FW Paschal grad Anderson reaches semifinals of 200 freestyle

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By Charean Williams

OMAHA, Neb. -- Julia Anderson's celebration was as big as any swimmer's Wednesday, only it didn't happen in front of 12,000 fans.

Anderson, a recent graduate of Paschal who is Stanford-bound, discovered she had made the semifinals of the 200-meter freestyle as she left the mixed zone. She couldn't contain her excitement in the bowels of the CenturyLink Center.

"It was so cool," Anderson said. "It was awesome. I was jumping around."

Thus, Anderson got to swim against her "mentor," Dana Vollmer, for the first time. And later, the second time.

"I'm excited she's with [Fort Worth Area Swim Team coach] Ron [Forrest]," Vollmer said. "He's such an amazing coach. She's headed to Stanford next year, and I'm excited to see what she can do in college."

Anderson had the 15th-fastest time in the preliminaries at 2:00.21, and she was 16th in the semifinals in 2:02.84. The top eight advanced to tonight's final.

"I think tonight I just wanted to enjoy it, because this has never happened before," said Anderson, still giddy afterward.

Vollmer, who got her start under Forrest at FAST, had the second-best qualifying time in the preliminaries (1:58.34) and the third-best semifinal time (1:57.81).

"I kept telling myself I just needed to make it top eight," said Vollmer, who made the U.S. Olympic team by winning the 100 fly on Tuesday night. "It felt better than it did [in the preliminaries].... I feel like I have more in me, especially getting [this] morning off and getting a little bit more recovery."

Singley wins heat

Ted Singley, a former Southlake Carroll swimmer who is headed to USC this fall, won his preliminary heat in the 200 fly. He finished 24th overall in 2:00.75.

It was a personal best.

"It was my best time, and it came at Trials, so I have to be happy with that," said Singley, who swims for the North Texas Nadadores. "My goal was to break 2 minutes, but I'm still really excited that I got another best time."

Meili is 51st

Katie Meili, a former Nolan Catholic and North Texas Nadadores swimmer, was 51st in the 200 IM with a 2:18.88.

"It was just a little off my best, so it's good," Meili said.

Meili, who finished fifth at the NCAA Championships this spring as a junior at Columbia, is swimming with a broken right hand she had surgically repaired June 5.

Charean Williams

817-390-7760

Twitter: @NFLCharean

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