swimmer19 said:
400 MR: We're in with an outside lane (lane 1, seed 7th) with Keeks, Ali, Noemie, and Katie McL headlining our lineup... think the finals lineup should be somewhat Thleen, Ali, Noemie, Abbey, while the Furd are seeded 1st with Janet Hu, Grace Zhao (former Cal recruit), Lindsey Engel, and Simone. Don't really expect that lineup to change...
Stanford's lineup will definitely change. They've always had Hu (who could probably put down a 50-mid) on the fly leg, and Howe on the back leg. Zhao/Williams will be a tossup. Williams split a 58.61 at Pac-12's, but looked sort of off on her 200 IM. We'll see. Maybe they'll throw Williams on there because of her experience.
Bears will need to swap out Keeks for Thleen, and Katie for Abbey, though in order to challenge LSJU for the title, Ali should get down to the 59.0 she was at Pac-12's. I think Ali & Robin were tapered at Pac-12's in order to make NCAA's, since Teri believes in the pipeline and giving the freshies as much experience so when they're faster and stronger, they will have more confidence going into NCAA's in coming years.
------
2018 WOMEN'S NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS: DAY 2 PRELIMS LIVE RECAP2018 WOMEN'S NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS: DAY 2 UP/DOWNS
-----
Some pictures from prelims via SwimmingWorld:
Abbey Weitzeil
Abbey Weitzeil
Kathleen Baker
-----
-----
The Strategic Sprint: How Baker, Eastin and Pickrem Will Attack NCAA 200 IM
Kathleen Baker is one of the world's best backstrokers.
Ella Eastin is best known for her IM abilities, particularly in the 400 IM, and her 200 fly. Different swimmers from very different backgrounds Baker from North Carolina, Eastin from Southern California but there's one event where they have developed an intense rivalry: The 200 IM.
The last time the duo raced in that event, they actually could not be separated at the touch. At the USA College Challenge in October, Baker and Eastin tied for the win in the 200 IM at 1:53.24. Baker's Cal Bears and Eastin's Stanford Cardinal met twice last month, but Baker opted out of the 200 IM at the dual meet, and Eastin passed on the event at the Pac-12 championships.
When the two were freshmen in 2016, Eastin won the 200 IM at the NCAA championships and set a new American record. She trailed Baker after 50 yards of butterfly, made up ground on the backstroke, took the lead on the breaststroke and pulled away on the free. Baker settled for second, a full 1.3 seconds behind.
One year later, Baker turned the tables. She took the lead after butterfly, maintained the lead on backstroke and then, in a surprising development, pulled away on the breaststroke. On the free, there was nothing Eastin could to do keep up. Baker finished in 1:51.69, four hundredths off Eastin's record.
In this year's 200 IM final, it's worth expecting just about the same thing: Baker jumping out to be a big lead and Eastin chasing her home. But there's a third swimmer who could jump into this mix, and that's
Sydney Pickrem, the Canadian Olympian and Texas A&M Aggie who won bronze in the 400 IM at the World Championships.
Pickrem doesn't have much pure speed and is not much of a butterflier. She will lose more ground on backstroke. But she will the best breaststroker in the final and one of the best at the entire meet.
At the SEC championships last month, Pickrem split 32.09 for her breaststroke split of the 200 IM, faster than Baker or Eastin have ever gone. Her 26.84 free split was also excellent. Her time from that meet was 1:52.69, a lifetime best but still a second behind the career bests of both Eastin and Baker. But for whatever it's worth, Pickrem does enter the NCAA championships as the top seed in the event.
Baker is seeded second and Eastin fifth, but it's tough to see anyone but this trio finishing in the top three spots in the final.
Unlike most 200s, the 200-yard IM is very much a sprint, with two quick bursts of energy for each stroke. But it's still long enough for the lead to change multiple times as swimmers switch between strokes where they excel and strokes where they struggle. That's what makes it such a compelling race for fans.
No two of Baker, Eastin and Pickrem swim the 200 IM the same way. Baker will inevitably out have the lead after both the butterfly and backstroke legs, but that won't matter. This race will be decided by execution who pulls off her own race plan and has enough left in the tank for the final 50 yards.
-----
2018 W. NCAAS FINALS PREVIEW: STAGE SET FOR CAL-STANFORD SHOWDOWN IN 200 FREE RELAY200 Free Relay- This could get interesting between Cal and Stanford. At Pac-12s, Cal took down the American Record. This morning, Stanford broke that record. The 2 teams will go head-to-head tonight with their best lineups. We'll likely see the NCAA Record go down, as Stanford was hundredths shy this morning and
Simone Manuel looks like she has plenty left in the tank to go faster on her split tonight.
Ally Howe impressed this morning for the Cardinal with a 21.07 anchor. Cal's
Abbey Weitzeil looks to help the Bears defend their title. Teammate
Amy Bilquist is a key player for them as well, as she's split 21-lows before.
200 IM- American Record holder
Ella Eastin (Stanford) and defending NCAA champion
Kathleen Baker (Cal) will have a rematch tonight. Texas A&M's
Sydney Pickrem will challenge them as the top seed for finals. Wisconsin's
Beata Nelson is in the hunt for a top 3 spot after a lifetime best this morning.
50 Free- None of the top swimmers seemed to show all of their cards in prelims. Cal's
Abbey Weitzeil, the American Record holder, and Stanford's
Simone Manuel, the NCAA Record holder and defending champion, headline this race. There are a couple of swimmers who could pull off an upset though. Tennessee's
Erika Brown has been on the rise this year, and Ohio State's
Liz Li has the home pool advantage.
400 Medley Relay- This could end up being a close race with the lead potentially changing hands a few times. Stanford and Cal have two of the fastest 100 backstrokers ever in
Ally Howe (the American Record holder) and
Kathleen Baker respectively, but Indiana should have far and away the fastest breaststroke split by
Lilly King. Tennessee has the potential to be up there with them if they swap
Erika Brown in on the fly leg.
