NCAA Women’s Championships: Gretchen Walsh Swims Third-Fastest Time Ever in 100 Back Prelims; Berkoff, Curzan 2-3
When Virginia’s Gretchen Walsh entered the pool for the final qualifying heat of the 100 backstroke, her top rivals in the event had already cruised to dominant wins in their respective heats. NC State’s Katharine Berkoff, the defending NCAA champion and the American and NCAA-record holder at 48.74, won her heat in 50.14, and Stanford’s Claire Curzan went 50.19 in her heat. But Walsh quickly jumped to another level as she put a scare into Berkoff’s record.
Walsh went out in 23.52, quicker than the 23.72 in which Berkoff covered the initial 50 yards of her record-setting performance, and she used massive underwater kickouts to further her advantage. Walsh looked to slightly ease off the gas over the final final yards, but she still hit the wall in 49.12, the third-fastest time in history behind Berkoff’s 48.74 and her own 49.00 from the 2022 NCAA final. In the final, Walsh is potentially set to join Berkoff in the exclusive sub-49 club, and Berkoff’s record certainly could go down.
Earlier in the meet, Walsh was the runnerup in the 50 freestyle behind an NCAA-record-breaking performance from LSU’s Maggie Mac Neil while Berkoff was fifth in that event. Curzan has yet to race in an A-final at this meet, but she will swim both the 100 fly and 100 back in the evening session.
Behind Walsh, Berkoff and Curzan, three other swimmers broke 51, with all three swimming in he final heat with Walsh. Wisconsin’s Phoebe Bacon, the 2021 NCAA champion in the 200 back and the World Championships silver medalist in the 200-meter back, was fourth in a lifetime best of 50.47, followed by Cal’s Isabelle Stadden (50.73) and Texas’ Olivia Bray (50.85). Bray already has a third-place finish at this meet in the 500 freestyle.
Tennessee’s Josephine Fuller (51.00) and Alabama’s Rhyan White (51.15) also got into the A-final, with White, the World Championships bronze medalist in the 200-meter back, beating UNC’s Grace Countie (51.16) by one hundredth for the last spot.
Event 12 Women 100 Yard Backstroke
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NCAA: N 48.74 3/18/2022 Katharine Berkoff, NCSU
Meet: M 48.74 3/18/2022 Katharine Berkoff, NCSU
American: A 48.74 3/18/2022 Katharine Berkoff, NCSU
US Open: O 48.74 3/18/2022 Katharine Berkoff, NCSU
Pool: P 50.13 11/18/2022Gretchen Walsh, Virginia
Name Year School Seed Prelims
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=== Preliminaries ===
1 Walsh, Gretchen SO Virginia 49.25 49.12P
r:+0.71 23.52 49.12 (25.60)
2 Berkoff, Katharine SR NC State 49.45 50.14
r:+0.55 24.33 50.14 (25.81)
3 Curzan, Claire FR Stanford 49.46 50.19
r:+0.60 24.42 50.19 (25.77)
4 Bacon, Phoebe JR Wisconsin 51.40 50.47
r:+0.69 24.65 50.47 (25.82)
5 Stadden, Isabelle JR California 50.79 50.73
r:+0.80 24.37 50.73 (26.36)
6 Bray, Olivia JR Texas 50.92 50.85
r:+0.85 24.37 50.85 (26.48)
7 Fuller, Josephine SO Tennessee 51.26 51.00
r:+0.64 24.72 51.00 (26.28)
8 White, Rhyan 5Y Alabama 50.84 51.15
r:+0.70 24.70 51.15 (26.45)
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9 Countie, Grace SR UNC 51.70 51.16
r:+0.81 24.40 51.16 (26.76)
10 Muzzy, Emma 5Y NC State 52.03 51.26
r:+0.77 25.31 51.26 (25.95)
11 Tiltmann, Reilly SO Virginia 50.90 51.29
r:+0.69 25.10 51.29 (26.19)
12 McCarty, Eboni SO Georgia 51.35 51.36
r:+0.94 24.70 51.36 (26.66)
13 Noble, Kennedy FR NC State 51.46 51.48
r:+0.64 25.11 51.48 (26.37)
14 Runnels, Aris SO Florida 51.97 51.57
r:+0.73 24.87 51.57 (26.70)
15 Gatrall, Maddy JR Akron 51.84 51.59
r:+0.63 25.05 51.59 (26.54)
16 Nordmann, Lucie SR Stanford 51.91 51.60
r:+0.61 24.71 51.60 (26.89)
