March 21, 2013
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. - The Arizona State women's swimming and diving team began competition at the NCAA Championships in Indianapolis this afternoon with strong performances on the diving board and a new personal record for senior Shannon Landgrebe. The team currently sits at 28th through six completed events on Thursday.
Landgrebe bested her previous personal best and the second spot in the Sun Devil record books for the 50-yard freestyle event. She swam a 22.54 in a three-way tie for 28th place, which was .03 seconds better than her career best.
After strong performances in the Zone E Championships, freshman Morgan Weller and junior Hailey Casper placed 14th and 21st respectively in the 1-meter diving contest. Weller scored 308.20 points in the finals, whereas Casper finished in the preliminary round with a score of 275.15.
In the other freestyle event on the day, the 500-yard free, Cassie Morrice and Tristin Baxter touched 25th and 26th with times of 4:43.57 and 4:43.59. Baxter's time was merely .36 seconds off of her previous record.
Alex Popa swam for Arizona State in the 200-yard IM. The junior swam a 1:59.64 as the only Sun Devil to qualify for the event. Popa previously set the ASU school record for the 200 IM, swimming a 1:57.70 at the Pac-12 Championships.
While the Devils failed to qualify in the preliminaries for the 200-yard freestyle relay, Arizona State placed 23rd overall in the NCAAs today for the 400-yard medley relay. The team of Taylor Wohrley, Popa, Caroline Kuczynski and Landgrebe swam for a collective 3:36.90.
The women's swimming and diving team will continue action in the NCAA Championships Friday and Saturday in Indianapolis.