Watson Sets New Record for Akron and MAC, Finished 14th at NCAA Championships

Thursday, March 18

Greensboro, N.C.

University of Akron

NCAA Championships

Watson Sets New Record for Akron and MAC, Finished 14th at NCAA Championships

March 18 | Women's Swimming & Diving

Watson Sets New Record for Akron and MAC, Finished 14^th at NCAA Championships
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Greensboro, N.C. – Akron Zips swimming and diving junior Sarah Watson (Winnipeg, Manitoba) opened the 2021 NCAA Division I Women's Swimming and Diving Championships with a record-breaking performance in the 200-yard individual medley, setting new standards for Akron and the Mid-American Conference on Thursday at the Greensboro Aquatic Center in Greensboro, N.C.

Watson qualified for three events at the NCAA Championships and opened the weekend with a spectacular performance in the 200 IM preliminary round. Watson flew to a 1:56.85 time, which was 2.43 seconds faster than her 59^th ranked seed time of 1:59.28. The 1:56.85 time stands as a new record for the Akron swimming program as well as the Mid-American Conference, replacing the 1:56.92 record time set by Madison Myers in 2017 at Akron and the MAC.

Watson advanced to the NCAA Championship 200 IM Finals B with the 13^th best prelim time. In the Final B event, Watson hit the wall at 1:5743, which stands as the third fastest time in program history. Watson finished 14^th overall.

A few minutes after 5pm the Greensboro Aquatic Center activated its emergency action plan due to a Tornado Warning in the area. Swimmers and divers had to clear the pool and take shelter in the locker rooms while staff hunkered down in the interior corridors of the building. At approximately 5:30 p.m. the Tornado warning was lifted and the field began to warm-up. The 200 IM started around 7:18 p.m. about 20 minutes later than scheduled.

Watson continues her quest for a NCAA Championship on Friday, March 19 and Saturday, March 20. On Friday, Watson is scheduled to compete in the 100 Fly which is the second event of the session and the following day she will compete in the 100 Free race which currently stands as the third event of the session.