March 16, 2012

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Minnesota's 800-yard freestyle relay team of Jessica Plant, Tori Simenec, Lauren Weis and Ashley Steenvoorden earned first-team All-America honors after placing fifth at the 2012 NCAA Women's Swimming and Diving Championships Friday night in Auburn, Ala., with a program-record time of 7:00.65.

"It was exactly what we needed to end this day," men's and women's head coach Kelly Kremer said of the 800 free relay team's performance. "For all four of those swimmers to be All-Americans is just an outstanding job by them. They deserve what they got tonight and it was the exact kind of momentum that we needed heading into the last day of this meet. We can use this and finish the year off right."

As a team, the Golden Gophers finished the day with 40 points and nine All-America awards, and currently sit in 12th place behind California, Georgia, USC, Arizona and Stanford, who make up the top-five.

Steenvoorden upped her career total of All-America honors to eight with the fifth-place finish with the 800 free relay, Weis picked up her second-career honor and first first-team accolade, while Simenec and Plant each tallied their first-career All-America certificates.

Sophomore Maggie Keefer recorded her third-career All-America award, and second in as many days, with a 12th-place finish in the 3 meter springboard with a score of 321.40 in the consolation final.

"Maggie is doing a great job," Kremer said. "I know she probably wanted to be in the final today, but she stepped up and dove very consistently and put more points on the board for us. I know both her and Sarah (McCrady) are looking forward to taking it up another level on the platforms tomorrow."

The 200 medley relay team of Tess Behrens, Haley Spencer, Rebecca Weiland and Erin Caflisch also received All-America Honorable Mention accolades with a 13th-place showing in the B Final with a time of 1:38.43. The quartet improved a place in the consolation finals to earn the Gophers seven points.

"They were almost exactly the same as this morning, but they were able to move up a spot and tie for fifth in the consolation final" Kremer said. "So every point in a meet like this counts. They did a great job for us in getting the night going."

Spencer enters the final day of the NCAA Championships with six-career All-America honors under her belt, Behrens has three total, while Weiland and Caflisch carry two accolades with them into Saturday.

The Gophers will compete in the 200-yard backstroke, 200-yard breaststroke, 400-yard freestyle relay, 1,650-yard freestyle and platform diving Saturday on the final day of the NCAA Championships.

All-America Awards Count
Tess Behrens
Career - 3
2012 - 2

Erin Caflisch
Career - 2
2012 - 2

Maggie Keefer
Career - 3
2012 - 2

Jessica Plant
Career - 1
2012 - 1

Tori Simenec
Career - 1
2012 - 1

Haley Spencer
Career - 6
2012 - 2

Ashley Steenvoorden
Career - 8
2012 - 2

Rebecca Weiland
Career - 2
2012 - 2

Lauren Weis
Career - 2
2012 - 1