March 21, 2013
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – Sophomore Emma Reaney earned two Honorable Mention All-America citations on the first day of the 2013 NCAA Women’s Swimming and Diving Championships at the IUPUI Natatorium as she finished ninth in the 200 IM and 13th as a member of the 400 medley relay team. Reaney now has five All-America citations, which is tied for sixth most in Notre Dame women’s swimming and diving history. Notre Dame amassed 17 points on the first day of competition and the Irish are currently in 16th place out of 34 scoring institutions.
“It is a very good start for us,” said Irish head coach Brian Barnes, “We had four swimmers swim this morning and all swam tonight. One of things that I talked to the team about before we got here is how they are in charge of their opportunities. Missed opportunities in the morning do not let you see what you have at this meet.”
The 400 medley relay squad of Kelly Ryan, Emma Reaney, Kim Holden and Catherine Galletti capped the night off with a new program record of 3:34.66 as the Irish finished in 13th place overall and fifth in the “B” Final. The quartet broke the old program record of 3:34.86, which was set at the 2013 BIG EAST Championships. The 13th-place performance was the highest relay finish since 2007 when the 800 free relay also finished 13th. The same 400 medley relay squad qualified for the “B” Final in the preliminary session, finishing in 12th place in 3:35.21.
“They have broken [the record] three times this year and they did it the right way. They are All-Americans,” explained Barnes. “We came out of tonight with five All-America accolades. School records are a goal of quite a few swimmers on the team and they keep getting broken.”
Reaney stole the show in the “B” Final of the 200 IM as she pulled away in the breaststroke length to win the consolation final with a time of 1:55.06. Her performance was just 0.01 seconds off the school record, which she set earlier in the year at the Ohio State Invitational. Reaney is just the third Irish swimmer in program history with multiple All-America or Honorable Mention All-America scrolls in the 200 IM. She had qualified for the B Final with her 10th-place performance of 1:56.63 in the preliminary session earlier in the day.
Senior diver Jenny Chiang totaled 273.05 points to finish in 23rd place overall off the 1-meter springboard in the morning session.
Tomorrow’s action begins at 11 a.m. (ET) with the preliminary session for Day 2 of the 2013 NCAA Championships. Tomorrow, the Irish will race in both the 200 medley relay and the 800 freestyle relay, while Emma Reaney (100 breaststroke), Kelly Ryan (100 backstroke), Kim Holden (100 butterfly, 100 backstroke) and Jenny Chiang (3-meter Diving) will all compete in individual events. Irish fans can follow the action on ESPN3.com, which will stream the Friday finals session. Live results can be found by clicking here.
Finals Session | Event Summaries
200 IM – Reaney took out the butterfly length in 25.58, after which she was in second place ââ’¬¦ the sophomore took the lead in the backstroke leg and never looked back as she won the “B” Final with a time of 1:55.06, just 0.01 seconds off of her school record time.
400 Medley Relay – Ryan paced the Irish with a backstroke leg of 53.45 ââ’¬¦ Reaney caught the field with her blistering breaststroke leg (58.43) ââ’¬¦ Kim Holden kept the Irish close in a four way race for second place ââ’¬¦ the competition was just a little quicker than the Irish as Notre Dame took 5th place with a new school record of 3:34.66 and 13th overall.
Preliminary Session | Event Summaries
200 IM – Reaney held even with the field through the butterfly and backstroke legs ââ’¬¦ Reaney used a strong breaststroke leg to overtake second place ââ’¬¦ she touched the wall after the freestyle leg in third with a 1:56.63 ââ’¬¦ that time was good for 10th overall.
400 Medley Relay – Ryan led the Irish off with her split of 53.43, which is her fastest 100 back time of the season … Reaney (59.43), senior Kim Holden (52.24) and Catherine Galletti (50.11) held on for the Irish’s fourth place finish in the heat and a 12th-place showing overall.
1-meter Springboard – Senior Jenny Chiang, the Notre Dame program record holder off the 1-meter board, finished in 23rd place with 273.05 points.
All-America (AA) and Honorable Mention All-America (HM) Accolades
Emma Reaney – 200 IM (HM), 400 Medley Relay (HM)
Kelly Ryan – 400 Medley Relay (HM)
Kim Holden – 400 Medley Relay (HM)
Catherine Galletti – 400 Medley Relay (HM)
NCAA Recap:
9th – 200 IM
13th – 400 Medley Relay
13th – 400 Medley Relay
13th – 400 Medley Relay
13th – 400 Medley Relay
— ND —