Minneapolis, Minn. - Ithaca junior Sheila Rhoades (Dryden/Dryden) of the women's swimming & diving team placed fourth in the national championship finals of the 100-yard freestyle Saturday night in Minneapolis with a time of Rhoades placed fifth overall in the preliminaries of the event with a time of 50.78 seconds. That time is a school, conference and UNYSCSA record. Rhoades earned her second First Team All-American award of this championship meet in individual events after placing third in the 50 free on Wednesday.
Ithaca placed 14th in the overall team standings with 75 points. It was Ithaca's 21st finish inside the top-20 nationally in the last 28 national championship meets.
In Saturday's preliminary events, Ithaca sophomore Missy Keesler (Union-Endicott/Endicott) was 24th overall in the 200-yard backstroke in 2:07.42 and Ithaca's 400-yard freestyle relay of junior Becca Blazak (Quaker Valley/Sewickley, Pa.), Keesler, freshman Carly Jones (Liverpool/Liverpool) and Rhoades was 21st overall in 3:36.91. Jones was 20th in the prelims of the 200-yard breaststroke in 2:24.27 while freshman Madi Sherry (Orchard Park/Orchard Park) was 28th in the prelims of that event in 2:26.50. In 3-meter diving, senior Naomi Mark (Dansville/Dansville) placed 20th with a score of 363.20 and sophomore Jodi Costello (Framingham/Framingham, Mass.) was 21st with a total of 337.85.