After a strong thrid-place finish in their previous competition, the SMU women’s swimming and diving team struggled in Indianapolis.

The team tied Virginia Tech after placing twenty-fourth with a total of twenty-six points at the three-day NCAA Championship.

The Mustangs started well with an 18th place finish from day one.

SMU couldn’t catch up to a deep field that saw the University of Georgia take the NCAA crown with a staggering 477 points, 80 more than the nearest competition.

Lady Mustangs Isabella Arcila, Monika Babok, Nathalie Lindborg and Nina Rangelova placed tenth in the 400-yard freestyle relay clocking in a final time of 3:16.37.

The time narrowly beat the likes of Auburn and Wisconsin, but was just a third of a second away from ninth place Minnesota.

Although the team did not get the place they had hoped for, the time marked a two-second improvement than its previous outing in the C-USA tournament at a very respectable 3:18.62.

Arcila entered the NCAA tournament as the Conference USA player of the year, SMU’s fourth winner in a row and seventh in the last eight years combined.

The Mustangs will hope to bounce back with a momentum-shifting victory and wrap up their season at the USA Grand Prix beginning April 11 in Mesa, Ariz.