ATLANTA, Ga. â€"â€" Navy's Lauren Barber (Fr., New Wilmington, Pa.) closed her inaugural trip to the NCAA Women's Swimming Championship by placing third in her heat and 33rd overall in the 200 breaststroke Saturday morning at the McAuley Aquatics Center in Atlanta, Ga. Barber's effort of 2:11.35 this morning ranks fourth in Navy history.

"Today was a frustrating," said Barber. "I pushed off the wall early in the race and got a cramp in my foot. The pain was in my arch and my foot. It has happened in the past in practice and the pain is not small; it goes from one to 100 right away. I had to try and loosen up my foot for the next 25 to 50 yards. I eventually did, but it kind of screwed up my race. It is disappointing because I was right where I wanted to be (she led the race after 50 yards) until I had the cramp."

Georgia's Emily Corcoran won the heat and placed 23rd overall with a time of 2:10.27. Iowa's Emma Saugstad followed in second place (31st overall) with a posting of 2:11.25.

Barber's 33rd-place finish allowed her to match her seed in today's event. She qualified for the NCAA Championship with a school and league record clocking of 2:10.53.

"Lauren prepared really well for today and was excited for the race," said Navy head coach John Morrison. "She was swimming really well through 50 yards and then developed a foot cramp pushing off the wall. That's hard to swim through and it changed a number of things. But she fought through it as well as she could and did a great job in being able t o still match her seed.

"We're all really proud of her. To swim in three events as a freshman is impressive. She represented herself, her teammates and Navy so well. We're looking forward to her bringing back the excitement of competing at the NCAA Championship and inspiring everyone on the team as we look toward next year."

The first freshman swimmer in Navy and Patriot League history to qualify for the NCAA Division I Women's Championship, Barber previously placed 34th in the 200 individual medley (was seeded 38th) and 25th in the 100 breaststroke (was seeded 40th) at this week's meet. She set a new school and league record by two-tenths of a second in the latter event with her time of 1:00.51.

"This was unlike any other meet I have competed at," said Barber. "Competing with the other swimmers here was a little intimidating at first. After talking with my coaches they said that I worked my butt off to get here and I deserve to compete at it, and I felt it too. It is a huge honor. Most swimmers never the chance get to compete at this meet at all in their careers, let alone as a freshman. What a great honor to be here this year."