Michigan
NCAA Championships
Michigan Moves Up to Ninth on Day Two of NCAA Championships
3/21/2024 10:06:00 PM | Women's Swimming & Diving
Site: Athens, Ga. (Gabrielsen Natatorium)
Event: NCAA Championships (Day 2 of 4)
Score: 9th Place of 28 teams (80.5 points)
Next U-M Event: Friday, March 22 -- at NCAA Championships - Day 3 (Athens, Ga.), 10 a.m./6 p.m.
ATHENS, Ga. -- The No. 13-ranked University of Michigan women's swimming and diving team put together another strong performance on the second day of the NCAA Championships on Thursday (March 21) at Gabrielsen Natatorium.
The Wolverines now own 80.5 points after two days of competition, moving up one spot to ninth place. Virginia leads the field with 210.5 points.
In the preliminary session, three Wolverines hit the pool for the 500-yard freestyle. Defending Big Ten champion Katie Crom narrowly missed the 'A' final but secured pole position in the consolation final. Freshman Hannah Bellard finished 37th with a mark of 4:42.96, and Kathryn Shanley finished 61st with a time of 4:47.77. Devon Kitchel represented the Maize and Blue in the 200-yard individual medley, taking 17th overall by touching the wall at 1:55.60, nearly earning a second swim. The 50-yard freestyle saw four U-M swimmers take to the blocks. Brady Kendall was the highlight of the event, posting the sixth-best time at 21.69 seconds to comfortably punch her ticket to the championship final. Lindsay Flynn's' time of 22.03 was good for 25th place. Stephanie Balduccini and Claire Newman finished back-to-back at 39th and 40th overall, respectively, with times of 22.22 and 22.23.
Crom got Michigan off to a solid start in the evening session by winning the consolation final in the 500 free with a time of 4:36.27, the third-fastest mark in program history. Kendall showed out in the 50 free sprint with a time of 21.74 to finish in a tie for seventh and capture individual All-America recognition. Kendall was not done as she, Balduccini, Flynn and Newman took on the best in the nation in the 200 freestyle relay. The quartet kept pace with the field in the fastest heat of the event and finished fifth overall with a time of 1:26.55. All four swimmers earned All-America honors for their efforts.
Michigan will return for the third day of the NCAA Championships on Friday (March 22) at Gabrielsen Natatorium. The penultimate day of the meet will feature five individual swimming events (400 IM, 100-yard butterfly, 200 free, 100-yard breaststroke and 100-yard backstroke) and the three-meter dive. Preliminaries for swimming will get underway at 10 a.m. with diving prelims starting at noon. Finals will commence at 6 p.m.
Team Standings Through Day 2
1. No. 1 Virginia 210.5
2. No. 2 Florida 163
3. No. 3 Texas 141
4. No. 7 Stanford 105
5. No. 6 Tennessee 104
6. No. 10 Louisville 99
7. No. 5 Southern California 94
8. No. 8 Indiana 87
9. No. 13 Michigan 80.5
10. No. 15 Georgia 75
11. No. 9 Ohio State 61
12. No. 4 California 59
13. No. 11 NC State 50
14. No. 18 Wisconsin 40
15. No. 14 North Carolina 34
16. No. 17 Duke 33
17. No. 12 Texas A&M 26
18. Utah 14
19. No. 22 Minnesota 13
20. No. 16 Auburn 12
No. 19 Alabama 12
22. No. 23 Arizona State 11
23. Rutgers 6
No. 25 Virginia Tech 6
RV LSU 6
26. Northwestern 4
27. Kansas 3
28. RV Akron 1
Players Mentioned
