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Abby Erdmann of Chicago Wins National Title in 200 Butterfly

Abby Erdmann of Chicago Wins National Title in 200 Butterfly

From University of Chicago Athletics

Freshman Abby Erdmann won a national title in the 200-yard butterfly to lead the University of Chicago swimming and diving teams at day three of the NCAA Division III Championships on Friday.

Erdmann's victory marked the 15th individual national championship in UChicago history. The school's previous swimming title came in 1989 when Kris Alden won the 100-yard breaststroke. The Maroons totaled 12 more All-Americans on the day.

Erdmann was third in the prelims of the 200-yard butterfly and then posted a winning time of 2:01.35 in the finals. She topped the runner-up by 0.81 seconds and set a new school record in the process. Sophomore teammate Ciara Hu finished 25th in the event prelims in 2:07.59.

"Abby's swim was unexpected, exciting and an awesome experience for her and the team," said Head Coach Jason Weber. "I think her performance really pumped up the team and was a big reason why our men's 800 free relay broke the school record by six seconds and finished sixth overall."

"All year, Abby has had trouble finishing that race, including during prelims that morning," Weber continued. "So when she went out over a second faster the first 100 than she did in prelims, I was thinking that the end of the race wouldn't be pretty. However, after maintaining her lead with the strongest third 50 I've seen her swim in that event, I knew this could be a special moment. After she touched that wall and looked at her time and place in disbelief, I couldn't have been more happy for her and proud of what she had accomplished."

The women's 800-yard freestyle relay members earned Honorable Mention All-America status after finishing 12th in a time of 7:35.63. The relay was made up of freshman Maya Scheidl, freshman Cara LoPiano, sophomore Karen Chu and freshman Alison Wall.

Wall also placed 20th in the 100-yard backstroke prelims (57.41) and freshman Michelle Lawwas 34th (58.68). Junior Jennifer Hill took 30th (1:06.67) in the 100-yard breaststroke prelims.