2019 Women’s B1G Championships: Day 2 Finals Live Recap

2019 WOMEN’S B1G CHAMPIONSHIPS

• When: Wednesday, February 20th to Saturday, February 23rd | Prelims 11am | Finals 6:30pm (6pm Saturday)
• Where: Counsilman-Billingsley Aquatics Center, Bloomington, IN (Eastern Time Zone)
• Defending Champion: Michigan Wolverines (3x) (results)
• Live Results
• Streaming: Big Ten Network
• Championship Central: here

Day 2 finals from the 2019 Women’s B1G Swimming & Diving Championships will feature the 500 free, 200 IM, and 50 free, along with the 1-meter diving event and then the 400 medley relay to close things off.

Wisconsin junior Beata Nelson threw down the gauntlet this morning in the 200 IM, establishing a new Championship Record in 1:53.27. Michigan senior Siobhan Haughey, the defending champion, qualified 3rd in 1:55.49, just behind Indiana’s Bailey Andison (1:55.40).

Wolverine freshman Maggie MacNeil was the lone swimmer to break 22 in the 50 free in prelims, clocking 21.75, while Ohio State junior Molly Kowal (4:40.02) leads a group of seven women who were 4:40 this morning in the 500 free.

Women’s 500 Free Final

• B1G Meet Record: 4:34.40, G Ryan (MICH), 2017
• Pool Record: 4:36.61, Nikki White (IU), 2008
• NCAA ‘A’ Cut: 4:36.30

1. Chantal Nack, MINN, 4:36.55
2. Mackenzie Padington, MINN, 4:37.27
3. Rose Bi, MICH, 4:37.63

Chantal Nack used a monster back end to win the 500 free in a time of 4:36.55, slipping under the 11-year-old Pool Record of 4:36.61 and crushing her previous best time of 4:40.31. Her Minnesota teammate Mackenzie Padington took 2nd in 4:37.27 to make it a 1-2 for the Gophers.

Last season, Nack tied for 13th and Padington finished 16th.

Michigan’s Rose Bi, who came in as the defending champion, was 3rd in 4:37.63, while Ally McHugh (4:39.32) of Penn State, top seed from prelims Molly Kowal (4:39.48) of OSU, and Becca Postoll (4:39.99) of Michigan all got under 4:40 as well.

Women’s 200 IM Final

• B1G Meet Record: 1:53.27, Beata Nelson (WISC), 2019
• Pool Record: 1:53.27, Beata Nelson (WISC), 2019
• NCAA ‘A’ Cut: 1:54.31

1. Beata Nelson, WISC, 1:52.27
2. Siobhan Haughey, MICH, 1:52.36
3. Bailey Andison, IU, 1:53.27

Beata Nelson and Siobhan Haughey both went well under their old personal bests in the 200 IM, battling head-to-head all the way to the final touch. With near identical splits on all four strokes, Nelson’s 27.00 free leg (to Haughey’s 27.18) got the job done as she won in 1:52.27, breaking her B1G Championship Record from the prelims by exactly a second. It was her first time sub-1:53 having been 1:53.08 in November at the Texas Invite.

Haughey was less than a tenth back in 1:52.36, also cracking 1:53 for the first time after her previous best was a 1:53.48 from the 2017 UGA Invite. The two of them move to #8 and #9 all-time in the event.

IU seniors Bailey Andison (1:53.27) and Lilly King (1:54.93) took 3rd and 4th, both registering best times. Andison’s swim also set a new Indiana School Record.

A third Hoosier senior, Christie Jensen, hit a big personal best from the ‘B’ final in 1:55.27, a time that would’ve placed 5th in the big heat.

Women’s 50 Free Final

• B1G Meet Record: 21.28, Zhesi Li (OSU), 2018
• Pool Record: 21.75, Maggie MacNeil (MICH), 2019
• NCAA ‘A’ Cut: 21.74

1. Maggie MacNeil, MICH, 21.65
2. Catie Deloof, MICH, 21.88
3. Freya Rayner, OSU, 22.16

Michigan freshman Maggie MacNeil improved on her best time, School Record and Pool Record from the prelims by a tenth to win the women’s 50 free, clocking a time of 21.65. Her senior teammate Catie Deloof made it a 1-2 for the Wolverines in 21.88, her first time sub-22.

Freya Rayner of Ohio State narrowly missed her best time of 22.09 to take 3rd in 22.16, and Daria Pyshnenko made it three Michigan swimmers inside the top-4 with her PB of 22.23

Women’s 1 Meter Diving Final

1. Jessica Parratto, IU, 366.05
2. Sarah Bacon, MINN, 363.95
3. Olivia Rosendahl, NU, 356.15

IU senior Jessica Parratto came away with the win in the women’s 1-meter with a score of 366.05, edging out defending champ Sarah Bacon (363.95) of Minnesota. Olivia Rosendahl of Northwestern, last year’s runner-up, was 3rd with 356.15.

Women’s 400 Medley Relay Final

• B1G Meet Record: 3:27.81, Indiana, 2018
• Pool Record: 3:30.55, Louisville, 2018
• NCAA ‘A’ Cut: 3:32.20

1. Indiana, 3:26.60
2. Michigan, 3:28.47
3. Wisconsin, 3:31.17

The Indiana women followed up their 200 medley relay win from last night with a much more decisive one in tonight’s 400, as the same four swimmers combined to smash their meet record from last year by over a second.

Led by Lilly King‘s 55.66 breaststroke split, the fastest of all-time, they finished in 3:26.60 to take down their 2018 mark of 3:27.81. King was joined by Morgan Scott (52.21), Christie Jensen (50.68), and Shelby Koontz (48.05) on back, fly, and free.

Prior to this swim the fastest relay split ever was from the 2018 NCAA Championships, where King split 56.02.

Michigan took 2nd in 3:28.47, with a tantalizing back half from Maggie MacNeil (49.86) and Siobhan Haughey (46.97) on fly and free. They also had Catie Deloof (52.74) and Miranda Tucker (58.90).

Wisconsin was 3rd in 3:31.17, led by Beata Nelson who actually out-split MacNeil with a 49.77 fly split.

TEAM SCORES (THROUGH DAY TWO)

1. Indiana, 497
2. Michigan, 436.5
3. Ohio State, 434
4. Minnesota, 328
5. Wisconsin, 245
6. Purdue, 216
7. Northwestern, 205
8. Nebraska-Lincoln, 166
9. Iowa, 162.5
10. Penn State, 146
11. Illinois, 111
12. Michigan State, 95
13. Rutgers, 90