Produced by Coleman Hodges.
Reported by Jared Anderson.
200 BREAST – FINALS
NCAA Record: Emma Reaney, Notre Dame, 2:04.06American Record: Emma Reaney, Notre Dame, 2:04.06U.S. Open Record: Emma Reaney, Notre Dame, 2:04.06Championship Record: Emma Reaney, Notre Dame, 2:04.06Pool Record: Lilly King, Indiana, 2:06.43- 2015 Champion: Kierra Smith, Minnesota, 2:04.56
Top 3:
- Lilly King, Indiana – 2:03.59
- Miranda Tucker, Indiana – 2:06.27
- Emily Escobedo, UMBC – 2:06.43
In a huge coup for Indiana, the Hoosiers took down NCAA, American, U.S. Open and NCAA meet record plus the top two spots in the women’s 200 breaststroke. Most of that came courtesy of Lilly King, the freshman sensation who smashed the national record by about half a second with a 2:03.59.
King completes a breaststroke sweep of the meet and becomes Indiana’s first national champion in the 200 breast. Her time takes down the national records previously held by Notre Dame’s Emma Reaney from 2014.
Her freshman teammate Miranda Tucker went 2:06.27 for second place, giving IU a rookie sweep of gold and silver on the national stage.
UMBC junior Emily Escobedo was 2:06.43 in one of the best swims we’ve seen from a mid-major conference swimmer this year. She takes home bronze, beating out Stanford senior Sarah Haase (2:06.50).
Texas A&M finished two inside the top 7, with Bethany Galat going 2:07.18 for fifth and Esther Gonzelz 2:08.49 for seventh. That should help them make a leap in the team battle against Virginia, especially with Cavalier Laura Simon, last year’s runner-up, fading all the way to 16th.
Georgia continued to stockpile points, getting 13 from 6th-place finisher Annie Zhu (2:08.18). And in a freshman-heavy event, USC frosh Kirsten Vose was 2:10.42 for 8th place.