Swimmers Set for Women's NCAA Championship Start
3/18/2015 12:00:00 AM | Swimming & Diving
GREENSBORO, North Carolina - Alabama's contingent of eight swimmers is set to begin competition at the 2015 NCAA Division I Women's Swimming and Diving Championships in Greensboro, North Carolina on Thursday led by two-time Southeastern Conference champion Kaylin Burchell.
Burchell, seeded second in the 100 breaststroke and fifth in the 200 breaststroke going into the national championships, will be joined by junior Emma Saunders, sophomore Bridget Blood and freshman Mia Nonnenberg in individual events and juniors Brittany Gilbert and Justine Panian, sophomore Bailey Scott and freshman Temarie Tomley on relays.
Alabama opens the meet with two relays - the 200 freestyle and 400 medley relays as well as the 200 individual medley on Thursday. Burchell, Nonnenberg and Blood will swim the 200 IM.
A native of Richmond, Ky., Burchell is the Tide's lone returning NCAA scorer after finishing seventh at last year's national championships. She has advanced to the NCAA Championships all four years of her career. She also earned a place on the United States National Team last summer.
Saunders, making her second trip to the NCAA Championships, is the school record holder in the 200 freestyle and 100 and 200 backstrokes and is arguably the Tide's most versatile swimmer. Blood, ranked second all-time at Alabama in the 100 breaststroke, is also making her second NCAA appearance.
Nonnenberg, the lone rookie among the individual swimmers advancing to the national championships, is the school record holder in the 200 and 400 individual medleys. Gilbert and Tomley are also making their NCAA debuts while Panian and Scott swam on relays at last year's NCAA Championships.
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