ATLANTA, Ga. – The UCLA women's swimming and diving teams wrap day two action at the NCAA Championships with a new school record between the lane lines and two top-five finishes on the boards. Shortly after junior Linnea Mack broke her own school record in the 50 Freestyle, divers Eloise Belanger and Maria Polyakova finished second and fifth, respectively, in the 1-meter finals. Through seven events, UCLA is in 16th place.
800 Freestyle Relay
The Bruins kicked off championship action with a 25th-place finish in the 800 Freestyle relay on Wednesday evening. The Bruin quartet of Katie Grover, Madison White, Mack, and Caroline McTaggart swam a 7:10.21.
200 Individual Medley
Emma Schanz got things started for the Bruins on Thursday morning. The freshman missed the cut to advance to the evening session, finishing 36th with a 1:58.71.
50 Freestyle
Posting a 22.08 to finish 11th in the 50 Free prelims, Mack advanced to the consolation final. Teammate McTaggart finished 50th in the morning swim with a 22.91.
In the evening swim, Mack finished third in the B final (11th overall) and improved her time to 21.98 to break her own UCLA record in the 50 Free. Mack set the previous record of 22.03 at AT&T Winter Nationals last season.
1-Meter Diving
Polyakova and Belanger both advanced to the 1-meter final on Thursday. Belanger posted a 309.35 to finish fourth in the morning session, while Polyakova recorded a 302.65 to finish sixth.
In the 1-meter finals, Belanger tallied a season-high 336.00 to secure the runner-up spot on the podium. In doing so, the Bruin newcomer also set a new UCLA record in the 1-meter, breaking the previous record of 333.25 set by Marisa Samaniego at the 2007 NCAA Championships. Also finishing in the top five, Polyakova scored a 320.70 to place fifth overall.
400 Medley Relay
UCLA closed out the morning session with a 22nd-place finish in the 400 Medley Relay. The Bruin squad of Mack, Schanz, Grover, and McTaggart swam a 3:34.82, missing the mark to advance to finals.
Championship action continues tomorrow with the 400 IM, 100 Fly, 200 Free, 100 Breast, 100 Back, 200 Medley Relay, and 3-meter diving. Katie Kinnear, McTaggart, and Grover hit the pool for the 100 Fly. White and Grover represent the Bruins in the 200 Free, followed by Schanz, Kinnear, White, and Mack in the 100 Back. Polyakova and Belanger close out springboard competition for UCLA with the 3-meter.
Friday night's finals will be streamed live beginning at 6 p.m. on ESPN3. Prelims will be streamed through Atlanta Swimming (the link is available on RamblinWreck.com and NCAA.com).