March 16, 2001

Bulldog Women Reclaim The Lead At NCAA Division II Swimming Championships
Three Women's School Records Fall on Friday as 'Dogs Win Three More Events

All that remains of the NCAA Division II Swimming and Diving Championships is the final day, and the Truman State University women currently sit atop the standings.

After three days at the national meet in Canton, Ohio, the Bulldog women's team has tallied 496 points fora 48-point advantage over second-place Drury (Mo.). With only Saturday's events remaining, the Bulldogs are within striking distance of claiming the first-ever team national championship in any one of the school's 21 sports.

Entering Friday's action, Truman trailed Drury by 22 points in women's action, but the 'Dogs responded by winning three events in Friday night's finals, bringing their total of national titles this year to six.

The 500-yard freestyle opened the night's events, and, as she has done throughout the championships, senior Jess Martin (Buckingham, Iowa/Cedar Falls) ran away from the field. Martin claimed her third individual national title of the 2001 meet with a school-record time of 4:52.72, mark that was over six seconds ahead of the next closest competitor. The 'Dogs also had two other finishers in the top six of the 500 free, including freshman Katie May (Westmont, Ill./Hinsdale Central), who placed fourth, and junior Bridget Riley (Olathe, Kan./Olathe South), who came in sixth.

In all, Martin has factored into five of Truman's six national championships at this meet.

Truman's performance int he 500 free brought the team from trailing by 22 points to leading by 23.

In the 100-yard backstroke, sophomore Kelli Dudley (Topeka, Kan./Topeka West) captured her first national title of this year's meet as she finished in 57.63 seconds, also a new Truman record. In all, four Bulldogs placed in the top eight in that event, with May coming in third, freshman Krista Pray (Naperville, Ill./Naperville North) in fourth and senior Andrea Newton (Clive, Iowa/Home-schooled) in eighth.

That put Truman up by 54 points before Drury closed the gap in the 100-yard breaststroke and 200-yard butterfly. Truman freshman Alison Blyth (Clive, Iowa/Dowling) came home ninth in the 200-yard fly, helping the 'Dogs maintain their cushion.

In Friday night's final event, the Bulldogs once again raced to the top spot, this time in the 800-yard freestyle relay. Sophomore Liz Hug (Maryville, Ill./Collinsville), Newton, May, and Martin finished in 7:31.03 to not only top the competition, but break the previous school record by more than four seconds.

The NCAA Division II Swiming & Diving Championships conclude on Saturday night.

Finals on Saturday include the 1,650-yard freestyle, 100 free, 200 backstroke, 200 breaststroke and 400 free relay.

Men's Swim Releases | Women's Swim Releases
Men's Swimming | Women's Swimming | Truman Athletics