Hall Earns All-American Accolades at NCAA's
March 15, 2012
AUBURN, Ala. – After a record-breaking career in Coral Gables, Kelsi Hall outdid herself once again on college swimming’s biggest stage. Competing in the 50-yard freestyle event at the NCAA Women’s Swimming and Diving Championships in Auburn, Ala., the senior became the University of Miami’s first All-American swimmer in a decade with another signature performance.
Hall, who qualified for the NCAA’s after earning a gold medal in the same event at February’s Atlantic Coast Conference Championships in Blacksburg, Va., finished with the ninth-best preliminary time of over 60 of the best swimmers nationwide (22.12).
“She’s always been filled with talent. It’s been a lot of getting her head right and realty believing in what she can do,” Head Coach Christie Shefchunas said. “She’s earning it now.”
With her tenth-place finish in Thursday night’s final round (22.13), Hall earned the most prestigious designation any student-athlete can possible achieve: All-American.
“22.1 was right around my best time all year,” Hall said after her race. “So it was nice to get that number consistently in the morning and at night. It’s such a big honor.”
As the only representative from the ACC in the final round of her event, Hall earned the school’s first All-American accolades since Manon van Rooijen in 2002. Hall, who spent the first two years of her collegiate career at the University of Kentucky, exits Coral Gables as one of Coach Shefchunas’ most decorated swimmers.
“This is my first All-American here at Miami,” Shefchunas said Thursday night. “I’m absolutely thrilled. She’s somebody that does everything right, and it’s nice to see that it pays off.”
The Hurricanes will look to continue their success on Friday, as junior Sofia Johansson will be competing in the 100-yard breaststroke event. The Ramlosa, Sweden native punched her ticket to NCAA’s by setting a new conference record in a gold medal-winning performance this past February at the Atlantic Coast Conference Championships.
“She’s seeded twelfth, and I’m expecting big things,” Shefchunas said. “Both Kelsi and Sofia have both looked amazing. She’s very confident right now.”
As for Hall, she’ll be right back at the pool cheering on her teammate Johansson tomorrow.
“She’s been doing really well in practice I think she’s going to go even faster at this meet,” Hall said. “It should be exciting to watch.
