IU Qualifies 14 for Saturday Night Finals at Big Ten Championships
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – The Indiana University women’s swimming and diving team qualified 14 swimmers and diver for evening finals at the 2017 Big Ten Championships on Saturday afternoon at the Boilermaker Aquatic Center in West Lafayette, Ind.
The Hoosiers will five swimmers and one diver in Championship Finals on Saturday night, along with four swimmers in B Finals and four swimmers in C Finals. IU will also have three swimmers in the 1,650 freestyle this afternoon.
200 Backstroke
The Hoosiers will bring back four swimmers for Saturday night’s finals of the 200 backstroke, led by Kennedy Goss who was the top qualifier for the Championship Final with a NCAA B cut time of 1:52.02.
Rachel Matsumura will swim in the B Final after touching the wall with a personal-best and NCAA B cut time of 1:55.28. Her mark ranks her as the 12th-best performer in the event in school history.
Ali Rockett (1:56.93) and Shelly Drozda (1:57.77) will both swim in the C Final of the 200 backstroke after posting a pair of NCAA B cut. Katherine Keller finished 46th overall with a time of 2:01.56.
100 Freestyle
Holly Spears will lead a pair of IU swimmers in the B Final of the 100 freestyle after posting a NCAA B cut time of 49.62. Joining her will be freshman Maria Paula Heitmann, who qualified 16th overall after touching the wall in a personal-best and NCAA B cut time of 49.76. Heitmann entered the race seeded 66th.
Shelby Koontz earned a spot in the C Final with a personal-best and NCAA B cut mark of 49.78. With their times, Heitmann is ranked 14th all-time at IU, while Koontz comes in at No. 15 on the list.
Delaney Barnard just missed qualifying for the C Final by 0.01 seconds, finishing 25th with a time of 50.06.
200 Breaststroke
Defending NCAA and Big Ten champion Lilly King will be the No. 2 seed for tonight’s Championship Final of the 200 breaststroke, touching the wall with a NCAA B cut time of 2:07.67. King, who was also the No. 2 seed at last year’s conference championships, posted the ninth-best time in IU history in prelims.
Joining King in the A Final will be Laura Morley, who qualified eighth overall with a personal-best and NCAA B cut time of 2:11.50. With her mark, Morley ranks as the ninth-best performer in the event in program history.
Mackenzie Atencio placed 28th overall, tying her personal-best time with a mark of 2:16.28, maintaining her spot as 18th-best all-time at Indiana. Hope Hayward placed 33rd with a time of 2:18.01, while Taylor Truex took 50th with a mark of 2:26.77.
200 Butterfly
Three-time defending Big Ten champion Gia Dalesandro will be the No. 1 seed for the A Final of the 200 butterfly after touching the wall with a NCAA B cut time of 1:56.26. Joining Dalesandro in the Championship Final will be Bailey Pressey, who qualified seventh with a NCAA B cut time of 1:56.93.
After tying for 16th in the prelims with a NCAA B cut time of 1:59.10, Reagan Cook won a swim-off to take the final spot in the B Final with a personal-best time of 1:57.32. Olivia Barker will swim in the C Final for the Hoosiers after posting a 1:59.68.
Platform Dive
Jessica Parratto had a tremendous prelim session, earning the No. 1 seed for Saturday night’s Championship Final of the platform dive with a NCAA qualifying score of 322.50.
Parratto hit for two dive over 70 points – 75.00 and 72.00 – in the second and third round to get to the head of the pack. Parratto then hit for 62.70 and 67.00 in the final two rounds to earn the top spot.
In 2015, Parratto won both the Big Ten and NCAA Championships in the platform dive.
The Hoosiers will wrap up the 2017 Big Ten Championships on Saturday evening with the finals of the 200 backstroke, 100 freestyle, 200 breaststroke, 200 butterfly, platform dive and 1,650 freestyle. The action gets underway at the Boilermaker Aquatic Center in West Lafayette at 6:30 p.m. ET.
Be sure to keep up with all the latest news on the Indiana men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams on social media – Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
200 Backstroke
Kennedy Goss – 1:52.02 (NCAA B cut – A Final)
Rachel Matsumura – 1:55.28 (Personal Best, NCAA B cut – B Final)
Ali Rockett – 1:56.93 (NCAA B cut – C Final)
Shelly Drozda – 1:57.77 (NCAA B cut – C Final)
46. Katherine Keller – 2:01.56
100 Freestyle
Holly Spears – 49.62 (NCAA B cut – B Final)
Maria Paula Heitmann – 49.76 (Personal Best, NCAA B cut – B Final)
Shelby Koontz – 49.78 (Personal Best, NCAA B cut – C Final)
25. Delaney Barnard – 50.06
200 Breaststroke
Lilly King – 2:07.67 (NCAA B cut – A Final)
Laura Morley – 2:11.50 (Personal Best, NCAA B cut – A Final)
28. Mackenzie Atencio – 2:16 28 (Tied Personal Best)
33. Hope Hayward – 2:18.01
50. Taylor Truex – 2:26.77
200 Butterfly
Gia Dalesandro – 1:56.26 (NCAA B cut – A Final)
Bailey Pressey – 1:56.93 (NCAA B cut – A Final)
Reagan Cook – 1:59.10 (NCAA B cut – B Final; 1:57.32 in swim-off – Personal Best)
Olivia Barker – 1:59.68 (C Final)
25. Christine Jensen – 2:00.09 (Personal Best
33. Sam Lisy – 2:02.04 (Personal Best)
Platform Dive
Jessica Parratto – 322.50 (NCAA Qualifying score)
