly, Auburn’s Olivia Scott raced to a 51.64 for the win at the NCAA Division I Women’s Championships.
Scott touched out nearly a straight-line field at the wall with California’s Rachel Bootsma finishing just .04 seconds behind in 51.68. That margin of victory is slimmer than the record California’s Amanda Sims held with a 51.28 to 51.34 defeat of Stanford’s Elaine Breeden in 2009.
The victory is only the second 100 fly victory in Auburn’s history as Scott joined Mimi Bowen as Tiger victors in the event. Bowen prevailed back in 1997 with a 52.05 before Misty Hyman revolutionized the stroke with a 51.34 to win the following year.
Florida’s Ellese Zalewski (51.69) and Louisville’s Kelsi Worrell (51.80) also broke 52 seconds in the finale, while UNC’s Katie Nolan (52.02), Arizona’s Megan Lafferty (52.05), UCLA’s Ting Quad (52.09) and Virginia Tech’s (52.14) all finished within a half-a-second of the winner as the entire heat had a shot at the title heading into the final few yards.
With Kelsey Floyd’s 11th-place finish of 52.05, third in the consolation behind Kendyl Stewart and Natalie Hinds tying 51.89s, Tennessee moved in front of the team-title race with 196.5 points. Georgia held second with 195 points, while Arizona (173), California (169) and Southern California (151) making up the top five.
That would be about to change, however, with Georgia heading into a three up, three down situation in the 200-yard free.
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