INDIANAPOLIS - UC San Diego produced eight All-Americans on the first night of the 2016 NCAA Division II Swimming & Diving Championships. The four-day meet is being held for the second straight year in the IU Natatorium on the campus of IUPUI. The University of Indianapolis and Indiana Sports Corp are co-hosts.
Through five events on the women's side, UCSD is fifth with 70 points. The Triton men are tied for 20th at 11 points after four events. Queens of Charlotte, N.C., the defending men's and women's champion, tops both leaderboards (127 and 88).
UCSD co-captains Colleen Daley (23.03) and Natalie Tang (23.45) went 4-8 in their first career 50-yard freestyle championship final, both for first-time individual All-America honors. Tang had gone a personal-record 23.12 to win the sixth of seven preliminary heats, with her time the fastest to that point. It was good enough for fourth after the final heat, with Daley's 23.14 right behind in fifth. Daley was the No. 2 seed going in, as one of just two sprinters around the country who had gone under 23 seconds, with her school-record mark of 22.98 from prelims at the conference meet last month. Drury's Wen Xu was the top seed, and sped a meet-record 22.36 for the top mark during Wednesday's morning session. She later won in 22.38.
"Colleen, as a senior in her first final and finishing fourth and doing it with her co-captain Natalie Tang, that was a nice performance," said UCSD men's head coach Daniel Perdew. "Her career has been a steady progression, just getting better and better. She had her eye on the two sprint freestyle (50 and 100) records and got those at the conference meet. Now seeing her start the NCAA meet like this, that's awesome. Even as a freshman, you could tell she had the potential to do something like this. With her attitude and personality, you can see how she got here."
Chandler Pourvahidi led off the evening session in the fastest heat of the 1000, timing 9:13.77 to hit the wall in fourth. Combined with earlier swims, the mark put him in the top eight, just barely in eighth, to give the junior All-America distinction for the third time in his career and first time since a pair of fifth-place efforts in the 1000 and 1650 during a breakthrough freshman go-around two years ago. Pourvahidi accounted for all 11 points Wednesday for the Triton men.
Freshman Reagan Eickert put together a spectacular first race at the national meet, leading from start to finish in the first heat of the 1000 and winning by over four seconds in a personal-record 10:08.21. The time moved her up to No. 4 in UCSD history, and held up as the top mark from the morning, heading into the final, fastest heat at night. Only seven of those eight evening competitors got under her performance, though, leaving the Goleta native in an All-America position of eighth.
"We had some big moments today, like Reagan Eickert in the 1000," added Perdew. "To come in as a freshman and earn All-America recognition in her first NCAA swim, that was special. She executed her game plan to a T. When you work hard and listen to your coach, those kind of things happen."
Tang, junior Jaimie Bryan, sophomore Jayna Wittenbrink and anchor Daley went 1:42.79 for seventh in the 200 medley relay to conclude the night. The foursome had turned in a preliminary time of 1:42.08 in the morning, good for sixth. All four earn All-America nods, with Wittenbrink a first-timer.
Senior Maddy Huttner went 2:03.63 with a furious finish to win the consolation final of the 200 individual medley for nine ninth-place points and All-America honorable mention. She was fourth at 50 yards and fifth at 100 before moving into second within .73 seconds of Malin Westman after 150, and tracking the Nova Southeastern sophomore down with her freestyle leg. Huttner was 14th (2:04.57) after prelims.
Wittenbrink and sophomores Kevin Fink and Haley Murphy joined Eickert in making their debut at an NCAA Championships. Murphy was 52nd (24.18) in the 50 free, with Fink taking the breaststroke leg of the 200 medley relay. That foursome included the other three Triton men in Indianapolis this week, in junior Michael Cohn (Solana Beach/Grossmont College), sophomore Kevin Wylder and Pourvahidi as the freestyle anchor (1:40.12, 20th).
Wylder had earlier gone a personal-record 20.44 for 24th in the 50 free. Sophomore Angie Phetbenjakul (23.71, T-30th) and Bryan (24.01, 43rd) were two more Tritons to take part in prelims of the 50 free.
"We had a really good start to the meet today," concluded Perdew. "More than just the places, it was about focusing on what we needed to do and executing. When you get people in the finals and consoles, the places and points take care of themselves."
The NCAA Championships continue on Thursday, March 10, with the morning session beginning at 7:30 a.m. PT, and evening finals at 3 p.m. PT. The 200 free relay, 400 IM, 100 fly, 200 free and 400 medley relay will be contested. All sessions can be watched live online, free of charge, at NCAA.com, with live results here.
Triton Notes: UCSD has eight All-America recognitions and one All-America honorable mention through the first night of this year's meet ... The All-America finishes for Colleen Daley and Natalie Tang in the 50 free, were the first non-relay All-America honors for both.
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