2010 NCAAs: Day Three Prelims
Saturday, March 20, 2010 | Women's Swimming & Diving
Gemma Spofforth (West Sussex, England) and Teresa Crippen (Conshohocken, Pa.) led the Gators in prelims on the final day of competition at the 2010 NCAA Championships, solidifying first and second place, respectively, in prelims of the 200-yard backstroke. After winning the 100-yard back Friday, Spofforth will look to tally her eighth overall national title with a four-peat in the 200-yard back Saturday evening. Spofforth would become the first women's swimmer in NCAA history to win the event four years in a row. The duo of Spofforth and Crippen took first and second, respectively, at last year's NCAA meet and will look to repeat the feat Saturday evening.
Currently in fifth place in the team standings, the Gators will be looking for their first top five finish since 2005 when they placed fourth.
“We put ourselves in the best possible position this morning,” head coach Gregg Troy said. “We just need to come back tonight and have great swims in finals, particularly from our top-seeded swimmers, Gemma, Jemma, Teresa and Shara.”
Crippen, the second-place finisher in the 400-yard IM Friday, will double up on events Saturday after also finishing sixth in prelims of the 200-yard fly with a career best 1:54.91. Just one seed ahead of Crippen, sophomore Jemma Lowe (Hartlepool, England) qualified fifth to also return to the championship final.
Sophomore Shara Stafford (Topeka, Kan.) additionally made a splash in the 100-yard free, clocking a 48.31, good for a fifth-place seed in championship finals of the event to mark UF's fifth individual championship final swimmer of the day.
The Gators closed out morning swimming with a stellar 400-yard freestyle relay, touching in at 3:14.96, good for fourth place heading into, thanks to the efforts of senior Liz Kemp (Potomac, Md.), Stafford, Spofforth and anchor leg freshman Jamie Bohunicky (Gainesville, Fla.).
Prelims of the platform diving are currently taking place. Results and a recap can be found on www.GatorZone.com upon conclusion. The final evening of competition from the Boilermaker Aquatic Center on the Purdue campus, including timed finals of the 1650-yard free, will kick off Saturday evening at 7 p.m. (ET).
SATURDAY PRELIMINARY RESULTS
F – Florida record
* – Career best
200-yard backstroke
1. Gemma Spofforth: 1:52.62
2. Teresa Crippen: 1:52.94
100-yard freestyle
5. Shara Stafford: 48.31
200-yard breaststroke
39. Kirsten Smith: 2:14.55
200-yard butterfly
5. Jemma Lowe: 1:54.61
6. Teresa Crippen: 1:54.91 *
400-yard freestyle relay
4. Kemp, Stafford, Spofforth, Bohunicky: 3:14.96
-UF-
