Michigan
NCAA Championships
Wolverines Open NCAAs with Runner-Up Finish in 800 Freestyle Relay
3/14/2018 8:10:00 PM | Women's Swimming & Diving
» The foursome of Catie DeLoof, Siobhán Haughey, Yirong Bi and Gabby DeLoof took runner-up in the 800-yard freestyle relay to open the NCAA Championships, setting Big Ten and U-M records (6:50.03).
» Their time of 6:50.03 is third-fastest in NCAA history behind Stanford (6:45.91 in 2017, 6:46.93 in 2018).
» It is the team's highest finish in the 800-yard freestyle relay at the NCAA Championships, surpassing last year's third-place finish.
Site: Columbus, Ohio (McCorkle Aquatic Pavilion)
Event: NCAA Championships (Day 1 of 4)
U-M Team Standing: 2nd of 24 teams (34 points)
Next U-M Event: Thursday, March 15 -- at NCAA Championships - Day Two (Columbus, Ohio), 10 a.m./6 p.m.
• Photo Gallery
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- The No. 5-ranked University of Michigan women's swimming and diving team finished runner-up in the 800-yard freestyle relay (6:50.03), as they smashed the old Big Ten and U-M records to open the NCAA Championships on Wednesday (March 14) at the McCorkle Aquatic Pavilion.
According to the USA Swimming database, it is the third-fastest time in NCAA history behind a pair of swims from Stanford (6:45.91 from 2017, 6:46.93 from 2018).
"Before coming to the pool this afternoon, we spoke about being grounded in ourselves and in Michigan, embracing our history, our fans and our support," said head coach Mike Bottom. "This was a great way to start the meet. We're going to keep moving forward and scoring points for Michigan."
The relay was comprised of junior Catie DeLoof (1:43.35), junior Siobhán Haughey (1:40.49), junior Yirong Bi (1:43.88) and senior Gabby DeLoof (1:42.31), with each swimmer receiving All-America honors. It is the team's highest finish in the 800-yard freestyle relay, surpassing last year's third-place finish. It is the sixth relay in program history to earn runner-up honors at the NCAA Championships.
The NCAA Championships continue tomorrow (March 15) with the first full day of competition at the McCorkle Aquatic Pavilion. Preliminaries are at 10 a.m., with finals following at 6 p.m.
TEAM STANDINGS (After Day 1)
1. Stanford 40 2. MICHIGAN 34 3. California 32 4. Tennessee 30 5. Texas 28 6. Louisville 26 7. Virginia 24 8. Minnesota 22 9. Texas A&M 18 10. Georgia 14800-yard Freestyle Relay
1. Stanford 6:46.93 (Katie Drabot, Ella Eastin Brooke Forde, Katie Ledecky) 2. MICHIGAN 6:50.03BM (Catie DeLoof, Siobhán Haughey Yirong Bi, Gabby DeLoof)A American Record
N NCAA Record
B Big Ten Record
M University of Michigan Record
& NCAA Championships Record
Players Mentioned
