Cardinals Cap Off Successful Day 3 of Winter Nationals

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Cardinals Cap Off Successful Day 3 of Winter Nationals

December 01, 2017 | Swimming & Diving

The women's 200 free relay broke the previous school record with a 1:27.50.

By: Kylie Klotzbach

On the third day of the 2017 Winter National Championships, the University of Louisville men's and women's swimming teams placed 21 swimmers in the championship finals of meet. Throughout the evening's 12 events, the Cardinals secured three automatic NCAA qualifying times and a new school record in the women's 200 free relay.

Rachael Bradford-Feldman posted another solid swim in the IM events, opening the evening session with a fourth place finish in the 400 IM in a time of 4:09.24. Also swimming in the championship final was Maggie Jahns, who placed seventh (4:15.56). In the consolation final, freshman Carley Lowe dropped over two seconds from her morning swim and touched first by nearly a full second with a 4:15.92.

On the men's side, Etay Gurevich secured the first podium finish of the night for the Cards, taking second in the 400 IM with a time of 3:45.56. Jarrett Jones also competed in the championship final, earning a sixth place finish (3:50.06). Freshman T.C. Smith swam in the consolation final of the 400 IM, stopping the clock in 3:55.54 and dropping over a second from the prelims. Keegan Foulke also had an impressive time drop from his morning swim, cutting almost six seconds from the prelims and winning the bonus final with a 3:53.31.

In the 100 fly, the Cardinals once again qualified four swimmers to the championship final. Kelsi Worrell Dahlia sprinted to the finish in a 49.87 to win the gold, while Mallory Comerford posted another automatic NCAA qualifying time of 50.92 to take the silver. Grace Oglesby finished fifth with a personal best 51.69, and Nastja Govejsek was seventh (53.58). Rounding out the women's 100 fly was Hannah Magnuson, who finished 15th with a 54.32.

Nicolas Albiero continued to make waves in his debut season as a Cardinal, earning a sixth place finish in the 100 fly with a time of 47.19. Zach Harting was just behind in seventh with a 47.28, while Nikkos Sofianidis posted the top time for the Cardinals in the consolation final with a 47.14.

Just minutes after taking second in the 100 fly, Comerford captured the 200 free title with a new meet record time of 1:41.17, the fastest time in the NCAA this season. Arina Openysheva (1:45.59) and Sophie Cattermole (1:45.85) also swam in the championship final of the 200 free, placing fourth and fifth respectively. Casey Fanz finished 10th overall in the event, touching the wall in a time of 1:47.46.

Two Cardinals competed in the men's 200 free championship final. Andrej Barna took fifth in a 1:35.72, while Sam Steele was seventh in a 1:35.93. Marcelo Acosta won the 200 free consolation final with a time of 1:36.04, and Spencer Carl placed 20th with a 1:38.37.

Andrea Cottrell earned the bronze medal in the 100 breast, powering to the wall in a 58.82. Mariia Astashkina was just behind in fourth with a time of 59.71, breaking the one-minute barrier. Morgan Friesen finished second in the consolation final with a 1:00.39, while Lauren James swam to a time of 1:01.04. In the bonus final, Avery Braunecker (1:01.68) and Silvia Guerra (1:02.54) placed first and sixth respectively.

In the men's 100 breast, Carlos Claverie finished seventh with a 52.83. Also competing for the Cards were Jonathan Zoucha (54.98) and Todd Owen (55.41).

Freshman Ashlyn Schoof had a breakout swim to take fifth in the championship final of the 100 back with a 52.71. Alina Kendzior finished eighth in the championship final in a time of 54.66, Lainey Visscher was 12th (54.15), and Magnuson placed 19th (54.57).

All three Cardinals in the finals of the men's 100 back competed in the championship final, led by Grigory Tarasevich with a third place finish (46.53). Albiero finished with a seventh place showing (47.36), while Sofianidis was eighth (47.47).

The Lady Cards capped off a successful day with a new school record in the 200 free relay. The team of Comerford (21.87), Visscher (21.87), Braunecker (22.10), and Fanz (21.66) combined to win the event in an automatic NCAA qualifying time of 1:27.50. The 'B' relay team of Gracie Long (23.10), Openysheva (22.01), Govejsek (22.83), and Rachel Grooms (22.67) placed third with a 1:30.61.

The Louisville men finished 1-2 in the 200 free relay to conclude the third day of competition. The 'A' team of Barna (19.82), Harting (19.57), Kovacs (19.86), and Albiero (19.42) won in a time of 1:18.67. Coming in second were Aulbach (20.70), Sofianidis (20.08), Jones (19.91), and Jacob DeMercurio (20.06) with a 1:20.75.

The final day of the 2017 Winter National Championships will begin tomorrow morning at 9 a.m. ET with the prelims of the 200 back, 100 free, 200 breast, and 200 fly.