Minnesota women’s swimming and diving will be well represented at this year’s NCAA Championships in Columbus, Ohio on March 14-17. The Gophers are sending seven student-athletes who have been invited individually along with the five Minnesota relay teams that qualified for the championship. Divers will compete at the NCAA Zone Championship today and Wednesday to qualify for the national meet.

Highlighting the Gophers trip to Columbus will be Danielle Nack, who qualified for three individual events in her final NCAA Championship meet. The senior is set to compete in the 50 free, 100 butterfly and 200 fly. Nack holds the seven seed in the 100 fly with an A cut time of 51.15 and is 16th in the 200 fly with a seed time of 1:54.72.

Junior Zoe Avestruz heads back to the NCAA Championships for individual events for the second year in a row. Avestruz was selected to swim in the 50-yard freestyle and 100 free.

Sophomore Lindsey Kozelsky (Horejsi), a graduate of Albert Lea, is headed back to the NCAA Championships competing in both breaststroke events. Kozelsky holds the No. 2 seed in the 100 breast after swimming a school record time of 57.91 at the Big Ten meet and will face a rematch with Indiana’s Lillia King. In the 200 breast, Kozelsky has the 10th fastest seed time with a 2:07.37.

Freshman Mackenzie Padington will make her NCAA Championship debut having qualified for the 100, 200 and 500 freestyle events. Padington holds the 17th seed in the 200 free with a time of 1:44.15, while holding the 20th seed in the 500 free in a time of 4:38.54. She will also swim the 100 free with a seed time of 48.45.

Sophomore Tevyn Waddell will compete with teammate Danielle Nack in the 100 fly with a seed time of 52.31 and will be in the 100 back with a 52.17 seed time.

With a qualifying time of 59.53, junior Rachel Munson also qualified for the 100 breast event. Chantal Nack will also swim one individual event in the 200 back with a seed time of 1:53.51.

The Gophers will send all five relays for the NCAA Championships with some of the best qualifying standard times in program history. Highlighting the team events is the medley relays where the Gophers hold the fourth best qualifying time. In the 200 the Gophers come in at 1:35.06 while holding a 3:28.96 in the 400 medley relay event.