AUSTIN, Texas — LSU swimmer Jane Trepp captured first-team All-America honors at the 2011 NCAA Championships Thursday with her top-eight finish in the 50-yard freestyle at the University of Texas’ Jamail Swimming Center.
After advancing to the championship final with her second career sub-22 second effort in the prelims (21.99 seconds), Trepp raced to seventh-place with a 22.24 clocking.
The senior is the first LSU swimmer to deliver a top-eight NCAA finish in individual competition since 1997 and one of only five Lady Tiger swimmers in program history to individually earn the esteemed NCAA first-team All-America status.
In addition, the Estonian is only the second athlete in program history to reach the championship final of the 50 free at NCAA’s.
Sophomore Amanda Kendall qualified for the consolation final of the 50 free, taking 11th overall (22.25) to receive honorable mention All-America accolades and tally six points for the Lady Tigers’ team total.
The Lady Tigers’ 200 free relay also emerged with a top-16 finish and honorable mention All-America honors on the evening as the tandem of Trepp, Kendall, Kannon Betzen and Samantha Goates registered 10th with a mark of 1:29.23.
The Lady Tigers accumulated 32 team points on Day 1 and are currently 13th in the overall standings heading into Friday’s action.
“We’re excited to have two swimmers make it back in the 50 free and for Jane to make it on the podium,” co-head coach David Geyer said. “She’s the first swimmer in more than a decade to get that far in an individual race, and we are ecstatic about her accomplishment.
“The 200 free relay also placed top-16 and earned All-America honors, and the 400 medley relay broke another program record, so it was a good first day for us.”
In preliminary competition, the 400 medley relay squad of Jana Ruimerman, Trepp, Sara Haley and Kendall just missed qualifying for the ‘B’ final with a new school-record mark of 3:37.29. Ruimerman led off the relay in the 100 backstroke with a personal-best 54.58, three-tenths of a second faster than her previous best at SEC’s last month.
Freshman Torrey Bussey led the Lady Tigers in the 200 individual medley, recording 25th with a mark of 1:59.21. Fellow freshman Cari Blalock finished 30th with a 1:59.42 clocking, while Betzen was 56th. Goates came in 58th in the 50 free (23.16).
Day 2 of the 2011 NCAA Championships will begin Friday at 11 a.m. (CDT). The finals will start at 7 p.m., and will be live streamed by www.ESPN3.com. Results for all sessions can be accessed here.
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NCAA Women’s Swimming & Diving Championships
Austin, Texas – Jamail Swimming Center
March 17-19
Order of Events
Friday, March 18
Prelims – 11 a.m.
200 medley relay (LSU)
400 individual medley (Blalock)
100 butterfly (Trepp, Kendall, Haley)
200 freestyle
100 breaststroke (Trepp, Bussey, Betzen)
100 backstroke (Ruimerman)
Three-meter Diving (1:30 p.m.)
Finals – 7 p.m. (ESPN3.com)
200 medley relay
400 individual medley
100 butterfly
200 freestyle
100 breaststroke
100 backstroke
Three-meter Diving
800 freestyle relay (LSU – TBA)
Saturday, March 19
Prelims – 11 a.m.
200 backstroke (Ruimerman)
100 freestyle (Kendall, Goates)
200 breaststroke (Bussey)
200 butterfly (Haley, Blalock)
400 freestyle relay (LSU)
Platform Diving (1:30 p.m.)
1650 freestyle early heats (4:30 p.m.)
Finals – 7 p.m. (ESPN3.com)
1650 freestyle
200 backstroke
100 freestyle
200 breaststroke
200 butterfly
Platform Diving
400 freestyle relay