Gustavus Adolphus swimmers Whitaker Davis (Palatine, Ill.) and Kelsey Lucia (St. Cloud, Minn.) highlighted day one of competition at the 2011 NCAA Championships being held at the Alan Jones Aquatic Center on the campus of the University of Tennessee in Knoxville.
Whitaker Davis turned in a seventh place finish in the 500 free after touching the wall in 4:31.55. Davis earned the Gusties 12 points for his performance, as he ranked seventh following the prelims of the race after going 4:31.28 in the morning session. The senior from Palatine, Ill. went into the NCAA Championships ranked second in the 500 free with a time of 4:28.94.
Rookie swimmer Kelsey Lucia added a 12th place finish in the 50 free after swimming a 23.72 in the finals. She ranked 12th after the morning prelims with a time of 23.69. Lucia automatically qualified for the NCAA Championships in the 50 free with a time of 23.30, ranking her 12th in the race coming into the event.
The women’s 200 medley relay team consisting of Carley Mosher, Laura Drake, Steph Korba, and Lucia recorded a 12th place finish with a time of 1:46.36. The group swam a 1:45.96 in the prelims of the event and ranked 10th heading into the evening session. The 200 medley relay ranked 12th in the race with a time of 1:45.95 entering the meet.
The Gustavus men’s 200 medley relay team of Paul Kirihara, Billy Schultze, Matt Van Fossen, and Zach Nachtsheim ranked 11th with a time of 1:32.94 following the prelims, yet were disqualified in the finals later that evening.
The Gustavus women’s swimming and diving team is currently in 16th place with 15 points after day one, while the men sit in 17th with 12 points. The NCAA Championships will continue tomorrow with the preliminary races beginning at 10:00 a.m.