NCAA Women’s Championship: Torri Huske Earns First NCAA Title After 200 IM Showdown
Stanford’s Torri Huske has gone up against the Walsh sisters – and previous Virginia stars – so many times.
It has resulted in a Walsh or Kate Douglass win for Virginia multiple times.
This time it was Huske vs. Alex Walsh in the 200 IM and she had company with two other Stanford swimmers in the A final and two more in the B final.
And this time, two-time Olympian and Olympic gold medalist Huske claimed her first NCAA title.
Huske took the lead after the butterfly with a 23.22 split.
Texas’ Emma Sticklen took the lead briefly during the backstroke leg before Huske and Alex Walsh pulled back ahead.
Huske touched the wall a tenth ahead of Walsh on the breaststroke and turned in first place in the freestyle and was able to just pull away from Walsh for the win in 1:49.67. It is the third-fastest time in history.
“I have been wanting this for a really long time. This is my first time winning NCAAs individually, so I was super excited,” Huske said. “My events are so super competitive and I feel like the competition drove the best out in me. It does give me confidence moving forward.
“I think it is really good for me because the competition pushes me. You look at the people I have swam against it was like Maggie Mac Neil, Kate Douglass, Gretchen and Alex (Walsh), who are still here (with Claire Curzan). I like the high-intensity moments and knowing I go up against these amazing women really helps me. I felt like I had trust in my training and it felt like everything was falling into place. Everything was hitting in warmups and also the fact that the team has been swimming so well this week. That was so exciting and seeing what my teammates have done really builds momentum for the team.”
Walsh was second in 1:50.14, followed by Cal’s Lea Polonsky (1:51.51), but couldn’t quite catch Huske.
“I went out 23-low and wanted to do that again and I felt a lot more relaxed. Backstroke, Greg (Meehan) told me to work my second 25 more. This morning, it felt suspiciously good, like I should have pressed it more,” Huske said.
Wisconsin’s Phoebe Bacon earned All-American honors in the event for the fourth time in quiet fashion, taking fourth in 1:51.98. The Olympian is a backstroke specialist but clearly is an elite IMer as well.
Stanford also went 5-6 with Caroline Bricker (1:52.01) and Lucy Bell (1:52.47).
Sticklen was seventh in 1:52.54 and Tennessee’s Josephine Fuller finished eighth in in 1:55.77.
Virginia freshman Leah Hayes won the consolation final in 1:53.71 to finish ninth. She made her move in the breaststroke leg and was able to hold off Texas’ Campbell Chase (1:53.90) by two tenths at the freestyle touch.
Event 4 Women 200 Yard IM
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NCAA: N 1:48.37 3/16/2023 Kate Douglass, Virginia
Meet: M 1:48.37 3/16/2023 Kate Douglass, Virginia
American: A 1:48.37 3/16/2023 Kate Douglass, Virginia
US Open: O 1:48.37 3/16/2023 Kate Douglass, Virginia
Name Year School Prelims Finals Points
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=== Championship Final ===
1 Huske, Torri JR Stanford 1:51.53 1:49.67 20
r:+0.61 23.22 50.88 (27.66)
1:23.13 (32.25) 1:49.67 (26.54)
2 Walsh, Alex 5Y Virginia 1:52.37 1:50.14 17
r:+0.76 23.98 51.70 (27.72)
1:23.20 (31.50) 1:50.14 (26.94)
3 Polonsky, Lea SR California 1:51.91 1:51.51 16
r:+0.66 25.00 52.51 (27.51)
1:24.42 (31.91) 1:51.51 (27.09)
4 Bacon, Phoebe 5Y Wisconsin 1:52.86 1:51.98 15
r:+0.68 24.18 52.31 (28.13)
1:24.89 (32.58) 1:51.98 (27.09)
5 Bricker, Caroline SO Stanford 1:52.77 1:52.01 14
r:+0.64 24.72 53.32 (28.60)
1:25.44 (32.12) 1:52.01 (26.57)
6 Bell, Lucy JR Stanford 1:53.44 1:52.47 13
r:+0.68 24.75 53.86 (29.11)
1:25.36 (31.50) 1:52.47 (27.11)
7 Sticklen, Emma 5Y Texas 1:52.11 1:52.54 12
r:+0.66 23.47 50.80 (27.33)
1:24.82 (34.02) 1:52.54 (27.72)
8 Fuller, Josephine SR Tennessee 1:53.72 1:55.77 11
r:+0.64 24.11 52.51 (28.40)
1:27.51 (35.00) 1:55.77 (28.26)
=== Consolation Final ===
9 Hayes, Leah FR Virginia 1:54.48 1:53.71 9
r:+0.75 25.39 53.10 (27.71)
1:26.19 (33.09) 1:53.71 (27.52)
10 Chase, Campbell FR Texas 1:55.11 1:53.90 7
r:+0.70 25.00 54.11 (29.11)
1:26.48 (32.37) 1:53.90 (27.42)
11 Stotler, Sara SR Tennessee 1:55.44 1:54.28 6
r:+0.68 24.38 52.88 (28.50)
1:26.92 (34.04) 1:54.28 (27.36)
12 Stoll, Campbell SO Texas 1:53.93 1:54.78 5
r:+0.64 24.36 52.78 (28.42)
1:26.85 (34.07) 1:54.78 (27.93)
13 Thompson, Emily FR Stanford 1:55.41 1:54.89 4
r:+0.63 25.24 54.25 (29.01)
1:27.39 (33.14) 1:54.89 (27.50)
14 Sim, Letitia JR Michigan 1:55.50 1:55.34 3
r:+0.67 25.31 54.96 (29.65)
1:27.50 (32.54) 1:55.34 (27.84)
15 Nordmann, Lillie SR Stanford 1:55.14 1:55.37 2
r:+0.67 24.42 53.98 (29.56)
1:28.58 (34.60) 1:55.37 (26.79)
16 Macaulay, Mary SO UNC 1:55.46 1:55.89 1
r:+0.71 25.46 54.19 (28.73)
1:27.78 (33.59) 1:55.89 (28.11)
Women - Team Rankings - Through Event 4
1. Stanford 146 2. Virginia 129
3. Texas 99 4. Florida 71
5. Indiana 64 6. California 63
7. Tennessee 60 8. Michigan 49
9. Wisconsin 45 10. Louisville 42
11. Southern California 35 12. Georgia 28
13. NC State 27 14. Arizona St 22
15. Ohio St 21 16. Alabama 10
17. Virginia Tech 6 17. Texas A&M 6
19. Lsu 4 20. UNC 3
