Huskers Remains in 13th After Day Two of NCAA Championships

Athens, Ga. - Behind a sixth-place finish from the 800-yard freestyle relay on Friday night, the ninth-ranked Nebraska women's swimming and diving team brought their two-day point total to 75, remaining in 13th place after day two of the 1999 NCAA Championships.

Top-ranked Georgia, hosting the meet at the Gabrielsen Natatorium, is looking for their first NCAA title in school history. The Bulldogs hold a 323.5-312 lead over defending champion and second-ranked Stanford, winner of six of the past seven NCAA Championships. Fourth-ranked Southern Methodist rounds out the top three with 273.5 points.

The 800-yard freestyle team, consisting of Helene Muller, Emma Johnson, Therese Alshammar and Shandra Johnson won the first of two final heats in a time of 7:15.00. Five teams in the second heat bettered Nebraska's mark, including Stanford's team of Misty Hyman, Gabrielle Rose, Sylvia Bereknyei and Catherine Fox who won the event in a time of 7:06.22.

Earlier in the evening freshman Emma Johnson (Sydney, Australia) placed third in the consolation finals and 11th overall in the 400-yard IM, with a time of 4:18.67. Madeline Crippen of Villanova won the event in a time of 4:06.76.

Sophomore Shandra Johnson (Omaha, Neb.), coming off a four-gold medal performance at the Big 12 Championships, finished sixth in the consolation finals of the 200-yard freestyle, placing 14th overall with a time of 1:48.36. 1997 NCAA Swimmer-of-the-Year Martina Moravcova won the event in a time of 1:43.84.

Nebraska's 200-yard medley relay team of Shandra Johnson, Terrie Miller, Beth Karaica and Alshammar place fifth in the consolation finals and 13th overall (1:42.28). Stanford's squad of Shelly Ripple, Whitney Leatherwood, Misty Hyman and Gabrielle Rose won the even in an NCAA, U.S. Open and American record time of 1:37.77.

The 1999 women's NCAA Championships continue with the third and final day tomorrow. Prelims begin at 10 a.m. CST.

Results: Friday Finals (Top Eight; Nebraska Finishers)
200-yard medley relay: 1. Stanford (Ripple, Leatherwood, Hyman, Rose), 1:37.77 (NCAA record, U.S. Open record, American record) 2. Georgia (Shealy, Kowal, Timmons, Williams), 1:38.66; 3. California (Cope, Yeo, Chiang, Mattos), 1:39.76; 4. Southern Methodist (Oberstar, McClelland, Moravcova, Elwani), 1:39.88; 5. Virginia (Iffland, Wizniuk, Forster, Cronk), 1:40.27; 6. Auburn (Ryan, Monroe, Bowen, Taylor), 1:40.93; 7. Southern Cal (Benko, MacGregor, Zhong, Campbell), 1:41.26; Arizona (Knapp, Mastin, Hansen, Tolar), DQ; 13. Nebraska (Johnson, Miller, Karaica, Alshammar), 1:42.28.

400-yard individual medley: 1. Madeleine Crippen, Villanova, 4:06.76; 2. Keegan Walkley, Georgia, 4:07.06; 3. Jennifer Hommert, Florida, 4:10.80; 4. Katie Hathaway, North Carolina, 4:14.40; 5. Erica Acuff, North Carolina, 4:15.58; 6. Erin Vogt, Arizona, 4:15.91; 7. Waen Minpraphal, California, 4:17.19; 8. Sarah Miller, Georgia, 4:18.57; 11. Emma Johnson, Nebraska, 4:18.67; 17. Sasha Van Hamburg, Nebraska, 4:19.48.

100-yard butterfly: 1. Misty Hyman, Stanford, 51.77; 2. Limin Liu, Nevada, 51.96; 3. Marylyn Chiang, California, 52.40; 4. Karen Campbell, Southern Cal, 52.79; 5. Joscelin Yeo, California, 52.83; 6. Haley Cope, California, 53.28; 7. Mimi Bowen, Auburn, 54.41; 8. Heidi Hausknecht, Utah, 54.42.

200-yard freestyle: 1. Martina Moravcova, Southern Methodist, 1:43.84; 2. Sarah Tolar, Arizona, 1:45.71; 3. Lindsay Benko, Southern California, 1:46.31; 4. Shannon Shakespeare, Michigan, 1:46.44; 5. Ellen Stonebraker, Auburn, 1:46.45; 6. Rania Elwani, Southern Methodist, 1:46.58; 7. Rada Owen, Auburn, 1:46.67; 8. Gabrielle Rose, Stanford, 1:47.43; 14. Shandra Johnson, Nebraska, 1:48.36; 25. Helene Muller, Nebraska, 1:49.25.

100-yard breaststroke: 1. Kristy Kowal, Georgia, 59.25; 2. Danica Wizniuk, Virginia, 1:00.45; 3. Kristin McGegor, Southern Cal, 1:00.67; 4. Elin Austevoll, Stanford, 1:00.81; 5. Katie McClelland, Southern Methodist, 1:00.88; 6. Amy Balcerzak, Northwestern, 1:00.95; 7. Ashley Roby, Georgia, 1:01.00; 8. Jamie Skinner, Georgia, 1:02.23; 22. Terrie Miller, Nebraska, 1:03.40; 37. Janna Brock, Nebraska, 1:06.15.

100-yard backstroke: 1. Marylyn Chiang, California, 52.36 (NCAA record, U.S. Open record); 2. Catherine Fox, Stanford, 52.77; 3. Courtney Shealy, Georgia, 52.97; 4. Shelly Ripple, Stanford, 53.05; 5. Christine Keller, Gerogia, 54.13; 6. Denali Knapp, Arizona, 54.42; 7. Jennifer Crisman, Michigan, 54.54; 8. Erin Maher, Texas, 54.90; 26. Christine Troy, Nebraska, 56.44.

Three-meter diving: 1. Jenny Keim, Miami, 576.90; 2. Laura Wilkinson, Texas, 567.55; 3. Jenny Lingamfelter, Southern Methodist, 547.90; 4. Kathy Pesek, Tennessee, 543.60; 5. Michelle Davison, South Carolina, 532.90; 6. Kim Powers, Stanford, 530.75; 7. Angie Trostel, Cinncinnati, 517.75; 8. Ahsley Culpepper, Louisiana State, 480.55.

800-yard freestyle relay: 1. Stanford (Hyman, Rose, Bereknyei, Fox), 7:06.22); Arizona (Jackson, Farella, Mastin, Tolar), 7:09.19; 3. Southern Methodist (Imoto, Inskeep, Myers, Moravcova), 7:10.10; 4. California (Yeo, Murry, Kolisen, Omphroy), 7:14.33; 5. Georgia (Timmons, Williams, Varozza, Whitney); 7:14.46; 6. Nebraska (Muller, Emma Johnson, Alshammar, Shandra Johnson), 7:15.00; 7. Florida (Heckman, Duggan, Melgaard, Hommert); 7:17.16; 8. Michigan (Sugar, Eberwein, Arndt, Shakespeare), 7:17.45.

 

Nebraska Head Coach Cal Bentz
On the meet

"We are really pleased with the relay swim and I think that it shows the resilience of our team. We have every reason to come back and swim hard tomorrow."

"The numbers dictate how much we can move up or down, but for the most part, we are still the master of own destiny."

Team standings after day two (top 15)

1. Georgia 323.5
2. Stanford 312
3. Southern Methodist 273.5
4. California 234
5. Arizona 196
6. Southern Cal 195
7. Michigan 115
8. Virginia 109
9. Auburn 107
10. Northwestern 99
11. Florida 95
12. Texas 82
13. Nebraska 75
14. Wisconsin 57
15. UCLA 55