Razorbacks Receive Invites To NCAA Championships

Invited Swimmers By Team | Psych Sheet | Relays 

INDIANAPOLIS – The NCAA Division I Men’s and Women’s Swimming and Diving Committee announced on Wednesday the swimmers who qualified for the 2016 NCAA Division I Women’s Swimming and Diving Championships.

The Arkansas swimming and diving team will send two swimmers and two relay teams to the national meet, which will be held March 16-19 at Georgia Tech’s McAuley Aquatic Center in Atlanta.

The Razorbacks’ divers will look to earn NCAA Championship bids next week at the NCAA Zone D Diving Championships March 7-9 at Texas A&M’s Student Recreation Center Natatorium in College Station, Texas.

“We are excited for NCAAs and the opportunity to represent the Razorback Nation,” Arkansas swimming and diving head coach Sean Schimmel said. “We are looking to be at our best individually and in our relays. This is a fun meet and it gives us a great opportunity to top off our performances from this year.”

Seniors Anna Mayfield and Maddie Monroe are among 281 Division I swimmers invited to participate in individual events. Both swimmers will also contribute to the Razorbacks’ relay teams – the 400 and 800-yard freestyle.

Making her fourth NCAA Championships appearance and her third as an individual, Mayfield will compete in the 200 and 500-yard freestyle, and 200-yard backstroke. The San Antonio, Texas native leads Arkansas’s individual record holders with three program records, including the 500-yard freestyle, 100 and 200-yard backstroke, and 18 top-five all-time performances. In addition, she is a member of three of four NCAA “A” cut relays times in program history. At the 2015 NCAA Championships, Mayfield swam in four individual events. She tied for 22nd place in the 200-yard backstroke with a time of 1:53.68.

Also qualifying for the championships for the fourth time, senior Nina Drolc will contribute to both relay teams. Drolc and Mayfield are joined by Missy Allert (1990-93) as the only three swimmers in program history to accomplish qualifying for four NCAA Championships. Drolc was a member of the Razorbacks’ 200 and 400-yard freestyle relay teams at last year’s NCAA Championships.

Senior Maddie Monroe will take the pool in the 50, 100, and 200-yard freestyle events. This will be Monroe’s third-straight appearance at the NCAA Championships. Last year, Monroe took 54th place in the 200-yard freestyle (1:48.29) and swam to a 55th place finish in the 100-yard freestyle (49.64). The Godfrey, Illinois native holds the program record in the 200-yard freestyle (1:46.05) and 100-yard freestyle (48.71) along with being a member of three of four NCAA “A” cut relay times in program history.

The 800-yard freestyle relay team of Drolc, Mayfield, Monroe, and sophomore Chelsea Tatlow earned an automatic bid when it notched an NCAA “A” cut time of 7:06.08 at the 2016 SEC Championships on Feb. 16. The quartet’s mark ranks second in program history and is Arkansas’s fourth ever “A” cut.

This will be Tatlow’s second-straight NCAA Championships appearance. Last year, Tatlow was the first Arkansas freshman to qualify for the NCAA Championships in an individual event in seven years. She competed in the 200 and 400-yard individual medley, and 200-yard backstroke. Tatlow also was a member of the 800-yard freestyle relay team.

Rounding out Arkansas’s cohort, the 400-yard freestyle relay team of Monroe, Drolc, junior Natalie Burnett and Mayfield earned a spot with a provisional qualifying time of 3:17.52. Burnett will make her NCAA Championships debut.

The Razorbacks (9-1) last competed at the 2016 SEC Championships in Columbia, Missouri where they placed ninth with 491 points. Last year, the Razorbacks tied for 44th place at the NCAA Championships.

ESPN3.com will stream finals sessions on Friday and Saturday live. Wednesday’s evening session, Thursday’s sessions, along with Friday and Saturday’s morning sessions will be streamed live on NCAA.com. Additionally, ESPNU will air a two-hour broadcast via tape delay at 6 p.m. CT, on Tuesday, March 29. Live results for the championships will be available on NCAA.com.

For more information on Arkansas swimming and diving, follow @RazorbackSD on Twitter.