Trio Notches Top 25 Finishes

The contingent may have been small, but the Harvard women’s swimming team was well represented by its three-woman squad at the NCAA championship meet on March 20-22.

Senior Samantha Papadakis, sophomore Alexandra Clarke, and freshman Kate Mills each qualified in multiple events for the three-day competition, which was held at Ohio State.

Each of the three Crimson competitors recorded a top-25 finish in one event.

Papadakis, competing in her third NCAA championships, delivered Harvard’s top individual performance. The senior placed 17th in the three-meter diving event with a score of 286.50.

She finished just one spot outside of qualifying for finals in the event and the All-American distinction that comes with it. Ohio State’s Chelsea Davis went on to win with 365.85 points. It was Papadakis’ best-ever NCAA finish. In her four previous tries at nationals, her highest finish was 28th, which she achieved in the one-meter event in her sophomore season and matched this season.

Papadakis scored 244.65 points in one-meter competition this year to place her 28th in the country. Hawaii sophomore Emma Friesen won the event with a final score of 336.20.

Mills was the only Crimson newcomer to NCAAs, and she was also the only one with a three-event competition schedule.

The freshman started the meet with a 68th-place finish in the 200-yard individual medley, touching the wall in 2:04.97. The performance fell three seconds short of her season best time of 2:01.72. Auburn’s Ava Ohlgren won in 1:53.94.

But Mills was just getting started. On the second day of competition, her time of 1:48.87 was good enough for 58th place in the 200-yard freestyle. Mills, who was seeded 68th going into the event, dropped half a second from her season-best time. Caroline Burckle of Florida won the event with a time of 1:43.10.

The final day of the meet brought with it Mills’ best event, the 200-yard butterfly. The freshman delivered, turning in a season-best 1:58.04 to place 19th in the event, three spots away from an All-American finish. Saori Haruguchi, representing Oregon State, set a meet record en route to winning the event with a time of 1:52.39. It was a great way to cap off Mills’ first trip to NCAAs.

“I was extremely impressed with Kate,” Clarke said. “She is so confident, and that really paid off going into a meet like this. There are other teams with 15 girls swimming and girls there with a very good chance of making the Olympic team, and she didn’t let that intimidate her at all.”

Clarke, competing in her second consecutive NCAA meet, was trying to improve on her 17th-place finish in the 1650-yard freestyle last year. But after a wild season, she had to settle for 21st.

“I was a little disappointed in my performance,” Clarke said. “I swam faster at our meet in Georgia [in December] and at Ivies.”

“This whole year was different for me because I had knee surgery in August and then had to get a cortisone shot and take time off to heal a shoulder injury in January,” she explained.

But besides her personal struggle with injury, Clarke also had to contend with an unusually fast field, mainly due to the upcoming trials for the Beijing Olympics.

She completed the event in 16:25.19, seven seconds slower than her school-record swim at the Georgia Invitational. Emily Brunemann of Michigan won in 15:53.69.

Clarke also competed in the 500-yard freestyle, placing 68th with a time of 4:52.35. Florida’s Burckle won the event, breaking an 18-year-old NCAA record with her time of 4:33.60.

Clarke is already looking ahead to next season, where she hopes to accomplish the goal that has eluded her so far.

“I am hoping to train hard this spring and summer and come back next year and finally get All-American at NCAAs next year,” she said.

With 484 points, Arizona was crowned the national champion.

—Staff writer Kate Leist can be reached at kdleist@fas.harvard.edu.