Gator Women Set a Trio of School Records, Natalie Hinds Shines on Day One of NCAAs
Thursday, March 20, 2014 | Women's Swimming & Diving
Florida started off the NCAA Championships with school records in the 200 freestyle relay, 400 medley relay and 50 freestyle on the opening night of the three-day event. Sophomore Natalie Hinds had her hand in both record relays and also set the school record in the sports' shortest event.
The Orange and Blue responded at night by winning a pair of consolation finals after missing some swims in the morning and are in eighth place with 57 points after day one. The Gators will look to improve in the team standings with some of their stronger events slated for the second day of competition, but will need to secure championship final swims with a strong morning session tomorrow.
The 400 medley relay team of Sinead Russell, Hilda Luthersdottir, Ellese Zalewski and Hinds broke the program mark in prelims with a swim of 3:29.67. Russell led off and recorded a 100 backstroke split of 51.99, and was followed by Luthersdottir, Zalewski and Hinds. Hinds posted an anchor of 47.20.
In the championship final of the 400 medley relay, the same group from prelims placed fourth overall with a time of 3:30.27.
Zalewski, Hinds, Russell and Ashlee Linn raced to the win in the consolation final of the 200 free relay in a UF record time of 1:27.54. Hinds delivered a monster 21.07 split on the third leg to give the Gators open water, and Linn cruised to the wall with a 22.09 anchor.
Zalewski, Hinds, Russell and Lindsey McKnight were 10th after prelims in the 200 free relay after posting a time of 1:28.41.The mark ranks as UF's fifth fastest all-time swim.
Hinds ended her 50 freestyle run in ninth place for the second consecutive year after touching in a school record mark of 21.66, which bodes well for the sophomore who is one of the top seeds heading in the 100 freestyle on Saturday. The Midland, Texas native made the 'B' final after a prelim mark of 22.15. Hinds' swim of 21.66 was the second fastest swim recorded in the event.
Senior and two-time NCAA Champion Elizabeth Beisel will swim in her first event of the meet tomorrow. Beisel is the reigning national champion in the 400 individual medley and is the top seed heading into the event.
Sounds Bites:
“A little bit mixed emotions. We got started slow, didn't swim that well on the first relay and our 500 freestyles weren't very good. And then we got rolling. You've got to give the girls credit. They came back and raced tough. All the races were good, we just weren't clicking on all cylinders. We got better throughout the morning and ended with a good relay. We came in tonight and we had everything cooking. We've got to come back and be a little bit better tomorrow.”- Head Coach Gregg Troy on day one of NCAAs.
“I'm really pleased with the school records. Both relays were outstanding. Tremendous splits from Natalie Hinds. She had the fastest split on 200 freestyle relay, one of the fastest swims ever. Great day for her. She had the second fastest time in the 50 free, but wasn't quite as sharp this morning and missed the final. She's going to get better in those things.”- Troy on the school records and Natalie Hinds
“The team swam pretty well. Finals went a lot better than I thought they would. We started off pretty rough this morning, but after tonight we feel a lot better. Usually I'm a better relay swimmer than an individual swimmer. I'm working on putting everything together mentally. Since I've been at Florida, it has gotten a lot better. Sprinter side, I still do a lot of yardage. I think it helps me personally. I'm the type of sprinter that needs stamina to finish my races”- Sophomore Natalie Hinds
Standings After Day One:
| 1. | Georgia | 189 |
| 2. | Stanford | 136 |
| 3. | California | 126 |
| 4. | Southern California | 103 |
| 5. | Texas A&M | 86.5 |
| 6. | Tennessee | 74 |
| 7. | Arizona | 68 |
| 8. | Florida | 57 |
| 9. | Minnesota | 51.5 |
| 10. | Wisconsin | 41 |
Mid-distance: Florida had seven swimmers competing in the 500 freestyle, but was unable to earn an evening swim. Senior Alicia Mathieu finished 21st and touched in her second fastest ever time of 4:41.78, which set her up for a fast mile on the last day of competition. Jessica Thielmann was UF's second highest finisher, coming in 37th in a time of 4:44.59.
Medley Madness: McKnight and Linn swam the 200 individual medley. Linn was UF's highest finisher, placing 26th in a personal best and UF's eighth fastest all-time mark of 1:57.69.
NCAA Info: For all information about the meet including where and how to watch, please click here.
Order of Events:
TRIALS – FRIDAY, MARCH 21 (11 a.m.)
7. 200-yard Medley Relay
8. 400-yard Individual Medley
9. 100-yard Butterfly
10. 200-yard Freestyle
11. 100-yard Breaststroke
12. 100-yard Backstroke
13. Three-meter Diving
14. 800-yard Freestyle Relay—All but last two heats of time finals
FINALS – FRIDAY, MARCH 21 (7 p.m.)
7. 200-yard Medley Relay
8. 400-yard Individual Medley
9. 100-yard Butterfly
10. 200-yard Freestyle
11. 100-yard Breaststroke
12. 100-yard Backstroke
13. Three-meter Diving—Finals*
14. 800-yard Freestyle Relay—Last two heats of time finals
TRIALS – SATURDAY, MARCH 22 (11 a.m.)
16. 200-yard Backstroke
17. 100-yard Freestyle
18. 200-yard Breaststroke
19. 200-yard Butterfly
20. Platform
21. 400-yard Freestyle Relay
FINALS – SATURDAY, MARCH 22 (7 p.m.)
15. 1,650-yard Freestyle—Last heat of time finals
16. 200-yard Backstroke
17. 100-yard Freestyle
18. 200-yard Breaststroke
19. 200-yard Butterfly
20. Platform Diving—Finals*
21. 400-yard Freestyle Relay
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