NCAA Women’s Championships: Star-Studded 100 Butterfly Highlights Friday Prelims (Heat Sheets)
After Virginia won a pair of events Thursday to continue building a lead in the team competition, the NCAA Women’s Championships will resume Friday morning at 10 a.m. ET with action in the 400 IM, 100 butterfly, 200 freestyle, 100 breaststroke and 100 backstroke.
Click here to view the full heat sheet.
The top seed in the 400 IM is Virginia’s Ella Nelson, who was fourth in the 200 IM Thursday and part of UVA’s winning 800 free relay Wednesday. Nelson will swim next to teammate and defending NCAA champion Alex Walsh in the final heat, while former Cavalier and current Florida Gator Emma Weyant is seeded second overall.
After that, the 100 fly will include two swimmers already with an individual NCAA title under their belts: Virginia’s Kate Douglass is the defending champion and fastest swimmer in history, and she won the 200 IM in record-smashing fashion Thursday. LSU’s Maggie Mac Neil is fresh off an NCAA title and NCAA record of her own in the 50 free. And Stanford will have Torri Huske and Claire Curzan in the race, with Huske coming off a 100-meter fly world title last year and the second-fastest time in history in Thursday’s 200 IM.
A wide-open 200 free will see Texas’ Kelly Pash, Virginia’s Aimee Canny and Tennessee’s Brooklyn Douthwright occupying lane four in the circle-seeded heats, while defending champion Taylor Ruck of Stanford races against Canny in heat seven. In the 100 breast, Olympic gold medalist Lydia Jacoby of Texas and Mona McSharry of Tennessee each highlight their respective heats, while defending champion Kaitlyn Dobler of USC races Texas’ Anna Elendt in the final heat.
Finally, the 100 back includes the two fastest swimmers in history, NC State’s Katharine Berkoff and Virginia’s Gretchen Walsh, in separate heats as they prepare for a likely finals showdown. Curzan will return for her second event of the morning as the third seed.
Friday’s action will also include 3-meter diving, with prelims to be contested in the early afternoon, plus the 400 medley relay at night.
