March 22, 2008

COLUMBUS, Ohio - The UC Santa Barbara women's swim team finished the 2008 NCAA Division I Women's Swimming Championships in strong fashion on Saturday. Junior Katy Freeman earned the Gauchos their final points of the meet, swimming to 11th place in the 200 breaststroke, while freshman Anne Marie May posted her second school record of the meet, this time in the 100 freestyle.

Freeman posted a time of 2:12.35 in the 200 breast prelims on Saturday morning, giving her the 11th fastest time and a spot in the consolation finals. Staying true to her seed into the finals, Freeman placed 11th on Saturday evening in the event with a mark of 2:11.61 and earned the Gauchos six points. The junior earned All-American Honorable Mention accolades for the top-16 finish.

May opened the day for the Gauchos with a record-setting performance in the 100 freestyle. Originally seeded 33rd in the event, May finished in 26th place during the morning's prelims, touching the wall at 49.13, which breaks the sophomore's previous school record of 49.34 in the event. This was the second UCSB record set by May this weekend, she earned third place in the 50 free with a mark of 22.00 on Thursday.

In the 200 butterfly prelims, junior Erin Yamamoto swam her way to a personal best in the event. Originally seeded 44th, Yamamoto topped her previous best time in the event by over a second, finishing in 1:59.95, the 35th best time of the morning.

In addition to Freeman, freshman Sara Nicponski also swam the 200 breaststroke. Nicponksi placed 25th in the prelims with a time of 2:14.34.

The Gauchos earned a total of 36 team points at the championships and placed 25th overall. This marked the first time since 1990 that UCSB has scored points at the women's NCAA's.