March 16, 2001

UNIONDALE, N.Y.- On Thursday, March 15, Villanova sophomore swimmer Maddy Crippen (Conshohocken, Pa./ Germantown Academy) began her assault on a second career NCAA title at the 2001 NCAA Swimming & Diving Championships in Uniondale, N.Y., at the Nassau County Aquatic Center.

As a freshman in 1999, Crippen won her first career National Championship, bringing home a title in the 400 yard individual medley. She became only the second Wildcat female ever to win a NCAA Championship. Crippen redshirted the 1999-2000 season to train for the 2000 Summer Olympics. She would go on to earn a berth in the 2000 Summer Games, where she placed sixth in the 400m individual medley. Crippen is the only Villanova female swimmer ever to qualify for the United States Olympic Swim Team.

On Thursday morning in the preliminaries of the 500 yard freestyle, Crippen finished in ninth place with a time of 4:46.09. Her ninth place finish did not qualify her for the evenings finals, in which only the top eight advance to. Crippen would place fourth in the consolation finals (4:47.03) to earn her a 12th place finish overall.

Swimming in the prelims of her top event, the 400 yard individual medley, on Friday morning, Crippen finished in fourth position (4:12.65). Keegan Walkley of Georgia finished first (4:11.11), followed by Michala Kwasny of USC (4:11.72), and Maggie Bowen of Auburn (4:12.01.

The finals of the 400 yard individual medley will take place on Friday evening at 7:00 p.m. Crippen will be seeded fourth in the night's finals. She will swim in her final event, the 200 yard breatstroke, on Saturday, March 17.