Freshman Alison Gibson wins one-meter diving title at NCAA Championships

Thursday, March 16

Indianapolis, Ind.

10 a.m./6 p.m.

University of Texas

NCAA Championships

Championships Information

Texas diving coach Matt Scoggin and NCAA champion Alison Gibson

03.16.2017 | Women's Swimming and Diving

Seventeen-year-old Austin native wins first NCAA title in her first NCAA Championship event after barely qualifying for the one-meter diving final.

WATCH! Texas freshman diver Alison Gibson barely got into the 1M final, but that didn't stop her from taking all the marbles! #NCAASwimDive pic.twitter.com/DjlECta6nk
— UT Women'sSwimDive (@TexasWSD) March 17, 2017

Day 2 Results

INDIANAPOLIS – Texas freshman diver Alison Gibson took the lead with one round remaining and closed out her first NCAA title on one-meter Thursday evening on day two of the 2017 NCAA Division I Women's Swimming and Diving Championships.

Gibson became Texas' first NCAA diving champion since Jessica Livingston in 2007 and its first NCAA one-meter titlist since Vera Ilyina in 1998, as the Austin native won the eight-woman final with 332.60 points. Still only 17 years of age, Gibson edged Minnesota's Sarah Bacon for the title by just over six points.

"It's exciting, and one of the best things about it was my team rallying around me and cheering for me the whole time," Gibson said. "When it was all done, they came charging after me and hugged me. It was a cool moment and an amazing feeling."

Gibson qualified for the one-meter diving final by only five one-hundredths of a point, the slimmest of margins in diving. She dove first in each of the six rounds and methodically climbed up the leaderboard. Gibson stood in second place by only a point with two rounds remaining, and she took the lead for good on her fifth-round dive, a one-and-a-half somersault with one twist that netted her 50.60 points.

"I knew no matter what happened I was going to be able to get points for my team," Gibson said. "I just went in and decided to have fun with it and do what I know how to do. I just had the meet of my life."

Gibson saved her best for last and put away the competition on her sixth and final dive, a one-and-a-half somersault with two twists that yielded a meet-best 62.40 points.

"Alison has really put the work in," said Texas diving coach Matt Scoggin. "She has gotten so much better all year long in dealing with adversity, shaking it off and getting back up there with a belief that the next dive is going to be great."

Gibson's one-meter title came on the heels of a strong day two finals session for the Texas women, and the Longhorns followed Gibson's triumph with its second school record of the day in the 400 medley relay.

Head coach Carol Capitani sent out seniors Tasija Karosas and Madisyn Cox, freshman Lauren Case and junior Rebecca Millard for the relay, and it delivered a third-place mark of 3:27.74 that broke UT's school and Big 12 records set only a few hours earlier. Additionally, Karosas broke her school and Big 12 records in the 100 backstroke with her leadoff of 50.83 seconds on the relay.

Cox lowered her own Big 12 and school marks in the 200-yard individual medley final at 1:52.58, good for third place, which matches her career-best finish from two years ago. The Lubbock native lowered her school and Big 12 mark of 1:52.82 set last month at the Big 12 Championships.

Texas started off the second night in Indianapolis with a second-place finish in the 200 freestyle relay consolation final, as Millard, freshman Claire Adams, sophomore Remedy Rule and Karosas earned honorable mention All-American honors in 1:28.31. Sophomore Anelise Diener also earns honorable mention All-America by way of her participation in the preliminary round.

Earlier in the day, Millard broke an eight-year-old school record in the 50 freestyle with her 200 freestyle relay lead-off of 21.73 seconds. The swim eclipsed the previous school mark of 21.87 set by Hee-Jin Chang at the 2009 Big 12 Championships. The Californian qualified for the 50 freestyle consolation final during the morning preliminary round and placed second in that consolation final at 21.80.

Through two of four days of competition, Texas sits in third place with 119 points. Stanford leads with 213 points while California sits in second with 136 points. Georgia holds fourth with 112 points and Texas A&M rounds out the top-five with 108 points.

POST-MEET COMMENTS
Texas head coach Carol Capitani
We're in a hell of a spot, and they earned every point tonight. The 200 free relay…that's a tough spot being in ninth (after prelims) and holding on to that seed. I thought we did a heck of a job racing tough. We went in seeded 11^th and we came out 10^th, and that's what we're trying to do…to improve our seed. That was our toughest relay, and if that's what we've got, then we're alright.

Madisyn Cox was third (in the 200 IM) behind the two best performers in that event, ever. She held her head high and went out and beat her school record by about half a second. What I liked most of all is how she got her head down, warmed down and had the fastest breaststroke split we've ever had (on a 400 medley relay). She has figured it out.

Rebecca Millard moved up to 10^th overall (in the 50 free) and just killed it, and then came Alison Gibson, who went from eighth to first in the one-meter diving final. That might be the most fun we've ever had since we've been here at Texas. You can't have an exciting moment like that and not do something special in the relay, and that's what the four women on that (400 medley) relay did. That's the true testament of what it means to be a team. Alison passed the torch and we ran with it. Nothing could have fired up our girls more than that.

NCAA Championships – Day 2 Finals

200 Freestyle Relay – Consolation Final

2. Texas – Millard (21.81), Adams (22.15), Rule (22.03), Karosas (22.32), 1:28.31

200 IM – Championship Final

3. Madisyn Cox, 1:52.58 (school record)

50 Freestyle – Consolation Final

2 Rebecca Millard – 21.80 (school record 21.73 in prelims)

One-Meter Diving – Championship Final

1 Alison Gibson, 332.60

400 Medley Relay – Championship Final

3 Texas, 3:27.74 (school record)

Karosas (50.83, school record in 100 back), Cox (58.30), Case (51.72), Millard (46.89)