A silver medal-winning performance in the 400-yard medley relay led the Hoosiers to 11th place in the team standings after the second night of the NCAA Women’s Swimming and Diving Championships.
IU has eight more points than last year at this juncture of the meet.
IU came into the 400-medley relay seeded second, but it looked as if IU had a chance to score a minor upset after senior breaststroker Lilly King pushed IU to a sizable lead. King swam the breaststroke leg in 55.67 seconds, just a tenth of a second short of the fastest split ever for the breaststroke leg of that event.
While IU held a lead after King’s leg, it wouldn’t last. IU would still hold the lead after 300 yards, but the University of California, Berkeley was making up the gap. The Golden Bears tracked the Hoosiers down over the final 200 yards, eventually passing them in the final 75.
IU would take the silver medal with a time of 3:27.01, the second straight year IU has won the silver medal in the event.
All four members of the relay team – King, freshman Morgan Scott, senior Christie Jensen and junior Shelby Koontz – were named All-Americans. The honor marks the 13th such award for King.
Senior Bailey Andison was also named an All-American. She was the only Hoosier in an A-final other than the 400-yard medley relay team, as she swam the 200-yard individual medley. Like the relay, Andison finished in the same place as her seed coming in. Andison was seeded eighth, and finished as such. The eighth place finish is tied for the best-ever finish by an IU swimmer in the event. Andison’s time was 1:54.17.
Senior diver Jesscia Parratto also competed in the 1-meter dive and ultimately placed ninth with a score of 320.65. Parratto was the winner of the consolation final in the event.
The ninth place finish is the best by any IU diver since 2006. Parratto was named an Honorable Mention All-American, the 10th All-American honor of her career.
The NCAA championships will continue Friday night and feature the 100-yard breaststroke, King’s best event. She will swim for her fourth 100-yard breaststroke national title.
