Nine Maryland Swimmers Qualify For NCAA Championships
3/7/2005 7:00:00 AM | Women's Swimming & Diving
March 7, 2005
COLLEGE PARK, Md. - Nine Terps will represent the No. 12 Maryland women's swimming and diving team at the NCAA Championships in West Lafayette, Ind., March 17-19.
Seniors Megan Knepper (Williamsport, Md.), Elizabeth Lavell (Annapolis, Md.), Chrissy Miller (Seaside Park, N.J.), Marina Mulyayeva (Almaty, Kazakhstan) and Cynthia Weir (Irwin, Pa.), junior Krisztina Kovacs (Budapest, Hungary), sophomores Gigi deToll (Culpeper, Va.) and Sasha Malanina (Volgograd, Russia) and freshman Meghan Sackett (Cockeysville, Md.) each achieved qualifying standards in multiple events.
Megan Knepper, who will make her third straight appearance at NCAA's, likely will swim in seven events at the national championship meet. She posted an `A' cut in the 100-yard backstroke (54.31) leading off the 400-yard medley relay at the ACC Championships in Atlanta Feb. 18. The time broke her own school record, as well as the Georgia Tech Aquatic Center mark. Also the school record-holder in the 200-back, Knepper clocked a `B' cut in the event (1:58.75), as well as the 50-yard freestyle (23.34). She will also likely swim the 200- and 400-yard freestyle relays and the 200- and 400-medley relays. She swam the lead-off leg of all four relays which won conference titles, earning All-ACC honors for all four, as well as in both backstroke events, in which she placed second.
Also making her third straight appearance at NCAA's, Elizabeth Lavell likely will compete in four events at the national championship meet. She posted `A' cuts in the 400-yard individual medley (4:14.33) and the 1,650-free (16:22.55) at the ACC Championships. Her time in the 400-IM broke her own school record, as well as the Georgia Tech Aquatic Center mark, as she won the event. In addition, she clocked a `B' cut in the 500-yard freestyle (4:45.88), missing the automatic standard by less than half a second. Lavell will also swim the 800-yard freestyle relay. She swam the lead-off leg when the relay won the ACC title, setting the ACC and conference championships records, as well as school and pool marks. Lavell earned All-ACC honors in all four events.
Chrissy Miller, who will compete at NCAA's for the first time, will likely swim in six events at the national championship meet. Named the Most Valuable Swimmer at the ACC Championships, Miller won five events and finished second in another. She clocked automatic qualifying times in the 100-free (49.67), 200-free (1:47.56) and 500-free (4:44.54). Her times in the 100- and 200-yard freestyle was a new Georgia Tech Aquatic Center record. She also anchored the 400-free and 400-medley relays and was part of the 800-free relay that broke school, pool, conference and conference championship records. Miller earned All-ACC honors in all six events.
Making her third straight appearance at NCAA's, Marina Mulyayeva will likely compete in seven events. She swam an `A' cut in the 200-IM (2:00.48) at the Terrapin Cup Invitational in November, breaking the school record. She also posted `B' cuts in the 100-yard butterfly (54.32) and 100-yard breaststroke (1:03.24) at the three-day meet. In addition, Mulyayeva will likely swim the 200- and 400-free relays and the 200- and 400-medley relays, in which she earned All-ACC honors. She also won the 200-IM at the ACC Championships.
Another NCAA Championship rookie, Cynthia Weir will likely compete in five events. She posted `B' cuts in the 50-free (23.22) at the Terrapin Cup Invitational and the 100-free (50.72) while finishing third at the ACC Championships. She also will likely swim the 200-medley relay and the 200- and 400-free relays. She earned All-ACC honors in the relays and the 100-free.
An NCAA qualifier as a freshman, Krisztina Kovacs returns to the national championship meet in 2005 as a junior after missing the cut last season. Kovacs posted `B' cuts in the 100-breast (1:03.71) and the 200-breast (2:14.95) at the ACC Championships. She earned All-ACC honors in the 200-breast, as she finished second in the event.
Making her second appearance at NCAA's in as many chances, Gigi deToll will compete in three events. She posted a `B' cut in the 100-fly (53.77), missing the automatic standard by two-hundredths of a second. She also will swim the 200- and 400-medley relays. She won all three events at the ACC Championships, earning All-ACC honors.
A newcomer to the national championships, Sasha Malanina will compete in four events at the meet. She posted `B' cuts in the 500-free (4:52.27), the 1,650-free (16:44.52) and the 400-IM (4:16.97). She also anchored the 800-free relay that broke numerous records at the ACC Championships two weeks ago. Malanina earned All-ACC honors in the 400-IM and the 800-free relay.
Meghan Sackett is the first Terp freshman to qualify for the NCAA Championships since Kovacs and Inbal Levavi in 2003. She posted `B' cuts in the 200-free (1:49.38), the 500-free (4:47.91) and the 1,650-free (16:28.96) at the Terrapin Cup Invitational in November. She also was part of the 800-free relay team that broke numerous records at the conference championships last month, which earned her All-ACC honors.
