Top-seeded Nelson leads Badgers’ NCAA qualifiers
February 28, 2018 | Women's Swimming & Diving
Wisconsin sending four individuals, five relays to national championships
MADISON, Wis. — Led by top-seeded Beata Nelson, the Wisconsin women's swimming and diving team will send four individuals and entries for all five relay events to next month's NCAA championships.
Swimming entries for the meet, which runs March 14-17 in Columbus, Ohio, were announced Wednesday.
Nelson enters the national championships as the No. 1 seed in the 100-yard backstroke, an event in which she recorded the second-fastest mark in history with her time of 49.78 seconds at the Big Ten championships earlier this month.
The sophomore, who was named Big Ten Swimmer of the Championships, won both the 100 and 200 backstroke (1:49.59) titles in conference-record times. She also finished runner-up in the 200 IM with a school-record mark of 1:53.85.
Nelson will compete in all three events at the NCAA championships. In addition to entering the national meet as the favorite in the 100 back, Nelson holds the No. 3 seed in the 200 back and the No. 7 seed in the 200 IM. She also is likely to swim on four of the Badgers' five relays.
She takes down the Big Ten record and heads up the medal stand.
— Wisconsin Swimming & Diving (@BadgerSwimDive) February 18, 2018
Beata Nelson is a Big Ten champion again!#OnWisconSwim pic.twitter.com/umyV7KxK0V
Junior Jess Unicomb will join Nelson in both the 100 and 200 back, events in which she has qualified for the second consecutive season. Unicomb was an All-American last year as part of the Badgers' 200 free relay team and has earned All-America honorable mention four other times in her career.
Junior Katie Coughlin will make it three Badgers in the 100 back, entering the championships with the nation's 25th-fastest time (52.23). The Baraboo, Wisconsin, native is in her first season at UW after transferring from Alabama.
Senior Marissa Berg rounds out the Badgers' individual qualifiers and will compete in the 50 freestyle (22.22). Berg was a two-time All-American last season as part of UW's 200 and 400 free relay squads.
Wisconsin will be represented in all five relays, headlined by its ninth-seeded entry in the 200 medley relay. Unicomb, Berg and Nelson were joined by Emmy Sehmann in recording the Badgers' season-best time of 1:36.23 en route to a third-place finish at the Big Ten championships.
The same quartet also finished third in the 200 free relay in 1:28.41, a time that has the Badgers seeded 12th for the NCAA championships in that event.
Wisconsin also is seeded 12th in the 400 free relay, in which Berg, Sehmann, Unicomb and Abby Jagdfeld scored a third-place Big Ten finish in 3:14.12.
The Badgers' team of Nelson, Berg, Sehmann and Ari Saghafi finished fifth in the 400 medley relay at the Big Ten meet in 3:31.22 and enters the NCAA meet as the No. 14 seed.
Jagdfeld, Unicomb, Sehmann and Nelson were fourth at the Big Ten championships in the 800 free relay and enter the NCAA meet as the No. 17 seed at 7:02.95.
Wisconsin's NCAA Qualifiers
50 Freestyle
30. Marissa Berg (22.22)
100 Backstroke
1. Beata Nelson (49.78) 25. Katie Coughlin (52.23) 36. Jess Unicomb (52.51)
200 Backstroke
3. Beata Nelson (1:49.59) 24. Jess Unicomb (1:52.99)
200 Individual Medley
7. Beata Nelson (1:53.85)
200 Freestyle Relay
12. Marissa Berg, Emmy Sehmann, Jess Unicomb, Beata Nelson (1:28.41)
400 Freestyle Relay
12. Marissa Berg, Emmy Sehmann, Abby Jagdfeld, Jess Unicomb (3:14.12)
800 Freestyle Relay
17. Abby Jagdfeld, Jess Unicomb, Emmy Sehmann, Beata Nelson (7:02.95)
200 Medley Relay
9. Jess Unicomb, Marissa Berg, Beata Nelson, Emmy Sehmann (1:36.23)
400 Medley Relay
14. Beata Nelson, Marissa Berg, Ari Saghafi, Emmy Sehmann (3:31.22)
Players Mentioned
