It was one of the most anticipated races of the day, and the third matchup between arguably the two best swimmers in the NCAA right now in Michigan’s Maggie MacNeil and Virginia’s Kate Douglass. After Douglass won the 50 free and MacNeil won the 100 fly (in record time), all eyes were on the middle of the pool for round three between the two.
The race certainly lived up to expectations as MacNeil nearly became the third swimmer to break 46 seconds from a flat start at 46.02 to win ahead of Douglass’ 46.30. MacNeil is now third all-time while Douglass is now tied for seventh.
“(Kate) is a great competitor and it is an honor to race her and she is definitely bringing out the best in me,” Maggie MacNeil said after the race.
Cal’s Izzy Ivey, who is certainly one of the five best swimmers at the meet in Greensboro, finished in third in a very respectable 46.95 that puts her just on the outside of the top 15 all-time as she will have one more year to represent the Golden Bears.
Alabama scored big points with Morgan Scott (47.48), Kalia Antoniou (47.64) and Cora Dupre (47.72) placing fourth, fifth and seventh place as they should play a factor into the 400 freestyle relay later on in the session.
NC State’s Kylee Alons (47.71) and Texas A&M’s Chloe Stepanek (48.30) also swam in the championship final. NC State sits firmly in front of Texas for second place but Texas is back loaded in the 200 butterfly and platform diving.
This is MacNeil’s second NCAA title of her career and is also Michigan’s first in the 100 freestyle.
All-Time Rankings:
- 45.56, Simone Manuel, Stanford, 2017
- 45.83, Erika Brown, Tennessee, 2020
- 46.02, Maggie MacNeil, Michigan, 2021
- 46.20, Mallory Comerford, Louisville, 2019
- 46.20, Anna Hopkin, Arkansas, 2020
- 46.29, Abbey Weitzeil, California, 2014
- 46.30, Kate Douglass, Virginia, 2021
- 46.30, Olivia Smoliga, Georgia, 2017
Listen to MacNeil and teammate Olivia Carter talk about their night:
Event 17 Women 100 Yard Freestyle
=========================================================================
NCAA: N 45.56 3/18/2017 Simone Manuel, Stanford
Meet: M 45.56 3/17/2017 Simone Manuel, Stanford
American: A 45.56 3/18/2017 Simone Manuel, Stanford
US Open: O 45.56 3/18/2017 Simone Manuel, Stanford
Pool: P 46.09 3/21/2015 Simone Manuel, Stanford
Name Year School Prelims Finals Points
=========================================================================
=== Championship Final ===
1 MacNeil, Maggie JR Michigan 47.34 46.02P 20
r:+0.63 22.16 46.02 (23.86)
2 Douglass, Kate SO Virginia 46.54 46.30 17
r:+0.65 22.04 46.30 (24.26)
3 Ivey, Isabel JR California 47.30 46.95 16
r:+0.74 22.59 46.95 (24.36)
4 Scott, Morgan JR Alabama 47.88 47.48 15
r:+0.67 22.61 47.48 (24.87)
5 Antoniou, Kalia JR Alabama 47.96 47.64 14
r:+0.66 23.14 47.64 (24.50)
6 Alons, Kylee JR NC State 47.89 47.71 13
r:+0.64 22.78 47.71 (24.93)
7 Dupre, Cora SO Alabama 47.88 47.72 12
r:+0.62 22.61 47.72 (25.11)
8 Stepanek, Chloe FR TAMU 48.06 48.30 11
r:+0.68 23.31 48.30 (24.99)
=== Consolation Final ===
9 Countie, Grace JR UNC 48.15 47.84 9
r:+0.75 22.90 47.84 (24.94)
10 Bates, Talia SO Florida 48.26 48.09 7
r:+0.67 23.10 48.09 (24.99)
11 Smith, Maddie SR Northwestern 48.41 48.15 6
r:+0.64 23.09 48.15 (25.06)
12 Parker, Maxine FR Georgia 48.09 48.30 5
r:+0.75 23.50 48.30 (24.80)
13 Neumann, Robin SR California 48.29 48.54 4
r:+0.59 23.42 48.54 (25.12)
14 Gantriis, Emily FR California 48.54 48.58 3
r:+0.65 23.27 48.58 (25.31)
15 Pintar, Tjasa SR Tennessee 48.16 48.61 2
r:+0.65 23.45 48.61 (25.16)
16 Leehy, Mykenzie SR Houston 48.56 48.80 1
r:+0.72 23.49 48.80 (25.31)
Women - Team Rankings - Through Event 17 1. Virginia 401 2. NC State 289 3. California 249 4. Texas 248 5. Alabama 226 6. Ohio St 189.5 7. Michigan 182.5 8. Stanford 140 9. Kentucky 135 10. Georgia 127 10. UNC 127 12. Tennessee 109 13. Texas A&M 87 14. Florida 81.5 15. Northwestern 81 15. Louisville 81 17. Missouri 79 18. Indiana 63 19. Wisconsin 59 20. Virginia Tech 43 21. Southern California 42 21. Miami 42 23. Minnesota 40 24. Arkansas 26 25. Nebraska 22 26. Arizona 17.5 27. Georgia Tech 16 28. Purdue 13 29. Houston 9 29. Lsu 9 31. Notre Dame 7 32. San Diego St 6 33. Duke 4 34. Akron 3 35. Oakland 1
