GREENSBORO, N.C. – University of Chicago's Alesha Kelly won the national title in the women's 200-yard butterfly to highlight day three of the 2023 NCAA Division III Swimming & Diving Championships on Friday.
In the team standings heading into Saturday's finale, the Maroon men are third with 270 points and have already eclipsed last year's point total. The UChicago women are seventh with 203.5 points, which is only 16 points away from last season's final total.
Kelly put up a history-making performance in the first event of Friday's evening session. After a closely contested morning prelim, the UChicago junior went below two minutes in the 200 butterfly and came away victorious with a school-record time of 1:59.88. Kelly edged out two NYU competitors at the end to capture the 28th individual NCAA championship in UChicago's Division III era. It also marked the second NCAA title of the week for the Maroons – Garrett Clasen previously won the men's 200-yard IM on Wednesday.
Clasen added to his All-American haul in the men's 100-yard breaststroke. The junior finished as the national runner-up with a school-record mark of 53.03. Teammate Jason Starbuck picked up Second Team All-America status after taking 14th in the event.
Jesse Ssengonzi secured First Team All-America accolades in the men's butterfly for the second day in-a-row. Ssengonzi placed third in the 200-yard butterfly with a time of 1:45.68.
The 800-yard freestyle relays produced big performances on both sides with matching third-place showings. The men set a new school record of 6:30.87 with the efforts of Clasen, Kyle Garcia, Junichiro Asano and Arthur Kiselnikov. The women's quartet of Emily Xu, Annabel Olivo, Addie Diaz and Karen Zhao secured the highest relay placement in program history with a time of 7:25.29.
The women's one-meter dive provided a pair of All-American finishes for the Maroons. Veronica Fong tallied 424.15 points to take fourth overall and Cynthia Tang scored 384.20 points to grab 13th.
Ioanna Georgopoulou was a First Team All-American after she secured seventh place in the women's 100-yard backstroke. She touched the wall in 55.63. Elisabella Forest was a Second Team All-American in 16th place (56.57).
UChicago received Second Team All-American performances from Jared Zhang in the men's 100-yard backstroke (48.76) and Alicia Soosai in the women's 100-yard breaststroke (1:03.90).
UChicago Men's Top Finishers
100-yard Breaststroke – Garrett Clasen (2nd, 53.03); Jason Starbuck (14th, 54.79); Dylan Danaie (18th, 54.98)
200-yard Butterfly – Jesse Ssengonzi (3rd, 1:45.68); Junichiro Asano (19th, 1:49.71)
800-yard Freestyle Relay – 3rd, 6:30.87 (Garrett Clasen, Kyle Garcia, Junichiro Asano, Arthur Kiselnikov)
100-yard Backstroke – Jared Zhang (13th, 48.76); John Paul Phillips (20th, 48.94)
UChicago Women's Top Finishers
200-yard Butterfly – Alesha Kelly (1st, 1:59.88)
800-yard Freestyle Relay – 3rd, 7:25.29 (Emily Xu, Annabel Olivo, Addie Diaz, Karen Zhao)
One-meter Dive – Veronica Fong (4th, 424.15); Cynthia Tang (13th, 384.20)
100-yard Backstroke – Ioanna Georgopoulou (7th, 55.63); Elisabella Forest (16th, 56.57)
100-yard Breaststroke – Alicia Soosai (15th, 1:03.90); Julia Luo (18th, 1:03.76)
NEXT MEET:
- Saturday, Mar. 18 @ 10 AM / 6 PM (ET) – UChicago at NCAA Championships (at Greensboro, N.C.)
