Sophie Hansson Throws Down 2:03 to Win NCAA Title in 200 Breaststroke
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Just when NC State needed her most in the pursuit of a runner-up finish in the team standings, junior Sophie Hansson backed up her 100 breast win last night with a 2:03.86 to double up in the 200, her fourth title of the weekend after swimming the breast leg on both of NC State’s medley relays. Hansson dropped a second on her best time to catapult herself from 11th all-time to fifth, and the sixth to break 2:04 in short course yards.
Hansson led a fast pace at the halfway point, turning at 59.44 ahead of Virginia freshman Alex Walsh (59.60), Tennessee’s Mona McSharry (59.64), Virginia’s Alexis Wenger (59.66) and NC State’s Andrea Podmanikova (59.74) as five swimmers were all under at the halfway point. Hansson split a 31.7 on the third 50 to give herself a cushion heading into the final 50 as Virginia’s Nelson also moved up.
Hansson won going away while Nelson moved up to eighth all-time with a 2:04.35 as McSharry was third, backing up her runner-up in the 100, with a 2:05.01.
“I was definitely surprised. I came in this morning knowing it was going to be hard just to make the final, and I am not going to lie, it was pretty rough swimming this morning. I did not expect to drop this much,” Sophie Hansson said. “Every point counts and I did it for my team.”
Podmanikova scored big points for the Wolfpack in fourth at 2:05.51 while Walsh fell to fifth at 2:05.86 and Wenger was seventh at 2:06.90.
Indiana’s Noelle Peplowski (2:06.46) and Georgia’s Zoie Hartman (2:07.70) also swam in the championship final.
Sophie Hansson’s win is NC State’s first ever title in the 200 breaststroke and the first for the current members of the ACC since Emma Reaney of Notre Dame won in 2014. NC State now leads Texas by 67 points heading into the 200 fly and platform diving where the Longhorns are loaded.
All-Time Rankings:
- 2:02.60, Lilly King, Indiana, 2018
- 2:03.26, Bethany Galat, Texas A&M, 2018
- 2:03.55, Kierra Smith, Minnesota, 2015
- 2:03.65, Sydney Pickrem, Texas A&M, 2019
- 2:03.86, Sophie Hansson, NC State, 2021
- 2:03.93, Kate Douglass, Virginia, 2021
- 2:04.06, Emma Reaney, Notre Dame, 2014
- 2:04.35, Ella Nelson, Virginia, 2021
Event 18 Women 200 Yard Breaststroke ========================================================================= NCAA: N 2:02.60 3/20/2018 Lilly King, Indiana Meet: M 2:02.60 3/20/2018 Lilly King, Indiana American: A 2:02.60 3/20/2018 LIlly King, Indiana US Open: O 2:02.60 3/20/2018 Lilly King, Indiana Pool: P 2:04.34 2/22/2014 Emma Reaney, Notre Dame Name Year School Prelims Finals Points ========================================================================= === Championship Final === 1 Hansson, Sophie JR NC State 2:05.56 2:03.86P 20 r:+0.76 27.97 59.44 (31.47) 1:31.20 (31.76) 2:03.86 (32.66) 2 Nelson, Ella SO Virginia 2:05.80 2:04.35 17 r:+0.71 28.76 1:00.50 (31.74) 1:32.20 (31.70) 2:04.35 (32.15) 3 McSharry, Mona FR Tennessee 2:06.37 2:05.01 16 r:+0.65 28.17 59.64 (31.47) 1:31.80 (32.16) 2:05.01 (33.21) 4 Podmanikova, Andrea JR NC State 2:06.67 2:05.51 15 r:+0.66 27.90 59.74 (31.84) 1:32.08 (32.34) 2:05.51 (33.43) 5 Walsh, Alex FR Virginia 2:05.64 2:05.86 14 r:+0.74 28.04 59.60 (31.56) 1:32.36 (32.76) 2:05.86 (33.50) 6 Peplowski, Noelle JR Indiana 2:06.71 2:06.46 13 r:+0.77 28.74 1:00.80 (32.06) 1:33.54 (32.74) 2:06.46 (32.92) 7 Wenger, Alexis JR Virginia 2:06.65 2:06.90 12 r:+0.61 28.17 59.66 (31.49) 1:32.78 (33.12) 2:06.90 (34.12) 8 Hartman, Zoie SO Georgia 2:06.42 2:07.70 11 r:+0.81 28.78 1:01.09 (32.31) 1:33.86 (32.77) 2:07.70 (33.84) === Consolation Final === 9 Elendt, Anna FR Texas 2:07.40 2:06.10 9 r:+0.77 28.86 1:00.74 (31.88) 1:33.16 (32.42) 2:06.10 (32.94) 10 Brunzell, Hannah SO Northwestern 2:08.02 2:06.60 7 r:+0.73 29.03 1:01.31 (32.28) 1:33.52 (32.21) 2:06.60 (33.08) 11 Halmai, Petra SR FGCU 2:08.62 2:06.89 6 r:+0.73 29.18 1:01.03 (31.85) 1:33.65 (32.62) 2:06.89 (33.24) 12 Davey, Gillian SO Kentucky 2:07.06 2:07.38 5 r:+0.68 28.98 1:01.31 (32.33) 1:34.11 (32.80) 2:07.38 (33.27) 13 Forde, Brooke SR Stanford 2:08.61 2:07.63 4 r:+0.70 29.27 1:01.21 (31.94) 1:33.98 (32.77) 2:07.63 (33.65) 14 Dellatorre, Danielle SR Georgia 2:07.51 2:08.34 3 r:+0.69 28.88 1:01.34 (32.46) 1:34.86 (33.52) 2:08.34 (33.48) 15 Raab, Allie JR Stanford 2:07.70 2:09.89 2 r:+0.69 29.57 1:02.36 (32.79) 1:35.86 (33.50) 2:09.89 (34.03) 16 Bonnett, Bailey SR Kentucky 2:08.61 2:09.92 1 r:+0.65 29.44 1:02.70 (33.26) 1:36.42 (33.72) 2:09.92 (33.50)
Women - Team Rankings - Through Event 18 1. Virginia 444 2. NC State 324 3. Texas 257 4. California 249 5. Alabama 226 6. Ohio St 189.5 7. Michigan 182.5 8. Stanford 146 9. Kentucky 141 9. Georgia 141 11. UNC 127 12. Tennessee 125 13. Northwestern 88 14. Texas A&M 87 15. Florida 81.5 16. Louisville 81 17. Missouri 79 18. Indiana 76 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. Lsu 9 29. Houston 9 31. Notre Dame 7 32. San Diego St 6 32. Fgcu 6 34. Duke 4 35. Akron 3 36. Oakland 1