Six-time Ivy League champion Shelby Fortin spent her weekend in Indianapolis representing the Red and the Blue at the 2013 NCAA Division I Women’s Swimming and Diving Championships. The three-day finals took place on the campus of IUPUI Sports Complex and IU Natatorium.
Fortin was coming off a strong performance in the Ivy League Championships held on March 1 at Princeton. She defended her crown in the 500-meter freestyle, but finished second in the 200 free to give up her crown in that event.
The junior took part in the first individual event of the entire meet on Thursday, finishing 58th in the country in the 500 free with a time of 4:52.98. Three weeks ago at the Ivy League Championships, she finished with a time of 4:41.34 to finish first in the event.
After her performance in the 500 free, she took part in the 200 free on Friday. She went on to finish 49th in the nation with a time of 1:48.58. In order to qualify for the event, she completed the same race at the Ivy League Championships in 1:46.67, which placed her first in the event and gave her the Penn record.
The overall champions of the NCAA Championships were the Georgia Lady Bulldogs. In the meet, Georgia finished with 477 points, 84 points ahead of second place California’s 393. Georgia was headed by two U.S. Olympian swimmers: Allison Schmitt and Megan Romano, who helped the team’s 400 free relay to set the national record in the pool on Saturday night. The Lady Bulldogs were finally able to overcome the hurdle and win the overall championship, after finishing runner-up two years in a row to Cal. It is Georgia’s fifth national championship and first since 2005.
As the season ends with the conclusion of the NCAA Championships meet, Fortin looks to come back stronger next year to add to her growing list of accomplishments.
She has won the Ivy League championship on six occasions in three different events. Fortin still has one more year to add to her collection and earn a return bid to the NCAA Division I Women’s Swimming and Diving Championships.
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