University of Tennessee Athletics
University of Tennessee
NCAA Women's Championships
UT Women in 8th after Day One at NCAAs
March 19, 2015 | Swimming & Diving
| Women | 1st Team | Hon. Mention |
|---|---|---|
| Today | 4 | 5 |
| Total | 4 | 5 |
| Women's | Points |
|---|---|
| 1. Georgia | 172 |
| 2. California | 162 |
| 3. Stanford | 111 |
| 4. Texas A&M | 82.5 |
| 5. UVA/UL | 76 |
| 8. Tennessee | 52 |
» Full Results
Johnson had the busiest day among all the Lady Vols, earning three finals trips, resulting in two honorable mentions and one all-american honor. She finished third in the 50 freestyle consolation final and was a part of Tennessee's 200 freestyle relay and 400 medley relay.
GREENSBORO, N.C. -- The Tennessee women's swimming team earned finals appearances in both relay events and one individual race to wrap up the first day of the 2015 Women's NCAA Championships at the Greensboro Aquatic Center Thursday.
After day one of the three-day meet, Tennessee sits in eighth place with 44 points. SEC foe Georgia sits atop the team standings with 172.
"We started a little sluggish, but from that point on, every swim was faster than it was at SECs, which is quite an accomplishment," said Head Coach Matt Kredich. "Our medley relay was really good at the end, especially from Faith (Johnson) and Harper (Bruens). Everyone was faster and we moved up. We did what we needed to do. Winning the 200 free relay was critical and Faith did very well with six total swims and holding people off on the relay."
The Vols started the first night session by earning a victory in the consolation final of the 200-yard freestyle relay in one minute, 28.01 seconds. After swimming the sixth fastest time (1:28.52) during the preliminary session, the quartet of Faith Johnson, Cherelle Thompson, Amy Lubawy and Harper Bruens finished with the third fastest time in UT history.
Johnson began the finals with a 22.03 split during the first leg, the fastest time of the race. After Thompson swam a 22.18 split to pace the Vols, Lubawy swam a 22.12 in her first appearance in a NCAA final. Bruens finished the race by posting a 21.68 split, beating out Southern California by 0.14 seconds.
For the second year in a row, Johnson swam in the most events during the first night, representing the Big Orange in their lone individual event of the evening.
The junior from nearby High Point, N.C., finished third in the consolation final of the 50 Free. After finishing the preliminary session with a 22.07 time, she recorded a 22.11 in the final to earn six individual points for Tennessee.
In the final event of the night, the 400 Medley Relay, the quartet of Amanda Carner, Molly Hannis, Bruens, and Johnson placed fifth in the A Final with a time of 3:30.84. UT came in just 0.14 seconds behind fourth-place Missouri, but also edged sixth-place Louisville by 0.07 seconds.
Johnson wrapped up her evening by anchoring the 400 medley relay. Her 48.15 freestyle split helped Tennessee earned fifth place and 28 points for the Big Orange. Senior Molly Hannis posted a 57.75, topping her 57.84 split time set during the preliminary session. Carner also improved on her morning swim, thanks to a 52.66 split in the backstroke.
"I think everyone understands that tomorrow is a day which gives us an opportunity to score," said Kredich. "The margin of racers between 6th and 18th is miniscule, so we've got to be the best competitive team that we've been all year and be the sharpest that we've been all year. This is the culmination of the entire year and we need to be the best, but I love out team mindset and we're excited."
The NCAA Championships continue Friday at 11 a.m. ET with the second preliminary session. Events featured include the 200 medley relay, 400 individual medley, 100 Fly, 200 Freestyle, 100 Breast, 100 Back and the 800 freestyle relay.
The Friday night session will be broadcast live online at 7 p.m. ET through ESPN3.com.
