MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. — Senior Hali Saucier and freshman Rachel Ware earned first-team All-America honors in platform diving, and LSU’s All-American 400 freestyle relay broke the school record to lead the Lady Tigers to their highest NCAA Championships’ finish since 2001 with 17th place here Saturday night at the Minnesota Aquatic Center.
LSU finished the three-day meet with 52 points along with Florida State. The Lady Tigers accumulated 31 points in the final day of competition to secure their goal of a top-20 finish. Auburn overtook Arizona for first place to capture the national title by a score of 535-477.
The 17th-place finish was the highest for LSU since placing 16th in 2001.
“The key to it was that we finished strong in our best events,” said head coach Adam Schmitt. “They believed in what they were doing, and it is just awesome to reach our goal. Everyone contributed who was here. Six out of our seven participants were All-Americans.”
“I am proud of this team for coming together as a whole,” added diving coach Doug Shaffer. “We worked really hard all season, and it is a pleasure to be a part of something this special.”
LSU’s 400 free relay of Katherine Noland, Colleen Bertirotti, Katie Gilmore and Sabrina Messmer shattered the school record in the event by an astounding five seconds. The group posted a clocking of 3:17.92 in the prelims to qualify for the finals.
“Everything clicked,” said Schmitt. “We trained all year to do this, and we were definitely noticed nationally. It goes along the lines of building up this program. We have to swim times like that.”
That time broke the old mark of 3:22.21 set by Noland, Bertirotti, Gilmore and Heather Brand last season. Just two days ago, the Lady Tigers shattered the school record in the 200 free relay while earning All-America honors.
In the finals, LSU secured honorable mention All-America status by placing fifth in the consolation final and 13th overall in a time of 3:18.78. It marked the first top-16 finish for the Lady Tigers in the 400 free relay since 1997.
“They weren’t just satisfied in making it to NCAAs,” said Schmitt. “They came here with a purpose of swimming well.”
Gilmore, Noland, Messmer and Bertirotti become the first multiple All-Americans in relays at NCAAs since Becky Gibbs, Lucy Findlay and Julie Ricketts earned three honors in 1997.
For Bertirotti, the honors are truly special as the senior closed out her career this weekend. The San Antonio, Texas, native leaves with three All-America honors, three relay school records and two all-time top-five individual times in the 50 and 100 free.
All three of LSU’s swimmers in the 100 free posted career-fast times that moved them up in the school’s all-time top 10. Gilmore led the way with the third-fastest time in school history (50.00), which placed her 36th overall. Noland finished 39th in a time of 50.09, and Bertirotti recorded the fourth-fastest time in LSU history in a 42nd-place mark of 50.17.
In just one weekend, three of the top four 100 free times in LSU history now belong to members of the 2006-07 team.
Saucier and Ware capped their first NCAA Championships with first-team All-America honors in the platform. Saucier and Ware placed seventh and eighth, respectively in the championship final with scores of 283.95 and 244.75.
Saucier qualified for the finals with a score of 285.30, while Ware recorded a tally of 244.74.
They become the first platform All-Americans since Barb Gorst earned a top-eight finish in 2002. Saucier and Ware are also the first multiple platform All-Americans since Jamie Watkins and Ashley Culpepper achieved the feat in 2001.
Ware becomes only the third freshman in school history to earn multiple All-America accolades joining the likes of Ashley Culpepper (1998) and Alison Maisch (1986).
Saucier put the finishing touches on a brilliant career. The Gig Harbor, Wash., native leaves behind a legacy that personified the definition of student-athlete.
Saucier wraps her career with a first-team All-America honor, a 3-meter NCAA regional championship and a school record score in the 3-meter dual-meet format. She was also a triple finalist at the 2007 Southeastern Conference Championships.
Her excellence extended into the classroom where last spring she earned the highest academic honor of any LSU athlete when she was named LSU Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year.
“Hali to end her career with an All-America finish is something special for me to see as a coach,” said Shaffer. “She put it all together, and it’s phenomenal to watch what happened. With all of her academic and athletic honors, there really aren’t too many more accolades she can get.”
Three members of the LSU men’s team begin their portion of the NCAA Championships Thursday in Minneapolis. Three-time school record holder Julius Gloeckner looks to earn All-America honors for the second straight year. Junior Miko Malberg returns to the national meet for the first time since his freshman season, and sophomore Christoph Lubenau makes his first NCAA appearance.
2007 Women’s NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships
Minnesota Aquatic Center
Minneapolis, Minn.
Final Team Standings
1. Auburn — 535
2. Arizona — 477
3. California — 372.5
4. Stanford — 333
5. Georgia — 290
6. Texas — 220
7. Florida — 203
8. Texas A&M — 198
9. Michigan — 191
10. Tennessee — 127
11. Indiana — 109.5
12. Kentucky — 92
13. Minnesota — 59
14. SMU — 58
15. UCLA — 55.5
16. Arizona State — 55
17. LSU — 52
17. Florida State — 52
19. Miami — 48
20. Purdue — 47