Emilia Nilsson Garip Triumphs Again, Wins Pac-12 3m Title – Utah Athletics

FEDERAL WAY, Wash. – Emilia Nilsson Garip became the first member of the University of Utah swimming and diving team to ever win two Pac-12 Championships on Friday, earning a first-place finish in the women’s 3m at the Pac-12 Women’s Swimming and Diving Championships at the Weyerhaeuser King County Aquatic Center in Federal Way, Wash.
 
On the Boards
One day after taking home the program’s first-ever Pac-12 women’s swimming and diving crown in the 1m, Nilsson Garip started off day three in Washington by racing to the top of the leaderboard in prelims with a point total of 343.80. In the final, she was equally dominant, piling up 368.35 points, more than 40 points better than the next closest finisher to snag her second victory in as many days.
 
Holly Waxman also made her way into the 3m final and took fourth with a mark of 303.60. Kathryn Grant placed second in the consolation final, collecting 293.40 points, while Sydney Kowalski landed in 17th overall. In the men’s platform competition, Elias Petersen finished in ninth with a score of 261.05.
 
“We had another great day,” said head diving coach Richard Marschner. “I’m really proud of the character and resilience of this group. We fought back from some tough events early on and to have Emilia win two events for the first time in Utah history is great. I’m really proud of Holly for fighting through this and getting fourth place. Our women’s team is really showing themselves to be one of the best in the country right now, so I’m really looking forward to what we have left tomorrow. We have a strong tower day for the ladies and looking to pick up a couple more A finals and see what we can do.”
 
In the Pool
Five Utah swimmers netted spots in finals on Friday, including Erin Palmer, who swam in the 100 breast B final and took seventh, clocking in at 1:01.06. Norah Hay’s work in the 100 back also garnered her a B final spot and her time of 54.79 put her in seventh as well. Summer Stanfield took home second place in the 400 IM C final, reaching the finish in 4:15.83 and Alyssa Sorensen and Hilja Schimmel both competed in the 100 breast C final. Sorensen concluded the race with a mark of 1:02.69 and Schimmel’s final time was 1:03.27.
 
Utah’s night ended with the 400 medley relay, where Hay, Palmer, Kim Lanaghen and Lily Milner recorded a mark of 3:38.32.
 
“It was an OK day today,” said coach Jonas Persson. “We were a little bit unlucky in missing finals in a few events and we did not have the best afternoon session, which led to us not scoring as many points as we wanted. However, I’m very optimistic about tomorrow that the girls will be able to pull together and make it back to finals and score some good points, giving us a chance to beat Arizona and Washington State.”
 
Utah’s point total after three days stands at 407.5, putting them in sixth.
 
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