GREENSBORO, N.C. -- Bates men's and women's swimming impressed on the third day of the NCAA Championships on Friday, with three All-America performances. The Bates men's team is in 14th place while the women got on the board and are in 29th place with one day remaining.
On the men's side, the Bates 200-yard medley relay team of sophomore
Tim Johnson (Brewster, Mass.) in the backstroke, junior
Marrich Somridhivej (South Windsor, Conn.) in the breaststroke, first-year
Nate Oppenheim (Easton, Conn.) in the butterfly, and junior
Max Cory (Dublin, Calif.) in the freestyle qualified for the championship final with their time of 1:27.97 in the prelims. Then they swam to seventh place at night to earn All-America honors, cutting their time down to 1:27.83.
It's the second top-eight showing from a Bates relay at this year's NCAA Championships, as the Bates 400-yard medley relay team -- consisting of the same four swimmers -- grabbed third place on Wednesday.
Individually, Somridhivej shined in the 100-yard breaststroke on Friday. He qualified for the championship final with his time of 54.16 seconds in the morning prelim. Then he grabbed fifth place and All-America honors with a blazing fast time of 53.97 seconds at night, breaking his own school record in the event, and also breaking his own school record in the 50-breast thanks to his opening split of 24.97 seconds.
On the women's side, sophomore
Sarah Palmer (Brunswick, Maine) broke her own school record in the 100-yard breaststroke in the morning prelim, racing to the finish in 1:02.50. Then she won the consolation final in 1:02.73 at night, taking ninth place overall and earning All-America honors. Palmer's swim in the final was particularly impressive, as she was last at the turn. Palmer rallied to win the race over the last 50 yards.
"Another special night on deck with Sarah winning the consolation final with an amazing come-from-behind-swim," head coach
Peter Casares said. "The guys getting All-America honors in the relay and Marrich breaking his own school record in both the 50 and 100 breast in his swim! Not to mention 5th in the country! We'll have to work hard tomorrow to keep the ball rolling but I suspect this group has what it takes both mentally and physically to make it happen. It's going to be a battle for each, but one they can win. And we like those odds!"
The Bobcats wrap up the NCAA Championships on Saturday, with prelims at 10 a.m. and finals at 6 p.m.
