By SwimSwam on SwimSwam

After claiming both the men’s and women’s Big 12 Swimming and Diving Championship titles and the NCAA men’s crown in March, the Texas Longhorns lead the way for the 2016-17 postseason honors. UT collected at least a share of all 10 awards, while West Virginia earned co-honors for women’s Newcomer of the Year, as voted on by league coaches.

The All-Big 12 Teams were also announced. Student-athletes must place 1-3 at the Big 12 Championships to earn first team honors and 4-6 to earn second team recognition.

MEN’S SWIMMER OF THE YEAR

Will Licon, Texas, Sr., El Paso, Texas

Licon became the 4th swimmer in the history of college swimming and the first Big 12 swimmer to win four separate individual events throughout his career at the NCAA Championships.

In addition, Licon earned three individual events during the 2017 championships, the first Big 12 swimmer to do so, earning first in the 200 IM, 100 breaststroke and 200 breaststroke.

The Longhorn also set league and program records in the 200 and 400 medley relays this year.

The senior completes his college career with Big 12 records in the 100 and 200 breast, the 200 and 400 IM, in addition to the 200 and 400 medley relay.

WOMEN’S SWIMMER OF THE YEAR

Madisyn Cox, Texas, Sr., Lubbock, Texas

Competed in the NCAA Championships, earning All-America finishes in all three of her individual events (200 IM, 400 IM, 200 breast) and added All-America finishes in the 800 free relay (4th) and 400 medley relay (3rd).

Notched Honorable Mentions for her showings in the 200 medley relay and 400 free relay.

Selected as Women’s Swimmer of the Meet at the Big 12 Championships after setting three Big 12 and program records.

MEN’S DIVER OF THE YEAR

Mark Anderson, Texas, Jr., Lake Forest, Calif.

Registered the top finish by a Big 12 diver at the NCAA Championships with his seventh-place finish on the one-meter.

Was the only Big 12 diver to qualify on all three boards at the national championships.

The Lake Forest native won the one-meter and took second on the three-meter boards at the Big 12 Championship in February.

WOMEN’S DIVER AND CO-NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR

Alison Gibson, Texas, Fr., Austin, Texas

Won a national title at the NCAA Championships for her performance on the 1-meter board, notching 332.60 points.

Placed second on the one-meter (327.00) and third on the three-meter (311.70) at the Big 12 Championships.

MEN’S NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR

Grayson Campbell, Texas, Fr., Vienna, Va.

Campbell was the only Big 12 freshman swimmer or diver to qualify for the NCAA Championships and earned All-America honors by placing eighth on the three-meter board.

At the Big 12 Championship, the diver won the three-meter final with a score of 451.85 and took sixth on the one-meter (300.15).

WOMEN’S CO-NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR

Morgan Carr, West Virginia, So., Charleston, W.Va.

Carr won bronze in the 200 butterfly after advancing to the A finals with an NCAA B cut and career-best time of 1:57.86 in the prelims, for the second-fastest time in school history at the Big 12 Championship.

In the women’s 500 freestyle, Carr advanced to the B finals where she placed 10th overall with a personal-best time of 4:52.41 at the Big 12 Championship.

MEN’S SWIMMING COACH OF THE YEAR

Eddie Reese, Texas, 39th Season

Recorded his 13th NCAA Championships victory and owns the title of winningest coach in the history of swimming and diving.

Won his third consecutive national title, and surpassed Michigan for No. 1 all-time with 13 NCAA men’s swimming and diving national titles.

Reese earned his 38th consecutive conference championship in February.

WOMEN’S SWIMMING COACH OF THE YEAR

Carole Capitani, Texas, 5th season

Led Texas to the top NCAA Championships finish by an active Big 12 member institution since 2009 as UT placed 5th, just one-half of a point behind 4th place Georgia.

Led her team to a No. 1 ranking in the CSCAA top 25 poll in January and notched wins against California, Georgia and Texas A&M, among others.

MEN’S & WOMEN’S DIVING COACH OF THE YEAR

Matt Scoggin, Texas, 25th Season

In his 25th season as the Texas head diving coach, Matt Scoggin earned his sixth consecutive men’s diving coach of the year honor.

His divers produced two All-America finishes at the national championship (Campbell and Anderson).

2017 ALL-BIG 12 SWIMMING AND DIVING POSTSEASON AWARDS

Men’s Swimmer of the Year: Will Licon, Texas, Sr.
Women’s Swimmer of the Year: Madisyn Cox, Texas, Sr.
Men’s Diver of the Year: Mark Anderson, Texas, Jr.
Women’s Diver of the Year: Alison Gibson, Texas, Fr.
Men’s Newcomer of the Year: Grayson Campbell, Texas
Women’s Co-Newcomers of the Year: Alison Gibson, Texas
Morgan Carr, West Virginia
Men’s Swimming Coach of the Year: Eddie Reese, Texas
Women’s Swimming Coach of the Year: Carol Capitani, Texas
Men’s Diving Coach of the Year: Matt Scoggin, Texas
Women’s Diving Coach of the Year: Matt Scoggin, Texas

MEN’S ALL-BIG 12 FIRST TEAM
Name, School, Year
Mark Anderson, Texas, Jr.
Josh Artman, Texas, Fr.
Grayson Campbell, Texas, Fr.
Jack Conger, Texas, Sr.
Jacob Cornish, Texas, Fr.
Will Glass, Texas, Sr.
Townley Haas, Texas, So.
Max Holter, Texas, So.
Tate Jackson, Texas, So.
Will Licon, Texas, Sr.
Casey Melzer, Texas, So.
Jeff Newkirk, Texas, So.
Brett Ringgold, Texas, Jr.
Jonathan Roberts, Texas, Jr.
Joseph Schooling, Texas, Jr.
John Shebat, Texas, So.
Clark Smith, Texas, Sr.
Sam Stewart, Texas, So.
Austin Temple, Texas, Jr.
Jake Armstrong, West Virginia, So.
James Koval, West Virginia, Jr.
Logan McHenry, West Virginia, Jr.
Michael Proietto, West Virginia, Jr.
Alex Obendorf, West Virginia, Jr.
Trayton Saladin, West Virginia, Fr.

MEN’S ALL-BIG 12 SECOND TEAM
Name, School, Year
Brendan Barry, TCU, Fr.
Connor Dobbs, TCU, Jr.
Jonathan Drewes, TCU, So.
Radu Duican, TCU, Fr.
Carlos Hunnicutt, TCU, Jr.
Migs Martin, TCU, Fr.
Owen Moncino, TCU, Fr.
Darian Nezami, TCU, So.
Dayne Odendaal, TCU,
Jake Powell, TCU, Sr.
Matthew Spallas, TCU, Fr.
Jakub Swierczynski, TCU, Jr.
PJ Dunne, Texas Sr.
Brandon Christian, West Virginia, Fr.
Drew Damich, West Virginia, So.
Merwane El Merini, West Virginia, So.
Jack Frazier, West Virginia, Fr.
Luke Hene, West Virginia, Fr.
Ryan Kelly, West Virginia, Fr.
Logan McHenry, West Virginia, Jr.
Drew Riebel, West Virginia, Jr.
Austin Smith, West Virginia, So.
Gabe Swardson, West Virginia, Fr.

WOMEN’S ALL-BIG 12 FIRST TEAM
Name, School, Year
Julie Dickinson, Iowa State, Sr.
Laura Miksch, Iowa State, So.
Keely Soellner, Iowa State, Fr.
Peri Charapich, Kansas, Fr.
Haley Downey, Kansas, Fr.
Madison Straight, Kansas, Jr.
Devin Newton, TCU, Jr.
Claire Adams, Texas, Fr.
Olivia Anderson, Texas, So.
Quinn Carrozza, Texas, So.
Lauren Case, Texas, Fr.
Madisyn Cox, Texas, Sr.
Anelise Diener, Texas, So.
Maggie D’Innocenzo, Texas, Sr.
Joanna Evans, Texas, So.
Alison Gibson, Texas, Fr.
Kaitlin Harty, Texas, Fr.
Tasija Karosas, Texas, Sr.
Nora McCullah, Texas, So.
Rebecca Millard, Texas, Jr.
Meghan O’Brien, Texas, So.
Sofia Rauzi, Texas, So.
Remedy Rule, Texas, So.
Jordan Surhoff, Texas, Sr.
Brynne Wong, Texas, Sr.
Morgan Bullock, West Virginia, Fr.
Julia Calcutt, West Virginia, So.
Morgan Carr, West Virginia, So.
Emma Harris, West Virginia, So.
Emma Skelley, West Virginia, Sr.

WOMEN’S ALL-BIG 12 SECOND TEAM
Name, School, Year
Danica Delaquis, Iowa State, Jr.
Katherine Mueller, Iowa State, Fr.
Maddie Rastall, Iowa State, Sr.
Kasey Roberts, Iowa State, Jr.
Haley Ruegemer, Iowa State, So.
Yulduz Kuchkarova, Kansas, Sr.
Amanda Maser, Kansas, Sr.
Jenny Nusbaum, Kansas, Fr.
Pia Pavlic, Kansas, Sr.
Sammie Schurig, Kansas, Sr.
Carly Straight, Kansas, Fr.
Libby Walker, Kansas, So.
Ashley Dyke, TCU, Sr.
Elise Forzley, TCU, Fr.
Madison Ibrahim, TCU, So.
Alexandra Robertson, TCU, So.
Micaela Roemer, TCU, So.
Sofia Rauzi, Texas, So.
Amelie Currat, West Virginia, Jr.
Averly Hobbs, West Virginia, So.
Alex Pampalone, West Virginia, Fr.
Julia Nilton, West Virginia, Fr.
Maddie Woods, West Virginia, So.

News courtesy of the Big 12.

Read the full story on SwimSwam: Texas’ Will Licon & Madisyn Cox Earn Big 12 Swimmers Of The Year

By Anne Lepesant on SwimSwam

Presenting the MP Weekly Wonders for the weekend of March 31-April 2, 2017.

RhysMilton, 14, Swim Utah: 500y free (4:37.87) – Swimming in the boys’ 13-14 500 free at Speedo Short Course Far Western Championships hosted by Pleasanton Seahawks and co-sponsored by Pacific Swimming, Milton dropped 8/10 in prelims to qualify 2nd for the final. He then exploded to a new best time with another 3.8-second improvement, taking an overall 4.6 seconds off his month-old PB, and 17.7 seconds off his time from the same meet last year. Milton went back to Utah with new times in the 200/500/1650 free and 200 fly.

Quinn Scannell, 18, Badger Swim Club: 100y back (54.67) – Scannell had a breakthrough weekend of sorts at the Eastern Zone North Speedo Short Course Sectionals hosted by Syracuse Chargers in Ithaca, New York. She made it past the 55 seconds for the first time, a barrier that had stymied her for a couple of years. She also swam her first sub-1:58 in the 200 back, very nearly going straight past the 1:57s into the 1:56s while winning the event with 1:57.00. Finally, Scannell earned a new PB in the 50 free with her third-place 23.28.

Wyatt Davis, 15, Carmel Swim Club: 100m back (56.11) – Davis erased an improbable 1.77 seconds off a three-week-old PB to win the men’s 100m back at the Speedo Sectionals at Indianapolis. Davis was one of three 15-year-olds in the championship final, and he eked out the win by .07 over Missouri State’s Paul Le. Davis moved up to #16 on the all-time list for 15-16 boys, and he still has another year left in the age group. He finished the weekend with new times in the 50/200/400 free, 50/100/200 back, and 100 fly.

Lance Norris, 13, Rocky Mount Family YMCA: 200y back (1:59.64) – Norris won the boys’ 13-14 200 back and put up his first sub-2:00 swim, at the ECSL Championships hosted by East Carolina Aquatics. It was a personal best by 3.5 seconds, and 12.2 seconds faster than what he went as recently as October 2016. Norris’ weekend included new PBs in the 200/500 free, 100 back, and 200/400 IM, as well.

Oliver Rus, 17, Piranha Swimming @ Darien YMCA: 100y breast (55.09) – Swimming at the Ithaca Sectionals, Rus went 6-for-6 with best times. He took .18 off his previous PB in the 100 breast, which he achieved only 3 weeks ago at the Connecticut high school championships, and won the men’s 100 breast with a 55.09, 2.8 seconds faster than a year ago. He also achieved new personal bests in the 50/100 free, 200 breast, 100 fly, and 200 IM.

Darrien Johnsen, 13, Saw Mill Club Storm Aquatics: 100y breast (1:03.29) – Johnsen won the boys’ 13-14 breast at the GTSA Spring Championship Meet with a new best time that was 8/10 faster than the PB he had just established two weeks prior. In the last year, Johnsen has now dropped 8.1 seconds in the 100 breast. He also went best times in the 100 free (-0.3), 200 breast (-4.1), 100 fly (-1.0), 200 fly (-3.7), and 200 IM (-3.0).

Owen Matteson, 13, Star Swimming: 100m breast (1:09.05) – Matteson improved his 100 breast time by 6.8 seconds over the course of prelims and finals at the Speedo Long Course Sectional Championships in Buffalo, New York. Seeded with a yards time, he dropped nearly 5.7 seconds off his best time from last summer in prelims to vault into the championship final, the only 13-14 boy to make the A, B, or C final in the event. He took another 1.1 seconds off in finals to finish fifth overall. Last May, Matteson was a 1:20.3 100 breaststroker. He finished the weekend with new times in the 50/100/200 free, 100/200 breast, and 100/200 fly.

Chase Davison, 12, Flatiron Athletic Club: 200 breast (2:17.52) – In the “better late than never department”, we note that Davison made herself known at the Four Corners Sectional Meet in Lewisville, Texas two weeks ago with an outstanding performance in the 200 breast. She dropped 4 seconds in prelims to make the championship final, and another 2.5 in finals to finish fifth overall (in an event won by Breeja Larson). Davison shattered the Colorado State record for 12-and-under girls, lowering the mark by 5 seconds. Davison, who picked up her first-ever Winter Juniors cut, is now the fifth-fastest 12-year-old in history in the event.

Megan Deuel, 14, Victor Swim Club: 200y fly (2:01.38) – Deuel notched personal-bests in both butterfly events at the Ithaca Sectionals, placing third in both the 100 and 200 distances. She lopped 3.7 seconds off her two-month-old PB in the 200 fly and earned a Winter Juniors cut, matching the one she had picked up in November for the 100 fly. Deuel improved her time in the 100 by 7/10, breaking the 55-second barrier with 54.92. She finished the weekend with PBs in the 50 free and 200 IM, as well.

Charlize Phillips, 12, Clovis Swim Club: 200y fly (2:08.13) – Phillips had an outstanding swim in finals of the girls’ 11-12 200 fly at Far Westerns, dropping 4 seconds off her entry time and finishing third in the event (behind Isabella Abrajan and Claire Tuggle, both of whom came to the wall under the Far Westerns record). Last March Phillips’ best 200 fly was a 2:20.6. She also dropped nearly 2 seconds in the 100 fly and broke 1:00 for the first time. In addition to the butterfly PBs, Phillips went a best time in the 100 IM.

Madison Kolessar, 14, Suburban Seahawks Club: 400y IM (4:15.91) – Swimming at the Middle Atlantic Short Course Senior Championships hosted by York YMCA, Kolessar picked up her first Summer Juniors cut in the 400 IM, winning the women’s open event with a PB by 3.7 seconds. Kolessar is now 8 seconds faster than she was a year ago. She also earned new times in the 100/500 free, 100/200 back, 100/200 fly, and 200 IM.

One more “better late than never” tidbit: seven swimmers representing Club Olympia Swim Team, a year-old club out of Columbus, Indiana, competed at the Indiana Age Group State Championships two weekends ago. 11-year-old Nalanie Cortez led the way for Club Olympia with 98 points and a second-place finish in high point standings for 11-12 girls. She won the 100 free and 200 free and placed second in the 50 free, third in the 500 free and 50 fly, and ninth in the 200 IM, getting best times and scoring in all six of her events.

Reminder: TheWeekly Wonders column is a celebration of age-group swimming, where new champions are made every day. Anyone can look up the top swims of the week. That’s not what we’re doing here. If we were only reporting on the week’s top swims we would feature the same handful of athletes every Wednesday. Instead, this is an opportunity to introduce the swimming community to athletes who have made great strides in the context of their own particular swimming worlds. By association, it also celebrates their coaches and their teams. TheWeekly Wonders column, therefore, amounts to a pat on the back for a job well done, and hopefully encourages swimmers of all levels to continue to reach from within to get to that next level.

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Launched in the spring of 2015, MP designed by Aqua Sphere is a shared vision to develop innovative products that are inclusive and accessible to a broader range of swimmers across the full swimming lifecycle. Combining Aqua Sphere’s global product design expertise and distribution with Michael Phelps’ and Bob Bowman’s experiences at the highest levels of swim performance, the MP brand features technical swim products leveraging proprietary technologies and performance enhancing designs.

ABOUT AQUA SPHERE

Established in Genoa, Italy, in 1998, Aqua Sphere is the premier swimming equipment manufacturer for fitness and recreational swimming, aquatic exercise and triathlons. With the launch of its cutting-edge Seal Mask—the world’s first swim mask, the company set the industry standard and today continues to innovate with a complete range of premium products, including eye protection, swimwear, triathlon wetsuits, footwear, and swim fitness and training accessories. The designs have gained the respect and loyal following of many celebrities and notable athletes, including the world’s most decorated Olympian Michael Phelps, with whom Aqua Sphere is partnering to develop a global brand partnership. Alongside its parent company Aqua Lung and supported by an international distribution network, Aqua Sphere has grown into a worldwide enterprise representing unparalleled design, development and manufacturing expertise, with a global footprint in more than 90 countries. For more information, visit www.AquaSphereSwim.com orhttp://www.Facebook.com/AquaSphereSwim.

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Aqua Lung pioneered the creation of modern diving equipment in 1943 when Captain Jacques-Yves Cousteau teamed with Emile Gagnan to develop the first “aqua-lung” that made underwater exploration possible. Today, the brand continues to be the leading global designer and manufacturer of dive and water sports gear. With a deep commitment to quality, research and testing, Aqua Lung has revolutionized the scuba diving experience by setting industry standards for scuba equipment in technology, comfort, safety and design. The company’s rich history as an expert in the dive and water sports industry has led to the demand of Aqua Lung equipment for recreational, technical and military applications in more than 90 countries around the world, under the brand names of Aqua Lung, Aqua Sphere, Apeks, U.S. Divers, and Stohlquist. For more information, visit www.AquaLung.com or http://www.Facebook.com/AquaLungDivers.

Read the full story on SwimSwam: MP Weekly Wonders of Age Group Swimming – 4/5/2017

By Braden Keith on SwimSwam

Katie Ledecky has been selected for induction into the Washington D.C. Sports Hall of Fame. The Hall of Fame recognizes great athletes from the D.C. area like Ledecky, who was born in Washington D.C. and raised in nearby Bethesda; as well as athletes from the area’s colleges and who played the majority of their professional careers there.

At only 20-years old, Ledecky is already one of the most decorated female swimmers in history. She has 6 Olympic medals (5 gold, 1 silver), 9 World Championship gold medals, and 5 Pan Pac Championship gold medals.

“I am thrilled to be joining such a distinguished group of individuals being inducted into the DC Sports Hall of Fame,” Ledecky said. “I have enormous respect for each of them. I was born in Washington, D.C., and have lived my entire life in the area, so this type of recognition in my home community is very meaningful to me.”

Ledecky made her breakthrough at the 2012 Olympics at age 15, where she was the youngest American swimmer on the team in London. There, she won a gold medal in the 800 free. 4 years later in Rio, she was still the youngest swimmer on the team, and added individual golds in the 200, 400, and 800 freestyle, plus relay gold in the 800 free relay and relay silver in the 400 free relay.

In the time since, she’s broken 13 World Records. She’s the current World Record holder in the 400, 800, and 1500 meter freestyles in long course, and owns the 13 best times in history in her best event: the 800 free.

In her freshman season at Stanford, she had 9 American Record swims in short course yards, and currently holds (or shares via relay) 10 American Records in all courses combined.

Ledecky is just the 2nd swimmer ever inducted into the Hall of Fame. Melissa Belote, who won gold medals in the 100 back, 200 back, and 400 medley relay at the 1972 Olympic Games, was also born in Washington D.C. She’s not only a member of the Washington D.C. Hall of Fame, but also the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame and International Swimming Hall of Fame.

Read the full story on SwimSwam: Katie Ledecky to Be Inducted to Washington DC Sports Hall of Fame

By Jared Anderson on SwimSwam

2017 CAN-AM PARA-SWIMMING CHAMPIONSHIPS

• March 31-April 2, 2017
• Selection Meet for 2017 World Championships (along with Rio 2016 Olympics)
• 50m course
• Multi-class
• Windsor, Ontario, Canada
• Decoding the Classification System
• Live results

Shelby Newkirk broke another continental record on the third and final day of the Can Am Para-swimming Championships. Newkirk went 39.69 out of heats in the 50 back, breaking the S7 Americas record. In the same event, Danielle Dorris seta  new Canadian record in the S8 class, going 40.81.

In the men’s 50 back final, Riley McLean took down a Canadian national record, going 57.02. The 17-year-old competes in the S4 class.

Nicholas-Guy Turbide set both Canadian and Americas records with his 2:17.13 in the 200 IM. Turbide put up that time in the final. He won the S13 class of the event by over 13 seconds.

The women’s 100 free brought a slew of records between prelims and finals. In heats, Aly van Wyk-Smart set a new Canadian record with a 3:28.73 out of the S3 class. Meanwhile Tammy Cunnington set a Canadian record in S4, going 1:53.51. Then at night, Cunnington reset that record to 1:53.37, while Mexico’s Miranda Herrera won the S4 class in a new Americas record of 1:31.14.

Miori Henault set a new Canadian 800 free record in S14. Swimming in a timed final heat, Henault went 10:51.49. Meanwhile Angela Marina set a new 200 IM record for Canada in the SM14 class. Her 2:42.53 topped the field in that event.

Read the full story on SwimSwam: Newkirk Breaks Another Americas Record To Cap Can Am Para Champs

By Gold Medal Mel Stewart on SwimSwam

Swimming star Penny Oleksiak has had a tough time since becoming the first Canadian to win Olympic gold since Mark Tewksbury back at 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona. Plagued by a shoulder injury, she’s measuring success one step at a time. With 2017 Canadian World Championship Trials underway, it appears Penny is well on her way back to top form.  Penny was, of course, one of the biggest surprises of the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio, upsetting the Campbell sisters for Olympic gold in the 100 meter freestyle (along with Simone Manuel), but, according to Penny, life has not changed much.

Follow Penny Oleksiak on Twitter here.

Like Penny Oleksiak on Facebook here. 

RECENT EPISODES

This is a Gold Medal Media production presented by SwimOutlet.com. Host Gold Medal Mel Stewart is a 3-time Olympic medalist and the co-founder of SwimSwam.com, a Swimming News website.

Read the full story on SwimSwam: Oleksiak Says Rio Did Not Change Her: GMM presented by SwimOutlet.com

By Jared Anderson on SwimSwam

12-year-old Joshua Zuchowski has broken the National Age Group record in the 200 IM, going 1:55.75. That swim wipes out a 33-year-old record previously held by age group superstar Chas Morton.

Zuchowski put up the 1:55.75 at the NASA Dolfin Elite Showcase Classic in Clearwater, Florida. It accounts for just over a second and a half chopped off of Zuchowski’s former best time, and gets under Morton’s record by almost a second.

Morton was 1:56.61 way back in 1984. That record stood for more than three decades, despite tough challenges from Michael Andrew in 2012 (1:57.72), Destin Lasco in 2014 (1:57.89) and James Llewellyn in 2015 (1:56.97).

Last month, Zuchowski went 1:57.37 at the Junior Olympic meet, moving him to #3 all-time in the history of that age group. His swim this week vaults him to the top of the 11-12 all-time ranks. It’s also his second NAG record of the week. Wednesday, he went 1:52.47 to take down the 200 back record for 11-12s.

Zuchowski won the 200 IM in Clearwater by almost 11 seconds over the rest of the 12-year-old division. He’s already had three major time drops in the 200 IM this year – he was 2:02.08 at Florida’s high school state meet back in November.  This January, he dropped to 2:01.96, and then in March threw down that 1:57.37.

You can find full results of the Clearwater meet on Meet Mobile.

Read the full story on SwimSwam: Joshua Zuchowski Breaks Chas Morton’s 200 IM NAG For 11-12s With 1:55

By James Sutherland on SwimSwam

2017 CANADIAN SWIMMING TRIALS

• April 6-9
• Victoria, BC
• Saanich Commonwealth Place
• Long Course (50m)
• Meet Central
• Psych Sheet
• World Championship Selection Criteria
• Meet Preview
• Day 1 Finals Heat Sheet
• Session Timelines
• Live Results
• Live Stream

There were quite a few big name scratches after day 1 prelims of the Canadian Swimming Trials in Victoria, with most of them coming from swimmers whose premier events are later in the meet and used this morning as a warm-up.

The three High Performance Centre Ontario women who qualified for the 50 fly A-final all scratched, led by Penny Oleksiak who had the top time of 26.40 from the morning. #3 seed Sandrine Mainville (27.04) and #4 seed Michelle Toro (27.17) also scratched. The scratches move Kennady Kilger, Danika Huizinga and Paulina Bond into the A-final.

The other big name scratch of the day was Yuri Kisil, who is out of the men’s 200 free after posting the 4th fastest time of the morning in 1:50.06. Alexander Pratt moves into the A-final after winning a swim-off against Adrian Vanderhelm after they tied for 9th this morning.

A few other Olympians scratched tonight in Rachel Nicol and Erika Seltenreich-Hodgson. Nicol is out of the 200 breast after putting up the 4th best time in prelims at 2:30.01, moving Genevieve Robertson into the A-final. Seltenreich-Hodgson scratched the B-final of the 200 free.

A few other scratches tonight:

• Hoi Lam Tam (women’s 50 fly B-fianl)
• Stephen Calkins (men’s 200 free B-final)*
• Colin Eriks (men’s 200 breast B-final)

*Calkins finished 17th in the morning, but moved up to the B-final after Kisil scratched. He then withdrew his spot in the B.

Read the full story on SwimSwam: Oleksiak, Kisil Among Scratches For Day 1 Finals In Victoria

By Luke Ryan on SwimSwam

2017 YMCA Short Course Nationals

• Monday April 3 – Friday, April 7, 2017
• Greensboro Aquatic Center
• Greensboro, NC
• Mon: 5:30PM Timed Finals / Tues: 8:45AM Prelims, 5:30PM Finals / Wed-Fri: 8:45 AM Prelims, 5:15PM Finals
• Meet site
• Results

The Sarasota YMCA men’s 800 freestyle relay team beat their own national record mark from last year of 6:35.21, finishing this evening in 6:34.89. The team, led by national record holder and University of Texas commit, Austin Katz, won the event by nearly six seconds. Katz, who won both backstroke events this week handedly, led off in a time of 1:36.07.

Courtney Harnish won yet another individual event in convincing fashion on night four of the spring, Short Course YMCA Nationals. Harnish, finished over three seconds ahead of top seed and teammate Leah Braswell to begin the finals session. Harnish and Braswell finished at 4:40.27 and 4:43.90, respectively. The University of Georgia commit has won an event on every night of competition thus far.

National record holder Maxwell McHugh completed the sweep of the breaststroke events at this year’s national championships. McHugh who set the national mark last year at 53.00, finished first this year in a time of 53.44 ahead of 400 IM champion Paul DeLakis.

McHugh also finished 5th in the 50 yard freestyle later in the session to complete an evening double. Champion in the men’s 50 freestyle was 16 year old Henry Schutte of Rapid Area YMCA clocking a 20.19. In the women’s event, a trio of ladies broke the 23 second barrier but it was Bailey Grinter who took home the title in 22.75.

In the final women’s event of the evening, the relay team from York YMCA took home the national championship in the 800 freestyle relay highlighted by a lead off leg from Braswell and an anchor leg from Harnish. York was the only relay team to break 7:20 and the only team to have three swimmers under the 1:50 mark.

Other event champions from day 4 finals:

• Ross Dant, Hickory, Men’s 500 Freestyle: 4:21.33
• Brooke Perrotta, Cheshire, Women’s 100 Breaststroke: 1:00.73

Team Scores Following Night 4:

Women:

• York and York County – 243
• Boise Family YMCA – 187
• Greater Spartanburg – 181

Men:

• Sarasota Family YMCA – 360
• Wilton Family YMCA – 194
• Upper Main Line – 193

Combined:

• Sarasota Family YMCA – 471
• Boise Family YMCA – 303
• York and York County – 258

Read the full story on SwimSwam: Sarasota Men Take Down National Record On Night 4 of YMCA Nationals

By James Sutherland on SwimSwam

2017 CANADIAN SWIMMING TRIALS

• April 6-9
• Victoria, BC
• Saanich Commonwealth Place
• Long Course (50m)
• Meet Central
• Psych Sheet
• World Championship Selection Criteria
• Meet Preview
• Day 1 Finals Heat Sheet
• Day 1 Finals Scratches
• Session Timelines
• Live Results
• Live Stream

Day 1 finals from Victoria are set to begin with many exciting races on the docket. After this morning’s blistering 100 back Canadian Record by Kylie Masse, that event certainly is the most highly anticipated. Masse was just three tenths of a second off the eight-year-old world record of 58.12 clocking 58.42.

The women’s 200 free should also be a great race, with the entire A-final separated by less than two seconds. Katerine Savard leads the field at 1:58.29, and SC World bronze medalist Taylor Ruck comes in 8th after going 2:00.19 this morning. The top three were under the ‘A’ standard in the heats, and assuming the average of the top four finishers at least equals their time from this morning, the top four finishers tonight will all qualify for Budapest.

The women’s 200 breast also brings some intrigue, as #3 seed Kelsey Wog had her DQ overturned this morning, while Sydney Pickrem, who was initially 2nd fastest in prelims, had hers remain intact. Wog will challenge Kierra Smith and Ashley McGregor for a spot in the top-two and will look to crack the ‘A’ standard of 2:25.91.

On the men’s side Jeremy Bagshaw, Markus Thormeyer and Javier Acevedo all have a reasonable shot at hitting the ‘A’ standard in their events. Bagshaw and Thormeyer will shoot for 1:47.73 in the 200 free, while Acevedo will seek to get under 54.06 in the 100 back.

MEN’S 800 FREE (FASTEST HEAT)

• Canadian Record: 7:41.86, Ryan Cochrane, 2011

WOMEN’S 50 FLY FINAL

• Canadian Record: 25.92, Katerine Savard, 2016

MEN’S 50 FLY FINAL

• Canadian Record: 23.30, Santo Condorelli, 2015

WOMEN’S 200 FREE FINAL

• Canadian Record: 1:56.94, Brittany Maclean, 2016
• FINA ‘A’ Standard: 1:58.68

MEN’S 200 FREE FINAL

• Canadian Record: 1:46.40, Brent Hayden, 2008
• FINA ‘A’ Standard: 1:47.73

WOMEN’S 200 BREAST FINAL

• Canadian Record: 2:20.12, Annamay Pierse, 2009
• FINA ‘A’ Standard: 2:25.91

MEN’S 200 BREAST FINAL

• Canadian Record: 2:08.84, Mike Brown, 2008
• FINA ‘A’ Standard: 2:11.11

WOMEN’S 100 BACK FINAL

• Canadian Record: 58.42, Kylie Masse, 2017
• FINA ‘A’ Standard: 1:00.61

MEN’S 100 BACK FINAL

• Canadian Record: 53.63, Pascal Wollach, 2009
• FINA ‘A’ Standard: 54.06

WOMEN’S 1500 FREE (FASTEST HEAT)

• Canadian Record: 15:57.15, Brittany Maclean, 2014

Read the full story on SwimSwam: 2017 Canadian Trials: Day 1 Finals Live Recap

By Karl Ortegon on SwimSwam

2017 EINDHOVEN CUP

• Eindhoven, Netherlands
• April 6-9
• Live results

After breaking the Dutch age group record for 17-year-olds in the 200m free last night, Marrit Steenbergen took down another age group record tonight in the 100m fly. Winning the event as the only finisher under the minute mark, Steenbergen posted a 59.30 to set the new record.

Also breaking a Dutch age group record for 17-year-olds was Juri Dijkstra in the men’s 50 breast. While he swam in the B final, his time of 28.81 was a new record. Winning that event in meet record time was Arno Kamminga, who set the Dutch national record in the 200 breast last night. Kamminga went 27.47 for the 9th-best time in the world this season.

2016-2017 LCM Men 50 Breast

AdamGBR
PEATY

03/02
26.86

2	Nicolo MARTINENGHI	ITA	26.97*WJR	04/04
3	Cameron VAN DER BURGH	RSA	27.06	04/05
4	felipe FRANCA	BRA	27.33	11/23
4	fabio SCOZZOLI	ITA	27.33	04/05

View Top 46»

Kira Toussaint, last night’s 50 back winner, followed that up with a 1:00.28 to take the 100 back in a tight race tonight. The Dutch sprinter edged out Czech backstroker Simona Baumrtova (1:00.47) and German Lisa Graf (1:00.69). Also getting a somewhat unexpected win for the Dutch was Ferry Weertman in the 200 free. Known for his open water prowess, he went 1:48.16 to sneak ahead of Kyle Stolk (1:48.21) for the victory in a distance that is much shorter than what we usually see him in.

The German men found their way to two individual victories tonight in Eindhoven. David Thomasberger posted a 1:59.42 to take the 200 fly, while Germany went 1-2 in the 100 back. Christian Diener (54.13) touched ahead of his countrymate Marek Ulrich (54.70), after Ulrich got the win in the 50 back over Diener.

The Czech Republic added two wins as well. Jan Micka won easily in the men’s 800 free, going 7:58.37 as the only man under 8 minutes. His time ranks him 7th in the world this year. Barbora Zavadova also cruised to a win in the women’s 400 IM, her time of 4:45.27 earning her the win by almost six seconds.

2016-2017 LCM MEN 800 FREE

GabrieleITA
DETTI

04/06
7.41.64

2	Gregorio PALTRINIERI	ITA	7.48.89	04/06
3	Mykhailo ROMANCHUK	UKR	7.54.34	01/27
4	Gergely GYURTA	HUN	7.54.47	03/03
5	Matthew HUTCHINS	NZL	7.56.93	04/05
6	Joris BOUCHAULT	FRA	7.58.19	03/03
7	Rafael DAVILA	CAN	7.58.90	04/06
8	David VERRASZTO	HUN	7.59.00	03/03

View Top 26»

Read the full story on SwimSwam: Marrit Steenbergen Breaks 2nd Dutch Age Group Record in Eindhoven

By Braden Keith on SwimSwam

Three-time Olympic gold medalist Brooke Bennett has been hired as the new head swimming coach at Northeast High School in St. Petersburg, Florida. The school is the alma mater of both former American Record holder Megan Romano and 5-time Olympic gold medalist Brad Snyder.

“I’m looking forward to this venture at the high school level to continue to help develop new swimmers to the sport along with being a supportive coach to work with the competitive swimmers and their club coaches,” Bennett said of her new role.

The 36-year old distance swimmer was the Olympic champion in the 800 free at the 1996 Olympic Games and won both the 400 and 800 free at the 2000 Olympic Games.

Since retirement, Bennett has spent time covering high school sports as a reporter for the Bright House Sports Network, and more recently opened the Brooke Bennett Swim Academy.

The school, one of the few public schools in St. Petersburg with a pool on campus, will also serve as a new location for her swim academy. Her husband is also the school’s head football coach.

The school, with an enrollment of around 2000, competes in Florida’s Class 3A – the second-biggest classification. At last year’s High School State Championship meet, the girls finished tied for 24th out of 52 scoring teams and the boys finished 27th out of 42 scoring teams. Among the stars who will return next season are junior Colton Gray, who was 3rd in the state last year with a 46.38 in the 100 free; and junior divers Ali Boyd and Evelyn Jerger, who were 7th and 9th, respectively, on the 1-meter last season.

Read the full story on SwimSwam: Olympic Champion Brooke Bennett Named Head Coach at Northeast High

By James Sutherland on SwimSwam

2017 CANADIAN WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP TRIALS

• April 6-9
• Victoria, BC
• Saanich Commonwealth Place
• Long Course (50m)
• Meet Central
• Psych Sheet
• World Championship Selection Criteria
• Meet Preview
• Day 2 Finals Heat Sheet
• Session Timelines
• Live Results
• Live Stream

There were a total of seven scratches after day 2 prelims in Victoria, with the most notable coming in the men’s 100 freestyle. Javier Acevedo posted the 6th best time among Canadians this morning in 50.53, but has opted to scratch the event. He remains in the A-final of the 50 back tonight, though it’s not a selection event. Acevedo has already qualified for the World Championships in the 100 back.

The decision to scratch this final may seem a bit puzzling, as the 100 free offers the opportunity for four swimmers to qualify for the World’s team (two individually, two in the relay). However, in order for that to happen, the top four swimmers would need to average a time of 48.91, which is not going to happen based off the results this morning. Acevedo’s best stands at 49.85 from the 2015 Canadian Trials.

Only two men cracked 50 seconds this morning in Yuri Kisil and Markus Thormeyer. Though the relay standard seems out of reach, Kisil was under the individual qualifying standard this morning and Thormeyer has a reasonable shot at it. If they both qualify for the team, Acevedo could realistically join those two on the relay in Budapest if another reasonable option qualifies in another event (each country is permitted an entry in each relay, and don’t need to qualify like they do for the Olympics).

After posting the 10th best time of the morning in 55.35, Alexia Zevnik has scratched out of the women’s 100 free B-final. Zevnik swam a personal best of 54.53 at the Olympic Trials last year to just miss qualifying for the team in 5th, so she was looking for a possible relay position but was slightly off the pace this morning. She still has the 200 back, 50 free and 200 IM on her schedule here in Victoria, though her two best chances of qualifying (she was 4th in the 100 back yesterday) are gone.

Along with Acevedo, Dominique Bouchard was the only other A-final scratch, as she moves out of the women’s 50 back. Bouchard was in an interesting situation last night, as she tied for 2nd in the 100 back but lost her spot on the World’s team to Hilary Caldwell who posted a faster time in the prelims. Bouchard will look to qualify in her strongest event, the 200 back, on Saturday.

Other scratches for tonight’s finals:

• Maggie MacNeil– women’s 100 free B-final, 50 back B-final
• Katrina Brathwaite – women’s 100 breast B-final
• Mackenzie Glover– women’s 50 back B-final

Read the full story on SwimSwam: Acevedo, Zevnik Scratch 100 Free For Day 2 Finals at Canadian Trials

By Olivia McLain on SwimSwam

On April 5th, Olympic Gold Medalist, Michael Phelps popped up on Facebook for another Facebook Live Video.

Since being out of the pool, Phelps has said that he has spent a lot of time traveling. Recently, he said he was in the Bahamas and spent 36 out of the 48 hours on a boat. “It was epic,” said Phelps.

Phelps recently had the opportunity to participate in Shark Week and was able to swim with sharks. “It was a treat for me, and something I never thought I would be so relaxed with.. it was unreal” said Phelps. Phelps cannot give out more information until it airs.

Boomer Phelps has been doing great according to Phelps. He turned 11-month on the 5th this month, and Phelps thinks he said “mama” and is in hopes he will soon day “daddy.” Phelps say it’s crazy to see how Boomer changes from day to day.  And says the most difficult part of being a parent is trying to get Boomer to eat.

On April 1st, Phelps posted on twitter, “Some dreams/goals you just can’t get rid of…been doing a lot of thinking  I’ve decided that I’m going 2 make another comeback! #tokyo2020,” was posted on Phelps’ Twitter account.

Sadly, Phelps has made it clear according to his Facebook live post that another Olympics isn’t in his future and it was simply just an April Fools joke.

“Sorry guys I won’t be in the 2020 games…it was just an April Fools joke,” said Phelps.

Next month, Phelps and Allison Schmitt will be going to a conference in D.C to discuss mental health.

“It needs to be accepted more, and it’s tough to be able to talk about sort of those things,” said Phelps.

Read the full story on SwimSwam: Michael Phelps Talks Dressel, April Fools on FB Live

By Olivia McLain on SwimSwam

PrepSwimCo.com has released their first Colorado boys’ high school state rankings of 2017, and the top teams in both Class 4A (small schools) and 5A (big schools) have been dominant early in the season.

• April 5, 2017 complete rankings here.

The defending state champions (2015, 2016) Fossil Ridge is looking very comfortable sitting at the top of the Class 5A rankings with 397 points.  The team is over 100 points ahead of second place Regis Jesuit, who has taken second the last two years. In all the events, the team shows a lot of depth. Fossil Ridge is ranked first in 6 of the 9 individual events, and leads in all three relays.  Fossil Ridge is led by defending state champion, Danny Kovac, who is ranked first in the 100-yard backstroke (51.67), and the 100-yard butterfly (50.61).  Kovac is first by over a second in both events.

Ponderosa High School, a school that was recently re-classified from 5A to 4A, sits 69 points ahead of Cheyenne Mountain in the projections. Ponderosa placed 10th last year at the class 5A state championship meet.

In the current-season rankings, they lead 2 individual events and 2 relays.  Ponderosa shows a lot of depth in the 100-yard backstroke and the 100-yard butterfly having five in the top 20.   Cheyenne Mountain won the 2016 state championships by over 100 points, but sit in second this year.

The team rankings are calculated like a championship swim meet, with adjustments for athletes ranked in more than two events so that the results are not skewed too much by one athlete or pool.  Top 16 in each event score, and times are pulled from MaxPreps. Rob Nasser, the creator of prepswimco.com and head coach of Mountain Vista High School (and formerly of Valor Christian High School), maintains the rankings. The 2017 Colorado Boy’s State Championship meet runs from May 19th and 20th. Class 4A will be held at USAFA, Colorado Springs, and Class 5A will be held at VMAC, Thornton.

5A Team Rankings

Read the full story on SwimSwam: Fossil Ridge Boys Ranked #1 in Colorado High School Rankings

By Loretta Race on SwimSwam

2017 SOUTH AFRICAN NATIONAL AQUATIC CHAMPIONSHIPS

• Monday, April 3rd – Saturday, April 8th
• Kings Park Pool, Durban, South Africa
• LCM
• Event Schedule
• Day 1 Recap/Day 2 Recap/Day 3 Recap/Day 4 Recap
• Live Results

The South African men continued to deliver on day 4 of their national championship meet, while the country finally saw its first female appear on the World Championships roster. 2016 Olympic finalist Brand Tandy led the semi-final charge in the 50m freestyle tonight, after already scoring a super swift 22.07 in the morning’s prelims to notch a qualifying time for Budapest. But the 25-year-old former Arizona Wildcat took things to another level in the final, scoring a wicked-fast 21.99 to snag the national title.

Tandy’s outing tonight checks-in as the 5th fastest of his career. The top 3 times ever for this ‘superman off the blocks’ he snared in Rio, nabbing times of 21.94 and 21.80 before ultimately registering 21.79 to take 6th in the Olympic final. We’ll see if he has any more in the tank tomorrow night to challenge his personal best. In the meantime, his 21.99 now ranks as the 4th fastest time in the world this season.

2016-2017 LCM Men 50 FREE

BenGBR
PROUD

03/05
21.74

2	Jesse PUTS	NED	21.82	12/17
3	Cameron McEVOY	AUS	21.88	03/05
4	Hexin YU	CHN	22.03	11/17
4	Katsumi NAKAMURA	JPN	22.03	11/17

View Top 48»

The mighty force that is Olympian Chad Le Clos also got the job done in a major way again tonight, easily qualifying for the men’s 100m butterfly with a monster time of 51.56. Starting the day with a slid 52.63 morning swim, Le Clos threw down the heat in tonight’s semi to blow away his previous season best of 52.20 set at the Grand Prix in Durban in February. In fact, Le Clos’ time tonight is the fastest he’s ever raced in his home nation of South Africa. It also isn’t terribly off the 51.14 he clocked in Rio, a time which wound up giving him a share of the silver with American Michael Phelps and Hungarian Laszlo Cseh. The 100m butterfly final in Durban is tomorrow night.

2016-2017 LCM Men 100 Fly

ZhuhaoCHN
LI

03/02
51.34

2	Piero CODIA	ITA	51.92	04/05
3	Matteo RIVOLTA	ITA	52.12	04/05
4	Chad LE CLOS	RSA	52.20	02/05
5	Masato SAKAI	JPN	52.22	09/03

View Top 26»

After missing out on World Championships qualification in the 50m and 100m breaststroke, Tatjana Schoenmaker broke through to notch a FINA A cut in the 200m distance tonight. Stopping the clock in a speedy 2:25.23, Schoenmaker established a new personal best in the event, but also dipped under the 2:25.91 qualification mark for Budapest. Not only does Schoenmaker represent the only female on the South African World Championships roster to date, but she is the first female from the nation to make an elite international meet since 2013. We’ll have more on this feat in separate post.

Additional Winners on the Day:

• NCAA breakout swimmer Zane Waddell, who swims for Alabama, scored a time of 49.09 in the 100m freestyle. Although he earned gold in a time almost half a second faster than his semi swim, it was still short of the 48.93 FINA A Cut. Waddell also notched a 3rd seeded 22.49 in the 50m freestyle semi to put himself within .02 of the Budapest qualifying mark.
• Doug Erasmus was 2nd in tonight’s 50m freestyle semi and indeed dipped under the 22.49 qualifying time with his mark of 22.39.
• Mariella Venter won the women’s 50m backstroke in 29.42.
• 14-year-old Dune Coetzee was the women’s 200m butterfly winner by more than 4 seconds, touching in 2:14.14.

Read the full story on SwimSwam: It’s Tandy Time In South Africa, While Le Clos Posts Worlds #2 100Fly

By Loretta Race on SwimSwam

2017 SOUTH AFRICAN NATIONAL AQUATIC CHAMPIONSHIPS

• Monday, April 3rd – Saturday, April 8th
• Kings Park Pool, Durban, South Africa
• LCM
• Event Schedule
• Day 1 Recap/Day 2 Recap/Day 3 Recap/Day 4 Recap/Day 5 Recap
• Live Results

The South African National Aquatic Championships kicked off in Durban on Monday, April 3rd where athletes will vie for their spots on the national roster for the 2017 World Championships in Budapest. The selection criteria is rather succinct, with the first and second place finishers in Olympic events at these Championships being considered for selection, as long as they achieve a FINA ‘A’ cut in the event.

If one or both top two finishers do not achieve an ‘A’ qualifying time, athletes will the fastest ‘A’ times in either heat or semi-final will then be considered for selection provided he/she swims in the final of the event. Additionally, South Africa’s selection criteria states that if there are no “A” Qualifiers in an Olympic Event, the first swimmer achieving a “FINA B” Qualifying Time Standard, may be considered for selection, to satisfy transformation and gender objectives.

Through 4 days of competition, below are the South African athletes who have secured FINA A cuts:

• Cameron van der Burgh, 100 breaststroke, 59.73; 50 breaststroke, 27.06
• Chad Le Clos, 100 freestyle, 48.64*; 200 freestyle, 1:46.84; 200 butterfly 1:55.00; 100 butterfly 51.56
  • *As lead-off on disqualified Western Cape Aquatics’ 4x100m freestyle relay
• Myles Brown, 200 freestyle, 1:47.51
• Brad Tandy, 50 freestyle, 21.99
• Doug Erasmus, 50 freestyle, 22.39
• Tatjana Schoenmaker, 200 breaststroke, 2:25.23

Read the full story on SwimSwam: South Africa 2017 World C’ships Team Tracker: First Female On The List

By Loretta Race on SwimSwam

2017 SOUTH AFRICAN NATIONAL AQUATIC CHAMPIONSHIPS

• Monday, April 3rd – Saturday, April 8th
• Kings Park Pool, Durban, South Africa
• LCM
• Event Schedule
• Day 1 Recap/Day 2 Recap/Day 3 Recap/Day 4 Recap/Day 5 Recap
• Live Results

While competing on day 5 of her nation’s championship meet, Tatjana Schoenmaker accomplished a major feat by becoming the first female to clock a World Championships qualifying time for Budapest. This is an especially important accomplishment, since South Africa’s roster was void of females at both the 2015 FINA World Championships and the 2016 Rio Olympic Games.

Racing in the women’s 200m breaststroke tonight in Durban, Schoenmaker stopped the clock at a time of 2:25.23 to win the event comfortably under the 2:25.91 FINA qualifying mark. The 19-year-old had already missed opportunities to qualify the 50m and 100m breaststroke events earlier in the meet, but made the most of her signature event with the gold tonight. Schoenmaker suffered heartache last year when she painstakingly fell just .01 short of the automatic Olympic qualifying time in the 200m breaststroke. She was also within a second of the cut in the shorter 100m breaststroke as well, so tonight’s victory was extra sweet.

Post-race the University of Pretoria swimmer stated, “I am very happy because now I proved to everyone that there are girls out there who can swim the times. And it is not only me, the young girls are coming.

“I’m tired of everyone asking what the problem is with women’s swimming. There is nothing wrong, so I proved that we are still coming and they must just wait.” (iol.com)

SwimSwam spoke to 2012 Olympian Karin Prinsloo (now Buys) in May of 2016 about the state of female swimming within the nation of South Africa. At that time, when it was apparent no females would represent South Africa in Rio, Prinsloo commented that “I’ve seen how hard some girls train, in and out the pool and that they very often beat the guys they are training against. So it isn’t always the case that we are lacking physical or mental toughness.”

During the interview, Prinsloo said, “we have a lot of rising potential and there were 16-19 year old girls that just missed the A-times. But between the ages of 20-25 years there is a massive gap.”

Based on the national championship results through 4 days, it does appear as if the South African women’s talent is bubbling just beneath the surface and it may just be a matter of time. At just 14 years of age, Rebecca Meder has collected 4 titles in Durban, including the 800m freestyle, 1500m freestyle, 200m freestyle and 200m IM, notching World Junior Championship qualification times in each. Meder still has the 400m IM to race on Saturday.

Dune Coetzee, another 14-year-old, placed 3rd in the 400m freestyle, 2nd in the 100m butterfly and 4th in the 200m freestyle, while nailing the victory in the 200m butterfly race. She also qualified for the World Junior Championships, having nabbed qualifying marks in the 100 fly, 200 free and 200 butterfly.

At the very least, Schoenmaker may prove to be the catalyst to ignite the women’s swimming spark moving forward in South Africa.

Read the full story on SwimSwam: Schoenmaker Is First South African Female On Elite Roster Since 2013

By Luke Ryan on SwimSwam

2017 Collegiate Club Nationals

• April 7th-April 9th
• McAuley Aquatic Center – Atlanta, Georgia
• 25y Course
• Meet Information
• Psych Sheet
• Meet Results can be found on meet mobile: Search “club”

The University of Colorado Boulder Men and Women lead the team races after night one of the 2017 Collegiate Club Swimming and Diving National Championships. The women, who won the female team title a year ago, have a commanding lead of over 100 points over Florida. The men of Colorado have a narrow five point lead over Virginia.

In the first men’s event of the 2017 Collegiate Club Nationals, it was the relay team from the University of Virginia that were able to claim the title in the 800 freestyle relay. UVA finished in a time of 6:50.30, led by anchor leg Gerard Rodriguez Lopez who swam a 1:39.98.

Gina Blum from the University of Colorado Boulder was the top seed entering the meet in the women’s 400 IM. Blum was able to secure a national championship in the event as she clocked a 4:47.06. She was the only swimmer to break the 4:50 mark. Blum did not swim the 400 IM on the first night of competition last year as she opted to swim the 200 backstroke, an event she won.

Later in the session, Melissa Andruzzi from the Illini Swim Club ran away with the 200 yard breaststroke. Andruzzi won the event by over seven seconds in a time of 2:18.07. Andruzzi won the same event a year ago in 2:19.79.

On the men’s side, Eric Holden also won by a wide margin. The University of Virginia Club Team swimmer finished in a time of 2:01.06, well ahead of the second place time of 2:08.57.

In the final individual event of the night, Ryan Baker of Missouri completed his tough double of the 400 IM and 500 Freestyle by winning the distance freestyle event n a time of 4:35.74. Baker also won the 400 IM event, clocking a 4:02.65. Baker will swim the 200 IM and 1000 freestyle as individuals later in the meet.

Other Event Winners From Night One:

• Northeastern University, Women’s 800 Freestyle Relay: 8:06.63
• Alaina Gossett, Colorado, Women’s 200 Yard Backstroke: 2:06.66
• Julianna Prim, UNC, Women’s 200 Yard Butterfly: 2:08.04
• Taylor Myszka, Cincinnati, Women’s 500 Yard Freestyle: 5:10.50
• West Virginia University, Women’s 400 Medley Relay: 4:27.54
• Henrik Pohlmann, Virginia, Men’s 200 Yard Backstroke: 1:48.13
• Ethan Navarro, Virginia, Men’s 200 Butterfly: 1:52.25
• University of Cincinnati, Men’s 400 Yard Medley Relay: 3:32.31

Team Scores Following Night One:

Women:

• University of Colorado Boulder – 245
• Florida Club Swim and Dive – 139
• Northeastern University – 133

Men:

• University of Colorado Boulder – 160
• Swim Club at UVA – 155
• Florida Club Swim and Dive – 137

Combined:

• University of Colorado Boulder – 405
• Florida Club Swim and Dive – 276
• Swim Club at UVA – 260

Read the full story on SwimSwam: Colorado Takes Commanding Day 1 Lead At Collegiate Club Nationals

By James Sutherland on SwimSwam

2017 CANADIAN WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP TRIALS

• April 6-9
• Victoria, BC
• Saanich Commonwealth Place
• Long Course (50m)
• Meet Central
• Psych Sheet
• World Championship Selection Criteria
• Meet Preview
• Day 2 Finals Heat Sheet
• Day 2 Finals Scratches
• Session Timelines
• Live Results
• Live Stream

Spots for Canada’s World Championship team are up for grabs again tonight, with four events slated for the evening session.

Starting us off will be the women’s 100 freestyle, where Penny Oleksiak will look to qualify for her first LC World Championship team after winning Olympic gold last summer. Oleksiak led the prelims in a time of 54.17. Provided the field is fast enough, the top finishers in the race will qualify for the 400 free relay. In order for that to happen, the top-four need to average about 54.58. This morning the add-up from the top-four were under the cut by less than a tenth. The individual qualification standard sits at 54.93. All eight swimmers in the final have a realistic chance of qualifying tonight.

In the men’s 100 free Yuri Kisil will look to become the second man to qualify for the team after getting under the ‘A’ standard this morning in 48.68. Markus Thormeyer will fight to do the same after clocking 49.62 in the prelims. The standard stands at 48.93.

In the women’s 100 breaststroke Rachel Nicol has a great chance to add her name to the roster after going under the standard this morning in 1:07.34, while Kierra Smith will look to add a second event in Budapest after winning the 200 last night.

In the men’s event, Richard Funk needs to be just a shade faster than the morning to qualify. He clocked 1:00.39, and the standard is 1:00.35.

The women’s 400 IM sets up to be a dog fight between four women tonight with only two spots available. Mary-Sophie Harvey, Sarah Darcel, Sydney Pickrem and Erika Seltenreich-Hodgson have all broken 4:40 in their career. The standard stands at 4:43.06, so the battle for spots in this race could very tight.

In the men’s event Luke Reilly will look to get under the standard of 4:17.90 tonight after an easy 4:22 prelim swim. His best time is 4:15.86 from back in 2014. Tristan Cote is the only other man in the field who has broken 4:20 before, with a best of 4:19.56 from 2015.

The 50 back will close out the session with Kylie Masse in search of another Canadian Record. After setting two yesterday in the 100, Masse was less than two tenths shy of her own 50 record this morning in 27.83. In the men’s race, Javier Acevedo will look to nail down his second backstroke win of the meet against top seed Tim Zeng.

Women’s 100 Free Final

• Canadian Record: 52.70, Penny Oleksiak, 2016
• FINA ‘A’ Standard: 54.90

1. Penny Oleksiak, TSC, 53.84
2. Sandrine Mainville, CAMO, 53.95
3. Michelle Toro, NYAC, 54.14

Penny Oleksiak came home in a blazing 27.53 to run down early leader Sandrine Mainville to win in a time of 53.84, qualifying her for the World Championship team. Mainville held on for 2nd in 53.95, earning her an individual event in Budapest as well. Michelle Toro (54.14) and Chantal van Landeghem (54.16) were fast enough in 3rd and 4th to earn spots on the 400 free relay.

Kayla Sanchez, Rebecca Smith and Katerine Savard placed 5th, 6th and 7th, and have all qualified for Budapest via the 200 free last night. This gives Canada plenty of options for the prelim 400 free relay in Budapest.

After a disappointing 200 free, Taylor Ruck placed 8th in the final in 55.37. Oakville’s Jacqueline Keire won the B-final in 55.29.

MEN’S 100 FREE FINAL

• Canadian Record: 47.27, Brent Hayden, 2009
• FINA ‘A’ Standard: 48.93

1. Yuri Kisil, UBCDS, 48.90
2. Markus Thormeyer, UBCDS, 49.13
3. Carson Olafson, UBCDS, 50.28

UBC swept the podium, with Yuri Kisil leading the way in a time of 48.90 to get under the ‘A’ standard and qualify for the World Championships. It was a bit slower than his morning swim of 48.68, but gets him a spot on the team nonetheless.

Markus Thormeyer was just two tenths off the standard for 2nd in 49.13, a new personal best. He had the fastest back half of anyone in the field. Thormeyer will look to qualify in either the 200 back or 50 free later in the meet after narrow misses in the 100 and 200 free.

Carson Olafson rounded out the UBC sweep in 50.28, getting by CAMO’s Antoine Bernard-Lalonde by two tenths who was 4th.

WOMEN’S 100 BREAST FINAL

• Canadian Record: 1:05.74, Annamay Pierse, 2009
• FINA ‘A’ Standard: 1:07.58

MEN’S 100 BREAST FINAL

• Canadian Record: 59.85, Scott Dickens, 2012
• FINA ‘A’ Standard: 1:00.35

WOMEN’S 400 IM FINAL

• Canadian Record: 4:32.52, Emily Overholt, 2015
• FINA ‘A’ Standard: 4:43.06

MEN’S 400 IM FINAL

• Canadian Record: 4:11.41, Brian Johns, 2008
• FINA ‘A’ Standard: 4:17.90

WOMEN’S 50 BACK FINAL

• Canadian Record: 27.67, Kylie Masse, 2016

MEN’S 50 BACK FINAL

• Canadian Record: 25.13, Russell Wood, 2015

Read the full story on SwimSwam: 2017 Canadian World Trials: Day 2 Finals Live Recap