Miami University
NCAA Championships
Ricard Finishes 18th in 1,650 Freestyle at NCAA Championships
3/18/2007 12:00:00 AM | Men's Swimming and Diving
March 18, 2007
MINNEAPOLIS - Completing a banner junior season with the Miami University men's swimming team, RedHawk junior Paul Ricard placed 18th in the 1,650-yard freestyle Saturday at the 2007 NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships. It was the highest career national finish for Ricard, who also finished 29th in the 500-yard freestyle on Thursday.
Clocking in with an 18th-place time of 15:11.56, Ricard equaled his school-record time, which he set at the MAC Championships on Feb. 25. Ricard finished ahead of 11 swimmers in the event, including four Big Ten swimmers, two Atlantic Coast Conference swimmers and a pair of swimmers from the Southeastern Conference.
Ricard was the only swimmer from the Mid-American Conference to compete in the 1,650-yard freestyle. He finished only two spots out of a scoring finish, as the top 16 swimmers in the event earned team points.
Southern Cal's Larsen Jensen won the 1,650-yard freestyle national title with a time of 14.26.70, which was a new pool record. Shaun Phillips of Stanford (14:37.62) and Sebastien Rouault of Georgia (14:47.50) rounded out the top three finishers.
As a junior, Ricard completed one of the most impressive season's in program history, as he was named the MAC Swimmer of the Year for the second straight season and won three MAC titles in the 200, 500 and 1,650 freestyle events. Ricard set a pair of school records at the conference meet (500 and 1,650 freestyle) and was one of four Miamians named to the all-MAC academic team. He has been named to the all-MAC first team in each of his three seasons at Miami.
Players Mentioned
