Lady Vols Earn Fourth-Consecutive Top-10 Finish at NCAA Championships

Wednesday, March 16

Atlanta, GA

University of Tennessee

NCAA Women's Championships

Lady Vols Earn Fourth-Consecutive Top-10 Finish at NCAA Championships

March 16, 2022 | Swimming & Diving, Women's Swimming & Diving

Results

The 2022 NCAA Women's Swimming & Diving Championships are March 16-19 at McCauley Aquatic Center. Each day, this page will be updated with Tennessee Swimming & Diving's results and honors. For the most up-to-date information about the program, follow Tennessee swimming & diving on Twitter and Instagram and like us on Facebook.

Lady Vols Earn Fourth-Consecutive Top-10 Finish at NCAA Championships

Tennessee women's swimming & diving concluded its 2021-22 campaign by finishing 10th at the NCAA Championships, marking the fourth season in a row the Lady Vols achieved the feat.

"First of all, I am really proud of the way our team competed this week," director of swimming & diving Matt Kredich said. "We had some great performances, but there were frustrations as well. It felt like every time we had some momentum we would also have a setback. I loved the way the team competed and bounced back, and I love the makeup of the team. We had great senior leadership and a lot of first timers that took a tremendous amount from this meet and will learn a lot and getter better. Our freshmen got the taste of success, and they also saw what it takes to be successful at this meet. This will fuel us into the summer and into the next year. I'm really proud of another top-10 finish for Tennessee. We are excited to host this meet next year at Allan Jones Intercollegiate Aquatic Center. We plan on having an extraordinary meet next year as well."

A total of 28 All-America honors were earned throughout the week by 11 different Lady Vols. Six swimmers received the status in multiple events. Tennessee finished on the podium in five events.

The top finish of the day for Tennessee came in the opening race of the final session. Junior Kristen Stege placed eighth in the 1650 free with a 15:59.49 mark to earn All-America honors. Freshman Summer Smith threw down a career-best time of 16:09.81, which ranked ninth in program history. She finished 22nd overall followed by sophomore Alyssa Breslin (16:11.74) in 25th.

In the final event of the meet, the Lady Vol 400 free relay of Mona McSharry, Ellen Walshe, Julia Mrozinski and Tjasa Pintar tied for 12th to earn All-America honorable mention status and seal UT's top-10 finish. The group posted a time of 3:13.14, which marked the 10th-fastest time in program history.

In the 200 breast, senior Alexis Yager (2:08.20) and McSharry (2:08.32) finished 19th and 20th, respectively. The duo narrowly missed out on qualifying for the B final.

Six Lady Vols competed in the 100 free, with Pintar leading the way with a season-best time of 48.32 to place 23rd. Senior Trude Rothrock (48.81) finished 40th, while Mrozinski (49.08) took 44th. Sophomore Jasmine Rumley and junior Anna-Julia Kutsch finished in a tie for 47th with a 49.21 mark. Freshman Brooklyn Douthwright rounded things out with a 49.36 time.

Freshman Sara Stotler was the lone Lady Vol in the 200 fly, finishing 26th behind a 1:55.70 mark. In the 200 back, senior Bayley Stewart placed 31st (1:54.34) followed by freshman Josephine Fuller (1:54.83) in 38th.

Competing on the platform, senior Grace Cable missed advancing to the consolation final by five points. She placed 19th overall with a 258.85 score.

Standings
1. Virginia 551.5
2. Texas 406
3. Stanford 399.5
4. Alabama 288
5. NC State 279
6. Louisville 196.5
7. Michigan 184.5
8. California 180
9. Ohio State 165
10. Tennessee 127
11. Indiana 116
12. Kentucky 115.5
13. Florida 115
14. UNC 109
15. Georgia 104.5

All-America Honors (28)
Brooklyn Douthwright (800 FR)
Josephine Fuller (200 MR*, 400 MR*)
Olivia Harper (200 FR*)
Anna-Julia Kutsch (50 Free*, 200 FR*, 200 MR*)
Julia Mrozinski (800 FR, 500 Free*, 400 FR*, 400 MR*)
Mona McSharry (100 Breast, 200 FR*, 400 FR*, 200 MR*, 400 MR*)
Tjasa Pintar (800 FR, 400 FR*)
Jasmine Rumley (200 FR*)
Kristen Stege (1650 Free)
Ellen Walshe (100 Fly, 400 IM, 800 FR, 200 IM*, 400 FR*, 200 MR*, 400 MR*)
Alexis Yager (400 IM*)

* - Denotes honorable mention

Podium Finishes
4th – 100 Breast – Mona McSharry (57.18)
8th – 400 IM – Ellen Walshe (4:09.84)
8th – 100 Fly – Ellen Walshe (51.42)
8th – 1650 Free – Kristen Stege (15:59.49)
8th – 800 Free Relay – Mrozinski, Walshe, Douthwright, Pintar (6:57.79)

McSharry Sets SEC Record, Walshe Impresses With Double on Day 3 of NCAAs

Mona McSharry posted the top 100 breast time in SEC history, while Ellen Walshe earned a pair of podium finishes to pace Tennessee swimming & diving on Day Three of the NCAA Championships.

Winning the SEC title in the event last month, McSharry threw down an impressive swim during the 100 breast A final, finishing fourth overall with an SEC and Tennessee record time of 57.18. The sophomore now a two-time All-American in the event.

In one of the toughest doubles in swimming, Walshe finished eighth overall in both the 400 IM and 100 fly, which are back-to-back events, to earn All-America status in both events. The freshman posted a time of 51.42 in the 100 fly and touched the wall in 4:09.84 in the 400 IM. Senior Alexis Yager placed 14th in the 400 IM, recording a 4:07.90 mark to receive All-America recognition.

UT concluded the night with the 400 medley relay, which finished 10th with the fifth-fastest time in program history at 3:28.75 and earned All-America honorable mention honors. The relay lineup consisted of freshman Josephine Fuller, McSharry, Walshe and freshman Julia Mrozinski.

During prelims, Walshe earned her spot in the A finals of the 400 IM and 100 fly by throwing down the third-fastest times in both events. Yager touched the wall in 4:07.35 to move on to the 400 IM B final. Freshman Summer Smith placed 26th in the event with a 4:11.07 time. The senior duo of Trude Rothrock (52.18) and Mallory Beil (52.81) finished 28th and 41st in the 100 fly, respectively.

Four Lady Vols competed in the 200 free, including three freshmen. Brooklyn Douthwright tied for 25th with a 1:45.87 mark, while Sara Stotler touched the wall in 1:45.92 to place 27th. Mrozinski took 31st with a time of 1:46.07, and senior Tjasa Pintar rounded things out by finishing 42nd with a 1:46.57 mark.

In the 100 back, freshman Josephine Fuller (52.53) placed 32nd followed by sophomore Olivia Harper (53.21) in 48th and senior Bayley Stewart (54.35) in 55th.

Senior Grace Cable competed on the 3-meter springboard. She narrowly missed moving on to the consolation final by less than three points, placing 18th overall with a score of 313.95.

Standings
1. Virginia 386.5
2. Stanford 276
3. Texas 257
4. NC State 193
5. Alabama 177
6. California 136
7. Ohio St 131
8. Louisville 130
9. Michigan 126
10. Tennessee 107
11. UNC 85
11. Florida 85
13. Southern California 83
14. Kentucky 76.5
15. Indiana 75

Associate Head Coach Ashley Jahn
"I thought we had a really solid day. Obviously, there were some swims that we know could have been better, but we didn't perform the way we wanted to in the morning. Because of that, we missed out on some performances at night. I'm really proud of the swims that did get second swims. Those athletes prepared really well, and ultimately after their preparations, they executed their race plans at a really high level. I was really proud of Alexis Yager's performance in the last 400 IM of her collegiate career.

"Mona has been a student of the sport since arriving at Tennessee, and she has just methodically looked for ways to be better. She executed a great race this morning to put herself in a position to score really high tonight. I am proud of her for breaking her own school record again. Her split on the relay was impressive as well. She's had just a phenomenal meet so far and has been a big part of the team's success.

"Ellen has been battling some ailments. She's been incredibly tough and taken one thing at a time. She had two brilliant performances this morning in the 400 IM and 100 fly. The 400 IM is an incredible field. To give perspective, Alexis Yager was a second faster this morning than she was last year at the meet and finished several spots lower. A whole second faster and still dropped spots this year. That event has a really impressive field with some great athletes. For Ellen to feel the way she was feeling and compete the way she did, it was a really incredible performance to get into the A final. Then she turned around with a little bit of time and qualified for the A final in the 100 fly as well. That was a really impressive double. I'm proud of her effort tonight She felt worse tonight but still battled. At no point did she feel like she wouldn't swim on the relay or in her two final events. Who knows what the result would have been with a healthy Ellen, but not many people are doubling the 400 IM and 100 fly and finishing eighth at NCAAs in both events."

Lady Vols Battle on Day Two of NCAAs

Three Lady Vols and another Tennessee relay scored points and earned All-America honors on Day Two of the NCAA Championships.

UT began the night with a strong performance from freshman Julia Mrozinski, winning the 500 free B final with a time of 4:37.35 to place ninth nationally and earn All-America recognition. In the 50 free, junior Anna-Julia Kutsch received her second All-America status of the week after finishing 12th behind a 21.95 time. Earning her third All-America honors of the week, freshman Ellen Walshe placed 16th overall in the 200 IM with a 1:56.89 mark.

The Lady Vols also had their third relay of the week garner All-America recognition, as the 200 free relay lineup of Kutsch and the sophomore trio of Mona McSharry, Olivia Harper and Jasmine Rumley finished 15th with a 1:28.36 mark.

Junior Kristen Stege just missed qualifying for finals in a competitive 500 free field, finishing 18th with a 4:41.34 time. Sophomore Alyssa Breslin (4:42.58) tied for 22nd, while freshman Summer Smith (4:43.34) placed 27th.

During prelims, McSharry narrowly missed earning a spot in the 50 free B final, finishing 17th overall with a personal-best time of 22.01. Her performance marked the ninth-fastest time in program history. Rumley took 29th with a 22.20 mark. Sophomore Olivia Harper (22.59), senior Tjasa Pintar (22.74) and freshman Brooklyn Douthwright (23.13) also competed.

Senior Alexis Yager touched the wall with a time of 1:56.36 to take 20th in the 200 IM, while freshman Sara Stotler came in 27th behind a 1:56.87 mark. Senior Trude Rothrock and freshman Josephine Fuller finished with times of 1:58.46 and 1:59.05, respectively.

Standings
1. Virginia 210
2. Texas 128
3. Stanford 123
4. Alabama 120
5. NC State 99
6. Louisville 95
7. California 89
8. Ohio St 83
9. Michigan 66
10. Florida 62
11. Georgia 57
12. Tennessee 53
12. UNC 53
14. Wisconsin 34
14. Indiana 34

Associate Head Coach Ashley Jahn
"It was a solid day. I wouldn't say it was a great day, but I certainly wouldn't say it was a bad day. I think we competed well tonight. We were a little bit hesitant and tentative this morning, and that caused us to be on the outside looking in at some of the finals that we wanted to be in. I am really proud of the team's fight, and I am proud of them continuing on to the next thing and not allowing a previous performance to affect what was going to happen next."

Two Lady Vol Relays Earn All-America Status to Open NCAA Championships

Day One of the NCAA Championships featured a pair of relays to open the meet at McCauley Aquatic Center on Wednesday night.

No. 5 Tennessee earned its first podium finish in the 800 free relay. Throwing down the fourth-fastest time in UT history, the lineup of Julia Mrozinski, Ellen Walshe, Brooklyn Douthwright and Tjasa Pintar touched the wall in 6:57.79 to place eighth overall and earn All-America honors in the event.

During the 200 medley relay, the Lady Vols finished 11th overall with a time of 1:35.26, as the lineup of Josephine Fuller, Mona McSharry, Walshe and Anna-Julia Kutsch earned All-America honorable mention recognition with the performance.

After two events, the Lady Vols were tied for ninth in the overall standings with 34 points.

Standings
1. Virginia 74
2. Texas 58
3. California 56
4. Stanford 54
5. Louisville 46
6. NC State 44
7. Alabama 38
7. Ohio St 38
9. Tennessee 34
9. Georgia 34
11. Florida 26
11. Michigan 26
13. Kentucky 18
13. Southern California 18
15. Wisconsin 14

Associate Head Coach Ashley Jahn
"I think our team did great today. I am really proud of both of those relays and the women who swam on them. Josephine Fuller being a freshman leading off the 200 medley relay and scoring in her first NCAA Championship event is a big deal. She got us off to a solid start and was what she needed to do tonight. Mona McSharry had another really solid swim. Ellen Walshe is another freshman with a solid 50 fly split, and then Anna-Julia Kutsch, who is in her first NCAAs as a Lady Vol, had a great anchor leg. I am really proud of our medley relay finishing 11th.

"In the 800 free relay, it's a big deal to get on the podium. That was our best finish in the event in a couple of years. The composure from our three freshmen on the relay was phenomenal. Tjasa Pintar was on the anchor leg as a veteran 50 freestyler. Just a really well swum race. I couldn't be happier with how we got started."