Katie Radloff Set for NCAA Swimming Championships

Sophomore Will Contest Three Events

03/19/08 5:10PM

COLUMBUS, OHIO - William and Mary sophomore Katie Radloff (Arlington, Va.) is set to begin her second NCAA Championship tomorrow morning at the McCorckle Aquatics Pavilion, looking for her first All-American certificate to add to the growing stack of awards she has already achieved in less than two full years in Williamsburg.

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Radloff is a challenger in each of the three sprint freestyles; 50 yards, 100 yards, and 200 yards. Three weeks ago, she swept those events at the Colonial Athletic Association Championships, all with conference and school record times, to earn her second consecutive Swimmer of the Meet award. She swam 22.61 in the 50 free on the second night of the CAA Championships, 1:48.19 to win the 200 free on the third night, and 49.25 to claim the 100 free on the final night of competition.

During the regular season, Radloff won 21 out of 23 races in her three qualified events, and 25 out of 28 races overall. The 25 wins in a season is fourth all-time in school history, and her 52 career wins ties Radloff with Kathy Welch '86 for fourth all-time as well. At the Terrapin Invitational in November, Radloff again swept the three sprinting events, earning her first career NCAA automatic bid after timing 49.30 in the 100 free.

Before the season officially began, Radloff became William and Mary's first Olympic Trials qualifier after competing at the Speedo Junior National Championships in August. On the first night of competition, she took second in the 100-meter freestyle with a time of 56.92 seconds, and on the final night, she timed 26.29 seconds in the finals of the 50-meter freestyle for sixth place.

As a freshman in 2006-07, Radloff became the first William and Mary swimmer since Erin Sheehey '84 in 1983 to be invited to the NCAA Championships. Competing in the same three events that she is scheduled for this season, Radloff finished 63rd in the 50 free, 48th in the 200 free, and 32nd in the 100 free.

With another season of experience under her belt, she will look to become the second NCAA All-American in the history of the swimming and diving teams, joining men's diver Shawn McLane '86, who earned All-American honors in the 1-Meter and 3-Meter boards in both 1985 and 1986. The last time the women's team had any All-Americans was 1982, when seven athletes earned five individual and three relay awards at the AIAW Division II Championships, including Sheehey's title-winning turn in the 100-yard breaststroke.

Radloff will be in action on each day of the three-day NCAA Championship meet. Preliminaries begin at 11 AM EDT each day, and the top 16 qualifiers in each event will return at 7 PM EDT for the finals. The top eight qualifiers automatically earn First-Team All-American designations, and the chance to compete for the national title. The next eight qualifiers earn Honorable Mention All-American designations, and swim in a consolation final.

The Championships will be broadcast live on the Internet by the NCAA (link at the top of the story), and ESPN2 will air 90 minutes of coverage and highlights on Saturday, March 28, at 2 PM EDT.