One veteran going out the door and a rookie just getting her feet wet (Does that phrase work in swimming?) provided the highlights on Saturday (Mar. 9) for the AU swimmers at the NCAA Championships in Birmingham, Ala.
Senior Julie Widmann (Littleton, Colo./Heritage) has won four national titles in her career. No swimmer in AU history has a resume like that. Saturday, in her final meet, Widmann was fifth in the 100 freestyle (50.85). She was also part of the 400 free relay that was 12th (3:28.46).
Freshman Hannah Mattar (Lake Orion, Mich.) was third in the 200 breaststroke. She finished the race in 2:17.61. The top three finishers were all freshman. The national champ was Mariya Chekanovych of Simon Fraser. She won in 2:13.35. Next was Agnieszka Ostrowska of Drury. Her time was 2:13.84.
Widmann's mates on the 400 free relay were senior Rachael Ausdenmoore (Southlake, Texas/Carroll), junior Gabriela Vedugo-Arzaluz (Chihuahua, Mexico/Institute Technologico y de Estudious Superiores de) and freshman Kaylyn Murphy (West Carrollton, Ohio).
Senior Cheyne Fisher (Durban, South Africa/Westville) placed 10th (2:00.16) in the men's 200 breaststroke.
The AU women finished 12th in the team standings with 154 points. Drury won the national championship with 432.5 points. Wayne State (388) was second and Cal-San Diego (313) was third.
Drury also won the men's title with 546 points. Florida Southern (546) was second. The Eagles were 22nd with 21 points.
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