Grover Wins 200 Fly at Texas Invite
December 06, 2015 | Swimming & Diving
AUSTIN, Texas – The No. 19 UCLA swim team wrapped up competition at the Texas Invitational on Saturday.  Sophomore Katie Grover nabbed the team's only first-place finish of the meet, swimming a personal best in the championship final of the 200 Butterfly on Saturday evening.     Â
Meet Highlights
On Friday, Caroline McTaggart broke one of the oldest freshman records in the 200 freestyle with her 17th-place time of 1:46.90.  The previous record of 1:47.16 was set in 2001 by Malin Svahnstrom, a former All-American.  In the relays, Linnea Mack, Madison White, Katie Kinnear, and McTaggart's 1:30.83 in the 200 Free Relay was a season best.  White, Mack, Alex Hubel, and Madison Applegate also posted a season-best 7:15.49 in the 800 Free Relay on Friday evening. Â
Grover's time of 1:55.45 in the 200 Fly on Saturday moves her to fourth on UCLA's All-Time list. Â
1650 Freestyle
Sandra Soe and Michaela Merlihan were the only Bruins to compete in the 1650 Free. Â Soe posted a top-10 finish, swimming the seventh-fastest time of the evening (16:26.89), while Merlihan finished 13th with a 17:00.82. Â Â
200 Backstroke
White advanced to the championship final of the 200 Backstroke with her fourth-place finish in the prelims on Saturday morning. Â Her NCAA B qualifying time of 1:54.99 was 1.36 seconds off the top mark. Â Marie-Pierre Delisle's 2:00.77 and 19th-place finish qualified her for the B race. Â Posting a top-25 finish in the prelims, Sabrina Kwok also advanced to the evening session. Â Her mark of 2:02.33 was good enough for the C final. Â Â
White improved to third place in the championship final Saturday evening, swimming a 1:53.75. Â In the consolation final, Delisle finished eighth (16th overall) at 2:00.06. Â Kwok recorded the second-best time in the C race (2:00.02), improving her prelim time by two seconds. Â
100 Freestyle
Four Bruins advanced to the evening session of the 100 Free, led by McTaggart's fourth-place finish in the prelims. Â Her 48.63 was an NCAA B qualifier and secured her a spot in the championship final. In 14th place, Mack made the consolation final with a 49.84. Â Applegate qualified for the bonus final (51.05), while Hubel made the D race (51.52). Â
McTaggart slipped to seventh in the A final, while Mack swam the top mark in the B final (49.10), edging Arizona's Taylor Schick by .15 seconds. Â In the C race, Applegate finished fourth (20th overall) with a time of 50.89. Â Hubel nabbed the top spot in the D final to finish 25th overall at 50.33. Â Â
200 Breaststroke
Elena Escalas and Brigitte Winkler represented the Bruins in the 200 Breast. Â Escalas finished in the top 20 with a 2:18.89 to advance to the C race, while Winkler qualified for the D race (2:23.88). Â In the evening session, Escalas placed fifth in the bonus final (21st overall) and Winkler was second in the D final (26th overall). Â Â Â Â
200 Butterfly
Six Bruins advanced from the morning session of the 200 Fly.  Grover and Arlyn Upshaw both qualified for the championship final.  Grover recorded the top time in the prelims (1:56.29) and Upshaw finished seventh (1:57.94)—both times were NCAA B qualifiers.  A pair of Bruins made the consolation final as well—Kinnear and Delisle in 10th and 16th place, respectively.  Applegate swam a 2:03.37 to advance to the bonus final, while Hubel posted a 2:04.80 to make the D race.  Â
Grover nabbed the Bruins' first win of the weekend, swimming the top time in the championship final of the 200 Fly. Â Grover edged USC's Chelsea Chenault by .13 seconds. Â Upshaw finished sixth in the A race with a 1:57.71. Â In the consolation final, Kinnear placed fourth (12th overall) and Delisle finished seventh (15th overall). Â Applegate and Hubel both recorded top-25 finishes in the evening session--Applegate was 23rd at 2:03.88 and Hubel placed 25th with a 2:01.60. Â Â Â Â Â
400 Freestyle Relay
A pair of UCLA relay teams competed in the 400 Free Relay. Â The quartet of White, Mack, Grover, and McTaggart recorded the fourth-best time (3:17.78), while the UCLA B squad--Mary Pelton, Upshaw, Escalas, and Winkler--finished 13th at 3:30.78. Â Â Â
