Macias Earns All-SEC Freshman Honors
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Fresh off an NCAA Championship appearance in her first year as a Razorback, freshman Ayumi Macias has been named to the SEC All-Freshman team announced by the Southeastern Conference Thursday afternoon.
“We are extremely proud of what Ayumi and the team have accomplished this first year,” said head coach Neil Harper. “The SEC is the fastest and most competitive conference in the country, so this is a great achievement and something we look for her and the team to build on.”
Macias is the third Razorback in school history to receive the honor and the first since Kesha Naylor in 2011.
The second freshman (Chelsea Tatlow) to qualify for the NCAA Championships as an individual in nine years, Macias had the best finish of all Razorbacks at the championships, touching 21st in the 500-yard freestyle in a personal-best 4:40.92. After swimming the second-fastest time in school history in the event, she owns two of the top five times in program history and the five fastest on the team this season.
The Aguascalientes, Mexico, native also recorded a 36th-place finish in the 1650 free in the second-fastest time on the team this season, 16:20.31 and a 47th-place finish in the 200 free with a time of 1:47.64.
The distance swimmer owns the top three times by a Razorback in the 1650 free and three of the top four times in the 200 free, including the top two.
Macias recorded Arkansas’ only A final appearance at the SEC Championships by a swimmer with a seventh-place finish in the 500 free. She also placed ninth overall in the 1650 free.
Macias tallied a total of 13 top-three finishes during her freshman year, including five first-place finishes. She notched six top-three finishes in the 500 free and five top-two finishes in the 1000 free.
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