The NCAA Division I Women’s Swimming & Diving Championships go down in Atlanta from March 16-19, and three members of the women’s swimming and diving team will be taking part, the most in school history.
Senior Lia Thomas and juniors Catherine Buroker and Anna Kalandadze will compete on the campus of Georgia Tech.
Thomas will swim the 100 free, 200 free, and 500 free, and is the reigning Ivy League champion in each event. She has been a certified record destroyer this season, setting program records in the 100 free (47.63), 200 free (1:41.93), 500 free (4:34.06), 1,000 free (9:35.96) and 1,650 free (15:59.71). She was also part of Penn’s 400 free relay that won the conference title with a program record time of 3:17.80.
Buroker, competing in her third NCAA Championships, will race in the 500 free and 1,650 free. She is only the second Quaker in school history to receive multiple NCAA bids. She won the 1,000 free and 1,650 free at the Ivy League Championships, and the 500 free at the ECAC Championships.
Kalandadze, who transferred to Penn after her freshman season at the University of California, Berkeley, will also compete in the 500 free and 1,650 free. She finished third in the 1,650 free and fourth in the 500 free at the conference championships, and placed first in the 1,650 free and second in the 500 free at the ECAC Championships.
A total of 322 participants (281 swimmers and 41 divers) will compete in the NCAA Championships. ESPN3 will provide digital broadcast coverage for preliminary and final sessions Wednesday through Saturday.
