Gophers Dominate First Day of UNC Dual with a 123.5-62.5 Lead - GOPHERSPORTS.COM - The Official Athletic Site of the Minnesota Gophers

Gophers Dominate First Day of UNC Dual with a 123.5-62.5 Lead
The No. 9 University of Minnesota women's swimming and diving team holds a commanding 123.5-62.5 lead over North Carolina in the first of two days of the dual meet at the University Aquatic Center. The Gophers will close out the meet tomorrow at 11 a

The No. 9 University of Minnesota women’s swimming and diving team holds a 123.5-62.5 lead over North Carolina in the first of a two-day dual meet at the University Aquatic Center. The Gophers, who won nine of 10 events contested tonight, will close out the meet tomorrow at 11 a.m.

The Gophers started the night with a win in the 200 medley relay. Roxane Akradi, Jillian Tyler, Kaylee Jamison and Stacy Busack combined for a season-best time of 1:42.41. The 200 medley relay broke a six-year meet record with the win and also provisionally qualified for the NCAA Championships in March.

Yuen Kobayashi won the 1,000 free with a season-best time of 9:46.99, followed by Christine Jennings in third with 10:02.49. Kobayashi followed with her second win of the evening with a provisional qualifying time of 1:48.75 in the 200 free. Jenny Shaughnessy also provisionally qualified with a third-place time of 1:48.90.

Akradi won the 100 back with a time of 55.78, followed by Deidre DeWall in fourth (56.77) and Erin Forster in fifth (57.22). Tyler also won an individual event in the 100 breast when she touched the wall in 1:01.96. Kimberly Kazika placed fourth (1:05.80) and Alicia Jensen in fifth (1:06.02), also in the 100 breaststroke.

Molly Belk and Megan Braun took the top two spots in the 200 fly, each posting provisional qualifying times. Belk won the event in a career-best and meet record time of 1:01.18, while Bruan added a career-best time of 2:02.38. Danielle Ridder also scored in the event, placing fourth overall in 2:05.77. Busack led the Gophers in the 50 free event when she clocked a time of 23.48 and finished second, followed by Meredith McCarthy in fourth (23.82) and Erin Holtmeyer in fifth (23.93). Jenny Shaughnessy won the 200 individual medley in 2:03.30 and Tyler added a third-place showing in 2:05.05.

The Gophers’ 800 free relay of Shaughnessy, Kobayashi, McCarthy and Jennings finished the night with a five-second win over UNC. The foursome set a meet record with a time of 7:23.08. UNC placed second in 7:27.42.

One diving event was held with Minnesota taking the top two spots, both of which were NCAA Zone qualifying scores. Jacqueline Schroeder won the 3-meter with a career-best score of 298.28. Alex Barstad placed second and also had a career best score of of 290.10. Margaret Thomas also scored for the Gophers with a fifth-place finish and a score of 252.60.