OSU's Sammy Harrison Set for NCAA Championships
March 15, 2016 | Women's Swimming
CORVALLIS, Ore. – Senior Sammy Harrison of the Oregon State swimming team has qualified for the 2016 NCAA Division I Women's Swimming Championships and will compete from Thursday through Saturday at the McAuley Aquatic Center in Atlanta, Ga.
Harrison is set to compete in three freestyle events this week, including the 500-yard freestyle, the 200-yard freestyle and the 1,650-yard freestyle. Harrison made the cut for each of the 500 and 1,650 and will be eligible for the finals should she swim the necessary times.
“My mindset is to go there and leave it all in the pool and give it everything I've got,” Harrison said. “Having come here before helps with my confidence, and I'm excited to finish strong. It's easy to get lost when you look around at all of the other great swimmers here, but it's the fourth time that I've made it here, so I'm ready for any competition that comes my way.”
Already an All-American, Harrison placed 7th in the 1,650-yard freestyle last season and 10th in the event in 2014. She will be competing at the NCAA Championships for her fourth year in a row.
“If she can equal or beat her best times, she'll score some points her for Oregon State,” head coach Larry Liebowitz said. “She has a great attitude and has a lot of experience. Sammy has done everything that's been expected of her and more. She's ready for this.”
By making the cut for those two events, Harrison is also invited to swim in the 200 preliminary heats as an exhibition. Because she did not reach the official cut time, she will not be eligible to swim in the finals of the 200 regardless of her preliminary time.
ESPN3.com will cover the finals for the 1,650-yard freestyle live on Saturday. ESPNU will air a two-hour show on Tuesday, March 29 with coverage across each event of the women's championships. Live coverage of all sessions not carried by ESPN can be found through host Georgia Tech's website at this link.
Harrison opens competition on Thursday morning in the 500-yard freestyle preliminary heats. Preliminaries will begin at 7 a.m. PT (10 a.m. ET), with the 500 free set to be the second event swam that morning. Final heats are set to begin at 3 p.m. PT (6 p.m. ET). The senior will also swim in the 200-yard freestyle preliminaries at 7 a.m. PT (10 a.m. ET) on Friday.
Heats for Harrison's signature event, the 1,650-yard freestyle, are set to begin at 12:45 p.m. PT (3:45 p.m. ET) on Saturday. The Henderson, Nev. native is slated to complete in the fourth heat of the event, which will likely begin around 1:30 p.m. PT (4:30 p.m. ET).
“Sammy has really carried the flag for Oregon State the past four years,” Liebowitz said. “Her legacy is not only in the water with her Pac-12 Championship and seventh-place finish in the 1,650 at the NCAA Championships, but also in her leadership. That she's the president of SAAC (Student-Athlete Advisory Committee) means others respect her, so she's done a lot to gain the respect of other sports at Oregon State.”
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