By Lauren Neidigh on SwimSwam

2020 B1G MEN’S SWIMMING & DIVING CHAMPIONSHIPS

• When: Wednesday, February 26th to Saturday, February 29th | Prelims 11am | Finals 6:30pm
• Where: Indiana University (Eastern Time Zone)
• Defending Champion: Indiana Hoosiers (3x) (results)
• Streaming: here
• Championship Central: here
• Estimated NCAA Invite Times
• NCAA ‘A’ Cuts
• Fan Guide
• Heat Sheet
• Live Results
• Saturday Finals Heat Sheet

The 2020 Big Ten Championships conclude tonight with finals of the 1650 free, 200 back, 100 free, 200 breast, 200 fly, platform diving, and 400 free relay. Michigan has a big lead as they race for the title. Indiana and Ohio State, however, are battling closely for 2nd.

Minnesota’sMax McHugh (200 breast), Michigan’s Miles Smachlo (200 fly), and Indiana’s Gabriel Fantoni (200 back) will compete for a sweep of their respective stroke titles. Indiana’s Bruno Blaskovic seeks a sprint sweep, while Michigan’s NCAA Champion Felix Auboeck goes for the distance sweep.

Wisconsin’s Cameron Tysoe is the top seed in the 200 back. He’ll be going after the Pool Record tonight set by Wisconsin NCAA Champion Drew TeDuits back in 2013. Blaskovic already set the 100 free Pool Record this morning, but is just hundredths away from the Meet Record set by Indiana’s Blake Pieroni in 2018. After earning a pair of silvers, Ohio State’s Paul DeLakis will battle for a title with McHugh in the 200 breast. Northwestern’s Federico Burdisso, a freshman, had a big swim to land the top seed there.

MEN’S 1650 FREE

• Meet Record: Felix Auboeck (Michigan), 2017, 14:29.25
• Pool Record: Connor Jaeger (Michigan), 2013, 14:34.87
• NCAA ‘A’ Cut: 14:37.41
• 2019 NCAA Qualifying Time: 14:54.05
• 2019 Champion: Felix Auboeck (Michigan), 14:29.58

1. GOLD: Felix Auboeck, Michigan, 14:30.10
2. SILVER: Ricardo Vargas, Michigan, 14:39.48
3. BRONZE: Mikey Calvillo, Indiana, 14:54.02

Michigan’s Felix Auboeck secured the distance sweep, posting a 14:30.10 to take down the Pool Record set by Connor Jaeger in 2013. Jaeger was an NCAA Champion and Olympic medalist during his career. Auboeck has now earned 4-straight titles in both the 500 free and 1650 free. He’s the reigning NCAA Champion in this event.

Teammate Ricardo Vargas took the silver in 14:39.48 to earn his 3rd medal of the meet. Michigan freshman Danny Berlitz was just one place shy of the podium in 14:58.54. The Wolverines got 4 in the top 8. Will Roberts (15:00.58) was 7th.

Indiana’s Mikey Calvillo raced to the bronze in 14:54.02. Freshman teammate John Gallant followed for 5th in 15:00.07. Just behind was Wisconsin’s Matthew Hillmer, who made a big drop in the early heats, as he landed 6th overall with his 15:00.25.

Rounding out the top 8 was Northwestern’s Dongjin Hwang. He dropped 4 seconds in 15:11.21. Ohio State’s only swimmer in this event, Carson Burt, was 9th with his 15:13.30 from the afternoon heats.

MEN’S 200 BACK

• Meet Record: Eric Ress (Indiana), 2014, 1:38.89
• Pool Record: Drew Teduits (Wisconsin), 2013, 1:39.98
• NCAA ‘A’ Cut: 1:39.16
• 2019 NCAA Qualifying Time: 1:41.31
• 2019 Champion: Gabriel Fantoni (Indiana), 1:39.53

1. GOLD: Gabriel Fantoni, Indiana, 1:40.31
2. SILVER: Michael Daly, Penn State, 1:40.63
3. BRONZE: Cameron Tysoe, Wisconsin, 1:41.02

Indiana’s Gabriel Fantoni repeated his backstroke sweep. Wisconsin’s Cameron Tysoe and Penn State’s Michael Daly were ahead going into the final 50, with Tysoe leading slightly, but Fantoni had the fastest split coming home to win it in 1:40.31. Daly dropped nearly a second to take silver in 1:40.63, while Tysoe (1:41.02) held on for 3rd.

Michigan’s Robert Zofchak (1:41.34) ran down Northwestern’s Manuel Martos Bacarizo (1:41.44) for 4th. Ohio State rounded out the top 8. Freshmen Thomas Watkins (1:41.75) and Jonah Cooper(1:42.35) were 6th and 7th. Colin McDermott(1:43.26) was 8th.

Northwestern’s Ryan Gridley had the 5th fastest time of the night with a 1:41.39 to win the B final.

MEN’S 100 FREE

• Meet Record: Blake Pieroni (Indiana), 2018, 41.43
• Pool Record: Bruno Blaskovic (Indiana), 2020, 41.49
• NCAA ‘A’ Cut: 41.71
• 2019 NCAA Qualifying Time: 42.53
• 2019 Champion: Bowe Becker (Minnesota), 41.71

1. GOLD: Bruno Blaskovic, Indiana, 41.88
2. SILVER: Andrew Loy, Ohio State, 42.21
3. BRONZE: Mohamed Hassan, Indiana 42.38

Indiana’s Bruno Blaskovic was off his time from prelims, but still the only man under 42 to sweep the sprints in 41.88. Ohio State’s Andrew Loy earned his 3rd medal of the meet, hundredths shy of a best in 42.21. Teammate Sem Andreis (43.12) and Matthew Abeysinghe (43.17) were 6th and 7th there.

Indiana got 2 on the podium with Mohamed Hassan touching 3rd in 42.38, outpacing teammate Jack Franzman (42.45) on the back half. Michigan’s Luiz Gustavo Borges was 5th in 42.61. Iowa’s Aleksey Tarasenko (43.46) touched 8th.

Penn State’s Gabriel Castano out-touched Michigan’s Patrick Callan, 43.13 to 43.24, in the B final. The Wolverines’ freshman Cameron Peel was 3rd in that heat with a 43.47.

MEN’S 200 BREAST

• Meet Record: Ian Finnerty (Indiana), 2019, 1:50.30
• Pool Record: Cody Miller (Indiana), 2013, 1:51.03
• NCAA ‘A’ Cut: 1:52.61
• 2019 NCAA Qualifying Time: 1:54.04
• 2019 Champion: Ian Finnerty (Indiana), 1:50.30

1. GOLD: Tommy Cope, Michigan, 1:51.44
2. SILVER: Paul DeLakis, Ohio State, 1:51.65
3. BRONZE: Max McHugh, Minnesota, 1:51.80

Michigan’s Tommy Cope put up a lifetime best 1:51.44 to win his final career Big Ten race. He held off a final 50 charge by Ohio State’s Paul DeLakis, who got his hands to the wall ahead of Minnesota’s 100 breast champion Max McHugh (1:51.80). Delakis broke 1:52 for the first time to take silver in 1:51.65.

Michigan’sJeremy Babinet was 4th in 1:52.77. Teammate Charlie Swanson, the 400 IM champion, was 6th in 1:53.62. Ohio State also had 2 in the final, with Jason Mathews (1:53.04) taking 5th.

Iowa’sDaniel Swanepoel was 6th in 1:53.53. Wisconsin’s Jian Mao was 8th in 1:54.73. The 8th fastest time of the meet came from the B final, as Indiana’sZane Backes, a 100 breast medalist, won in 1:54.22.

MEN’S 200 FLY

• Meet Record: Vini Lanza (Indiana), 2019, 1:39.28
• Pool Record: Dylan Bosch (Michigan), 2013, 1:41.18
• NCAA ‘A’ Cut: 1:40.76
• 2019 NCAA Qualifying Time: 1:42.35
• 2019 Champion: Vini Lanza (Indiana), 1:39.28

1. GOLD: Brendan Burns, Indiana, 1:40.98
2. SILVER: Miles Smachlo, Michigan, 1:41.47
3. BRONZE: Noah Lense, Ohio State, 1:41.57

Northwestern freshman Federico Burdisso charged to the early lead, with Indiana freshman Brendan Burns closely behind. Burns took over on the 3rd 50 en route to his first ever individual Big Ten title, winning the race in 1:40.98. That took down the former Pool Record set by Michigan NCAA Champion Dylan Bosch in 2013. That was his first time breaking 1:41. Teammates Van Mathias

By Lauren Neidigh on SwimSwam

2020 PAC-12 WOMEN’S SWIMMING & DIVING CHAMPIONSHIPS

• Wednesday, February 26 – Saturday, February 29
• Federal Way, WA (Pacific Time Zone)
• Prelims 10:30 a.m./Finals 6 p.m.
• Defending Champion: Stanford (3x) (results) (diving)
• Live Video
• Women’s Fan Guide
• Estimated NCAA Invite Times
• NCAA ‘A’ Cuts
• Championship Central
• Record Book
• Psych Sheets
• Heat Sheet
• Live Results

The Stanford Cardinal was dominant again as they won the 2020 women’s Pac-12 Championships, extending their streak to 4-straight titles. It was the program’s 22nd title in history. Their longest streak stands at 13 in a row, as they won from 1987 to 1999. They own more Pac-12 titles than any other program. Cal and Arizona are tied for the 2nd most with just 4 championship titles each.

Stanford will next turn their attention to the NCAA Championships in Athens. They’re the 3-time defending champions there as well. They have 11 total NCAA Championships titles, more than any other NCAA division 1 program. Georgia and Auburn are tied with the 2nd most with 7 titles each.

Stanford had several first-time individual champions at this meet. In fact, every single swimming champion for the Cardinal had never won an individual event before 2020. Erin Voss, a senior, won her first title in her last Pac-12 race with her performance in the 200 back. She was named the 2020 Pac-12 Scholar Athlete of the Year.

Brooke Forde, the reigning NCAA 500 free champion, didn’t medal in that event but then went on to win her first titles in the 400 IM and 200 breast. Allie Raab (100 breast) and Morgan Tankersley (1650 free) also won their first golds. Aside from the those titles, their only relay win came in the 200 medley relay.

The only repeat champion for the Cardinal was a diver. Mia Paulsen repeated as the platform champion on the final night. Teammate Carolina Sculti was the 3-meter champion. That was Sculti’s first-ever title.

This was a different look than the Stanford team of recent years, which included the likes of stars Simone Manuel, Katie Ledecky, and Ella Eastin. Their depth really stood out this season. Below is a quote Stanford Head Coach Greg Meehan‘s interview on the team’s win when asked how it felt to get the job done without a big star.

“It definitely had a little different feel than it’s had the last 3, 4, 5 years. At the same time, our job is still the same and that’s to come to this meet and be the best version of ourselves to compete for a Pac-12 title and ultimately kind of take that next step in the season and get ourselves ready for the NCAA Championships.”

FINAL TEAM SCORES

1. Stanford, 1598
2. Cal 1224.5
3. USC 1212
4. UCLA 995.5
5. ASU 943.5
6. Arizona 725
7. Utah 636.5
8. Washington State 296

Read the full story on SwimSwam: Stanford Women Win 4th-Straight Pac-12 Title With Only First-Time Champions

By Spencer Penland on SwimSwam

Conference USA – Women

• Wednesday, February 26 – Saturday, February 29
• Georgia Tech Aquatics Center, Atlanta, GA (Eastern Time Zone)
• Defending Champion: Florida International (5x) (results)
• Live results (coming soon)
• Live Video
• Championship Central
• Full Results

FINAL TEAM SCORES

1. Florida International – 1044.5
2. Rice – 889.5
3. Florida Atlantic – 453
4. Marshall – 365.5
5. North Texas – 328
6. Old Dominion – 323.5

The Florida International Panthers broke two records with their C-USA title win tonight. The Panthers are now the first team to win 6 consecutive C-USA titles, and their score of 1044.5 is the highest score of any C-USA team champion.

Rice won the first event of the night, when senior Claire Therien swimming a 16:36.78 in the mile. Therien won the event with a 16:28.62 last year.

FIU continued to dominate the diving events, posting a 1-2-3-4-5 finish. Sophomore Maha Gouda won the platform title convincingly, scoring a total of 311.90 points, topping the field by 37 points. FIU’s Rachel Foord, Mandy Song, Britanny Haskell, and Kaitlyn Fredericks took the next 4 spots respectively.

Two FIU freshmen won events on the final day of the meet. Jasmine Nocentini won the 100 free with a 48.93, completing a sweep of the sprint free events. Nocentini won the 50 free on the 2nd day of the meet. She used her speed advantage to take the race out the fastest in the field, splitting 23.48 on the first 50. The other member of the FIU sprint free duo, Lamija Medosevic, finished 4th with a 49.84. Rice senior Kate Nezelek was the runner-up in 49.23, with Marshall junior Darby Coles taking 3rd with a 49.44.

Another Panther freshman, Delaine Goll won the 200 breast in a tight race with senior teammate Taylor Grabenhorst. Grabenhorst took the race out the fastest, splitting 29.67 on the first 50, compared to 30.23 for Goll. Grabenhorst continued to out-split Goll on the middle 100 of the race, where she split 1:08.00 (33.59/34.41), while Goll was 1:08.33 (33.60/34.73). Goll won the race thanks to a 34.18 on the final 50, while Grabenhorst faded with a 35.22. Goll clocked a final time of 2:12.74, with Grabenhorst right behind in 2:12.89.

Stephanie Hussey, an FIU junior, picked up another title on the meet, winning the 200 fly with a 1:58.15. Hussey ran down Lindsay Mathys (Rice) and Marta Cano (Rice) on the final 50, splitting 30.38 to Mathys’ 31.30, and Cano’s 31.26. Mathys ended up in 2nd with a 1:58.43, and Cano was 3rd in 1:58.54. Julia Miranda, a Panther junior, won a tight 4-way race in the 200 back. Miranda came home in 30.00, moving ahead of Marshall’s Jordyn O’Dell (30.40), Old Dominion’s Jacklyn VandePoel (30.80), and Rice’s Ellery Parish (30.80) to win the race. Miranda clocked a 1:58.47, with O’Dell taking 2nd in 1:58.65, VandePoel coming in 3rd with a 1:58.66, and Parish took 4th with a 1:58.81.

The Panthers capped off the meet with a win in the final event – the 400 free relay. FIU won a narrow race with Rice, finishing in 3:19.48 to Rice’s 3:19.61. Rice led the field until the final leg of the race, with lead-off Kate Nezelek swimming a 49.64 to Jasmine Nocentini‘s 49.67 for FIU. The teams then had the exact same split on the 2nd leg, with FIU’s Helga Fodor and Rice’s Becca Evans both splitting 50.37. Marta Cano then opened up a significant lead for Rice, splitting 49.51 on the 3rd leg, compared to FIU’s Julia Miranda (50.49). With a little over a 1 second lead, Rice anchor Lindsay Mathys dove in splitting 50.09, but FIU anchor Lamija Medosevic split 48.95, getting into the finish first.

Read the full story on SwimSwam: Florida International Wins Record 6th Consecutive C-USA Title with Record Score

By Reid Carlson on SwimSwam

2020 ACC MEN’S SWIMMING AND DIVING CHAMPIONSHIPS

• When: Wednesday, February 26th to Saturday, February 29th Prelims 10:00 am | Finals 6:00 pm (1650 prelims Saturday at 4:00 pm)
• Where: Greensboro Aquatic Center, Greensboro, North Carolina (Eastern Time Zone)
• Defending Champion: North Carolina State University (NC State) (29x, 5th-straight) (results)
• Streaming: ACC Network
  • Day 2 Finals
  • Day 3 Finals
  • Day 4 Finals
• Championship Central: Here
• Detailed Timeline: Here
• Psych Sheets: Here
• Live Results

Louisville Junior Nick Albiero blasted a 1:38.65 in the ‘A’ final of the men’s 200 yard butterfly to both defend his title from 2019 and lower the meet record. Albiero’s swim was so impressive, in fact, that he is now the 4th-fastest performer all-time in the event. Prior to the race on Leap Day 2020, Albiero’s lifetime best was a 1:40.08 from the 2019 NCAA Championships.

Read more about Albiero’s 200 fly here.

Reported by Robert Gibbs.

200 FLY – FINALS

• ACC record: 1:38.57 – Andreas Vazaois (NC State), 2019
• ACC meet record: 1:40.51 – Nick Albiero (Louisville), 2020
• 2019 champion: Nick Albiero (Louisville), 1:40.70

1. Nick Albiero (Louisville) – 1:38.65
2. Blake Manoff (Virginia Tech) – 1:40.48
3. Antani Ivanov (Virginia Tech) – 1:41.01

Nick Albiero came within a tenth of a second of the overall conference record, blasting a 1:38.65 that moves him up to #1 in the nation this season. That’s Albiero 2nd-straight victory in this event, completes the fly sweep this week, and breaks his own conference meet record from this morning.

Virginia Tech swept the next two spots. Blake Manoff moves to #3 this season with a 1:40.48, a NCAA ‘A’ cut, and Antani Ivanov took 3rd here for the second season in a row with his time of 1:41.01.

UVA’s Ted Schubert, who swept the IMs over the last two days, touched 4th here with a 1:41.34. That’s a new personal best for him by 0.01s; he took 6th in this event last year.

NC State sophomore Zach Brown moved from 8th in this event last year to 5th this year with his time of 1:42.30. Teammate Erge Gezmis finished 7th in 1:44.00.

Georgia Tech’s Christian Ferraro (1:42.93) took 6th, and FSU’s Max Polianski (1:47.17) took 8th.

ALL TIME TOP PERFORMERS, 200 YARD BUTTERFLY

1. 1:37.35 – Jack Conger, 2017 NCAA Championships
2. 1:37.97 – Joe Schooling, 2016 NCAA Championships
3. 1:38.57 – Andreas Vazaois, 2019 NCAA Championships
4. 1:38.65 – Nicolas Albiero, 2020 ACC Championships
5. 1:38.80 – Tom Shields , 2020 UCSD v. Cal Dual Meet
6. 1:38.83 – Zheng Quah, 2017 ACC Championships
7. 1:39.23 – Vini Lanza, 2019 Big Ten Championships
8. 1:39.33 – Dylan Bosch, 2014 NCAA Championships
9. 1:39.35 – Sam Pomajevich, 2019 Minnesota Invite
10. 1:39.55 – Jan Switkowski, 2018 NCAA Championships

FINAL TEAM STANDINGS

1. NC State – 1250
2. Virginia – 1089
3. Louisville – 1066.5
4. Virginia Tech – 898
5. Florida State – 812.5
6. Notre Dame – 803.5
7. North Carolina – 630.5
8. Pitt – 520
9. Georgia Tech – 506
10. Duke – 421
11. Miami – 197
12. Boston College – 134

Read the full story on SwimSwam: Nick Albiero Was Shocked at 1:38 200 Fly, Had Dreamed of a 1:39 (Video)

By Aglaia Pezzato on SwimSwam

Il giorno dopo la pubblicazione della sentenza emessa  dalla Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) che annuncia il divieto di 8 anni per l’olimpionico cinese Sun Yang, l’avvocato del nuotatore ha rilasciato una forte dichiarazione pubblica in cui afferma che il tribunale “ha ascoltato i pregiudizi” e “accettato tutte le menzogne” nel processo.

Secondo ChannelNewsAsia, l’avvocato di Sun, Zhang Qihuai, ha definito quello della sentenza come “un giorno buio. “E’ come se il male  avesse vinto sulla giustizia.”

“Il 28 febbraio 2020 è stata una giornata buia”, ha detto Zhang nella sua dichiarazione. “Mostrando un mondo in cui il male sconfigge la giustizia e il potere sostituisce le verità evidenti.”

“In questa giornata il CAS ha ascoltato i pregiudizi. Ha chiuso un occhio su regole e procedure. Ha chiuso un occhio su fatti e prove. E ha accettato tutte le bugie e le prove false”.

Zhang ha promesso di appellarsi alla decisione presa dal tribunale arbitrale sulla base di “una serie di errori procedurali“.

LA CONDANNA

Al campione olimpico cinese è stato inflitto un periodo di squalifica di 8 anni per manomissione al test antidoping fuori competizione avvenuto nel settembre 2018. Durante quel test, Sun ha contestato le credenziali e l’autorizzazione degli agenti antidoping. Dopo un lungo diverbio una guardia del corpo di Sun ha rotto le fiale di sangue prelevate nel test.

L’atleta è stato inizialmente assolto da un pannello antidoping indipendente dalla FINA, ma la WADA ha fatto appello al CAS, che ha dato a Sun una squalifica di 8 anni.

Sun ha pubblicato ieri una dichiarazione sui social media. Ha detto di essere sotto shock e arrabbiato per la decisione e sottolineando la sua convinzione di essere innocente.

Sun ha dichiarato di voler presentare ricorso alla Corte suprema federale svizzera.

Il periodo di squalifica, come spiegato nel documento del Tribunale, è da considerare a partire dalla sentenza del 28 febbraio 2020.

L’atleta non è stato ritenuto colpevole di assunzione di una sostanza vietata ma della manomissione del test anti-doping. Per questo motivo le medaglie vinte da Sun Yang e i record da lui stabiliti fino a questo momento sono da considerare validi e le classifiche non subiranno cambiamenti.

Read the full story on SwimSwam: Avvocato Sun: ” E’ Un Giorno Buio, Il Tribunale Ha Ascoltato I Pregiudizi”

By Coleman Hodges on SwimSwam

This is Pancake Hot Take, where we rate racing on a scale of 1-5 pancakes, and give you our highlights. This is week 2 of major NCAA DI Conference championships, and we are taking you through every day of racing with our picks for the top swims

We saw Day 4 of racing pick up, with some very exciting swims to end the conference championship weekend on a high note. Even though no records were broken, we’re still giving Day 4…

3 PANCAKES

Let’s get into it.

• Race of the Day: Nick Albiero drops a 1:38.65 200 fly, breaking the ACC Championship record. Even though he was just off the ACC overall record, Albiero still became the #4 performer in the event all-time
• Surprise of the Day: We all know Coleman Stewart is a beast, but I did NOT see a 1:37.7 200 back coming, at conference nonetheless! Stewart has been consistent in swimming faster at the NCAAs, so I’ll be very excited to see what he’s got in store for the big show come March
• Syrup on Top: Felix Auboeck not only 4-peated on the 500 free on Thursday, but made it a complete distance sweep, winning his 4th-in-a-row B1G title in the 1,650. This makes Auboeck a 2-time 4-peater… that’s 8-peats!

HOW MANY PANCAKES DO YOU THINK TODAY DESERVED? LET US KNOW IN THE COMMENTS BELOW

Stay tuned for Pancake Hot Takes every day after finals. And until then… stay hungry.

Read the full story on SwimSwam: Pancake Hot Take: Week 2, Day 4 of Conference Championship Season

By Braden Keith on SwimSwam

2020 CARLSBAD SECTIONAL

• Thursday, February 27 – Sunday, March 1, 2020
• Alga Norte Aquatics Center, Carlsbad, CA
• SCY Format
• Thursday: Finals 4:00 PM
• Friday-Sunday: Prelims 8:30 AM / Finals 5:00 PM
• Results available on Meet Mobile under “2020 SI Speedo Sectionals Carlsbad”

16-year old Mia Kragh of Rancho San Dieguito rolled on through day 3 of the 2020 Carlsbad Sectional meet in California.

After crushing her best time to win the 100 fly on Friday, Kragh added a new lifetime best, and victory, in the 200 fly on Saturday in 1:56.16.

While she’s the defending California High School State Champion in the 200 fly, she hasn’t raced the 200 fly as frequently. Saturday’s swim was just her 5th career race of the 200 yard fly, and this is the first time that she’s swum the event twice in the same season.

She now ranks 4th nationally in the 200 fly among 15-16 year olds (and first nationally among 16-year olds, as she’s a year ahead of a very good group of butterfliers including Claire Curzan, Charlotte Hook, and Justina Kozan).

Kragh, a high school junior, is a Cal commit, and her Saturday time is already fast enough that it would have placed her 6th in the 200 fly at the Pac-12 Championships, which also held its 200 fly on Saturday evening.

On the men’s side of the pool, US National Teamer Michael Andrew added two more victories to his total. First he won the 100 breaststroke in 52.01 (after a 51.93 in prelims); he later added a win in the 50 free in 19.16.

Those swims add to victories in the 100 fly (45.47- lifetime best) and 200 IM (1:44.44) on Friday. Andrew is scheduled to race the 100 free and 200 breaststroke on Sunday.

Other Day 3 Winners:

• Stanford commit Samantha Pearson of SoCal Aquatics won the women’s 200 free in 1:46.16 after setting a new lifetime best of 1:45.85 in prelims. Her fastest coming into the meet was 1:46.27. That Saturday morning swim would have been almost fast enough to put her on Stanford’s 800 free relay at the Pa-12 Championships this weekend: senior Katie Drabot had the team’s slowest split, leading off in 1:45.39, as the Cardinal finished 3rd. Ella Ristic placed 2nd on Saturday in 1:46.63.
• Pearson added a win in the 50 free in 22.59, again swimming a touch slower than the 22.51 she posted in prelims. Like her 200 free, both of her 50 frees were faster than her previous lifetime best.
• Jude Williams picked up his 3rd individual win of the weekend, topping the 200 free in 1:37.79. That’s a best time for the Wisconsin commit by half-a-second. He previously had wins in the 500 free (4:23.24) and 1650 free (15:07.73) this weekend, with best times coming in both that mile and via a 21.99 in the 50 free prelims.
• 13-year old Teagan O’Dell won the women’s 400 IM in 4:13.42. That’s the fastest time in the country by a 13-year old by over a second, and the 3rd-best ever at that age behind only Ella Eastin and Missy Franklin. She won the race by almost 6 seconds.
• In the most competitive race of the evening, 17-year old Alto Swim Club swimmer/Stanford commit Jonathan Affeld out-touched Cal Baptist senior Brandon Schuster 3:49.02-3:49.05 in the men’s 400 IM final. Affeld held a substantial lead halfway through the race of almost three-and-a-half seconds before Schuster clawed most of that back on the breaststroke and freestyle legs. Schuster, who represented his native Samoa at the 2016 Olympic Games, was 4th in the 400 IM at the 2017 and 2018 NCAA Division II Championships as both a freshman and a sophomore, but with Cal Baptist in the process of transitioning to Division I, they are not presently eligible for either NCAA National Championship meet.
• SoCal Aquatics won the women’s 800 free relay, led by a 1:48.10 split from Mandy Brenner and a 1:49.22 anchor from Samantha Pearson.
• Irvine Novaquatics won the men’s 800 free relay in 6:47.23, beating out Rancho San Dieguito and Alto Swim Club by half-a-second.

Team Scores After Day 3

Top 5 Men’s Teams:

1. Irvine Novaquatics – 720
2. Rancho San Dieguito – 701
3. Peak Swimming – 5516.5
4. Alto Swim Club – 418
5. Orinda Aquatics – 382.5

Top 5 Women’s Teams:

1. Irvine Novaquatics – 1115.5
2. North Coast Aquatics – 652
3. Crown Canyon Country Club Sharks – 619
4. Socal Aquatics Association – 558.5
5. Rose Bowl Aquatics – 478

Read the full story on SwimSwam: Mia Kragh of Rancho San Dieguito Drops 6 Seconds in 200 Fly to Win in Carlsbad

By Giusy Cisale on SwimSwam

Mack Horton, australiano, il 21 Luglio del 2019 sollevò una protesta sul podio dei 400 metri stile libero maschili, durante i Mondiali FINA di Gwangju.

• leggi qui l’articolo

Horton, medaglia d’argento nei 400 metri stile libero maschili, ha protestato alla presenza della medaglia d’oro Sun Yang, astenendosi dalle celebrazioni sul podio.

Ha poi continuato a prendere le distanze dal cerimoniale anche durante le consuete foto di rito.

Ai microfoni di Elisabetta Caporale, corrispondente Rai, Horton dichiarò di non voler condividere il podio con chi si comporta nel modo in cui fa lui.

Letteralmente in quel frangente dichiarò:

“I just won’t share a podium with someone who behaves in the way he does” – “Non voglio condividere il podio con qualcuno che si comporta nel modo in cui fa lui.

Dopo due giorni dalla sentenza di condanna ad otto anni di sospensione per Sun Yang, Mack Horton rompe il silenzio.

In un’intervista a 7News esprime il suo parere sulla vicenda.

“Penso che, a prescindere dal risultato, sarebbe sempre stata una dichiarazione al mondo. La mia posizione è sempre stata quella per uno sport pulito, mai contro nazioni o individui. Il risultato non cambia la mia battaglia”.

Gli viene chiesto se si sente sollevato, e risponde “Vado avanti”

“Sono solo un ragazzo che insegue ancora il sogno… abbiamo un lavoro da fare stamattina e andremo avanti”.

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SENTENZA CONTRO SUN YANG

Venerdì scorso, il CAS ha condannato Sun Yang ad un periodo di sospensione di otto anni.

Di seguito vi indichiamo i link degli articoli che riassumono la vicenda

• 8 anni di squalifica
• Le Motivazioni della sentenza

Read the full story on SwimSwam: Mack Horton Rompe Il Silenzio Su Sun Yang “L’Ho Fatto Per Il Nuoto”

By Giusy Cisale on SwimSwam

Read the full story on SwimSwam: Paltrinieri Su Sun: “Non Riesco Ad Esultare, Non Ci trovo Nulla Di Bello”

By Braden Keith on SwimSwam

Moravian College in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania has announced that it will add men’s and women’s swimming as varsity sports in the 2021-2022 collegiate season. That will bring the Greyhounds’ count of varsity sports to 22.

“Everyone at Moravian is thrilled to add men’s and women’s swimming to the current roster of NCAA sports offered to our student-athletes,” commented Bryon Grigsby, President of Moravian College. “We know the Landmark is a very competitive conference and we can’t wait to get going.”

Previously, Moravian College was the only full-time Landmark Conference school to not sponsor both men’s and women’s swimming after Juaniata added a varsity men’s team in the 2018-2019 season.

Moravian College, with an undergraduate enrollment of over 2,100, is the sixth-oldest college in the United States, having been founded in 1742. As an NCAA Division III school, Moravian won’t be able to offer athletic scholarships in swimming.

Moravian will train at nearby Liberty High School. Liberty High, which actually has a higher enrollment than Moravian College, opened an 8-lane, 25-yard pool with elevated

Catholic University swept this year’s Landmark Conference Championships, including winning the men’s title by over 300 points. That marks Catholic U’s 4th-straight men’s title; the Catholic women broke Susquehanna’s 9-year winning streak.

Scranton’s Lauren Byrne will be the conference’s lone representative at the 2020 NCAA Division III National Championship meet.

Read the full story on SwimSwam: NCAA Division III Moravian College Will Add Men’s, Women’s Swimming in 2021

By James Sutherland on SwimSwam

2020 PAC-12 WOMEN’S SWIMMING & DIVING CHAMPIONSHIPS

• Wednesday, February 26 – Saturday, February 29
• Federal Way, WA (Pacific Time Zone)
• Prelims 10:30 a.m./Finals 6 p.m.
• Defending Champion: Stanford (3x) (results) (diving)
• Live Video
• Women’s Fan Guide
• Estimated NCAA Invite Times
• NCAA ‘A’ Cuts
• Championship Central
• Record Book
• Psych Sheets
• Heat Sheet
• Live Results

Stanford head coach Greg Meehan led the Cardinal to their fourth consecutive Women’s Pac-12 title over the weekend in Federal Way, doing so with only first-time champions.

This was possible large in part due to the fact that they were without many of their big stars from past seasons, including Katie Ledecky, Simone Manuel and Ella Eastin.

“It definitely has a little different feel than it’s had the last three, four, five years,” Meehan said in an on-deck interview post-meet. “But at the same time, you know, our job is still the same, and that’s to come to this meet and be the best version of ourselves to compete for a Pac-12 title. And ultimately, kind of take that next step in the season and get ready for the NCAA Championships.”

Meehan saw his team get progressively better throughout the meet, indicative of the fact many came in unrested, which is a positive sign heading into the end of the season.

“A good portion of our crew came into this meet with not a lot of rest, and so I think that’s pretty clear by just how we got better as the meet went on,” he said. “We weren’t real good the first day and a half, and then yesterday morning, yesterday night, and all day today, just kind of getting better and better as the meet goes on. So pretty excited about that.”

Meehan also discussed his gameplan for the Cardinal as they gear up for NCAAs in two and a half weeks, and how he’s been juggling his duties with Stanford and his role as the US Women’s Olympic Head Coach this summer. You can watch the full interview via Pac-12 Network on YouTube, below.

Read the full story on SwimSwam: Meehan: Pac-12 Victory Had “A Little Different Feel” This Time Around (Video)

By Andrew Mering on SwimSwam

2020 B1G MEN’S SWIMMING & DIVING CHAMPIONSHIPS

• When: Wednesday, February 26th to Saturday, February 29th
• Where: Indiana University (Eastern Time Zone)
• Championship Central: here
• Estimated NCAA Invite Times
• NCAA ‘A’ Cuts
• Live Results

First a few notes

• This meet was all about the Michigan seniors. That group put up an astonishing 559 individual points, 179.5 points more than the next most prolific class, the Indiana juniors.
• Looking ahead to next year, the loss of that huge senior class means Michigan return only the 3rd most individual points with 705 returning. Indiana return the most with 912.5, followed by Ohio State with 820. The drop off is severe after the big 3, Northwestern are next with 432; they graduate only 17 individual points.
• The top freshman class belonged to Ohio State whose freshmen picked up 216 points. Next best were the Northwestern freshmen with 185.5.
• The story of how Ohio State beat Indiana was simple: diving. Ohio State out scored the Hoosiers by 225 points on the boards with 322 points to Indiana’s 97. In 2019, Indiana and Ohio State each scored 210 points on the boards.
• By Swimulator power points, the best swim of the meet was Max McHugh of Minnesota’s 50.67 100 breast.

There is a lot of data below. A quick table of contents: Final Scores, Individual Scores by Class, Score Progression, Points in Each Event for Each Team, Number of Times Each Team Got Each Place (Individual Events), and Individual Swimmer Performance Breakdown

Final Scores

1. Michigan: 1548
2. Ohio State: 1329
3. Indiana: 1321.5
4. Wisconsin: 834.5
5. Northwestern: 665
6. Iowa: 571
7. Purdue: 561
8. Minnesota: 551
9. Penn State: 531
10. Michigan State: 309

Individual Scores by Year

Score Progression

What the score was after each event

Points in Each Event

What each team scored in each event

Number of Times Each Team Got Each Place (Individual Events)

By Keaton Burke on SwimSwam

The inductees for the Maine Swimming and Diving Hall of Fame of 2020 is swimmer Kate Kovenock, high school and Paralympic coach Rob Hale and official Fran Fox.

Kovenock, swam at Orono High School in Orono, Maine where she was a multiple time individual state champion. She has titles in the 50, 100, and 200 freestyle events along with winning state swimmer of the meet all four years from 1998-2001.

She had a successful collegiate career at the NCAA Division III Connecticut College. Kovenock was an 11-time NCAA All-American and 2004 NCAA Division III champion in the 50 free. She currently is serving as the head women’s coach at Brown University.

Rob Hale has been coaching Greely High School of Cumberland Center since the early 1990s. He has coached six boys and six girls state championship teams. In the years 1994-1996, he coached the National Blind swim team and in 1996 was on the coaching staff for the United States Paralympic Team.

Fran Fox has officiated almost three decades of the Maine high school swimming and diving championship meets. The former Holy Cross swimmer was recognized in 2010 by the Maine Principals’ Association for his service within the Maine swimming and diving community.

These three individuals will be honored Sunday, March 8 during the annual induction ceremony to be held at the Augusta Civic Center in Augusta, Maine.

Read the full story on SwimSwam: Maine Swimming & Diving Hall of Fame Announces Class of 2020

By Lauren Neidigh on SwimSwam

2020 BULLDOG INVITATIONAL

• February 29-March 1, 2020
• Athens, GA
• Short Course Yards
• Estimated NCAA Invite Times
• NCAA ‘A’ Cuts
• Results

Following the SEC Championships last week, Georgia hosted their 2020 Bulldog Invitational as a last chance meet to qualify for the NCAA Championships.

SEC Champion Courtney Harnish of Georgia put up a few best times. In the 200 back prelims, Harnish broke 1:54 for the first time in 1:53.68. In finals, she went after the first 100 and then cruised through the back half, while teammate Maddie Homovich won the final in a season-best 1:53.95. Homovich is now ranked 38th in the 200 back this season. Harnish also dropped a tenth in the 50 free. She clipped her best from midseason in the 100 fly, posting a 52.39 in prelims.

Hawaii’sLucia Lassman had a big swim, knocking 4 tenths off her best to win the 100 fly final in 52.06. That moves her up to 25th in the nation and should safely qualify her for NCAAs. In the men’s 100 breast, Hawaii’sOlli Kokko swam a lifetime best 51.71 from the B final. He should be safely qualified for NCAAs, as he’s now the 9th fastest man in the NCAA this season.

Teammate Kane Follows matched his seed time with a 1:41.51 in the 200 back. That ranks him 26th with one major conference meet, the Pac-12 Championships, remaining. Moving ahead of him, however, was Auburn’s Lleyton Smith, now the #25 swimmer after dropping a second with his 1:41.49 in prelims.

OTHER IMPACT SWIMS

• Florida State’s Nina Kucheran broke 1:00 for the first time this season in the 100 breast. She posted a 59.93 to move up to 36th in the nation. She split a 27.20 on the 200 medley relay as FSU just missed the ‘A’ cut in 1:36.84.
• South Carolina’s Phil Costin matched his season-best 1:34.28 in the 200 free and remains ranked 40th.
• Alabama’s Kalia Antoniou moved up to #31 with her 22.11 in the 50 free. Teammate Colton Stogner dropped a lifetime best 19.57 in the men’s race, but that ranks him outside of the top 40.

Read the full story on SwimSwam: Hawaii’s Kokko Pops 51.7 100 Breast at UGA Last Chance, #9 in the NCAA

By Daniela Kapser on SwimSwam

Berlin Swim Open 2020

• 28.02.2020 bis 1.3.2020
• Schwimm- und Sprunghalle im Europasportpark (SSE)
• Veranstaltungsseite
• Live Stream
• Meldeergebnis
• Ergebnisse
• Live Ergebnisse

Am dritten und finalen Tag holte sichOle Braunschweig (SG Neukölln Berlin) den Sieg über 50 m Rücken in 25,11 Sekunden, damit blieb er nur 0,05 Sekunden über seiner persönlichen Bestzeit.

Seinen zweiten Sieg erreichte Sven Schwarz (W 98 Hannover) über 800 m Freistil mit einem Vorsprung von 14 Sekunden. Seine Siegerzeit: 7:59,26 Minuten. Die Olympianorm für die deutschen Schwimmer sind 7:54,31, seine persönliche Bestzeit steht bei 7:53,74.Sven Schwarz hält den Juniorenweltrekord über 800 m Freistil auf der 25 m Bahn.

In den weiteren Wettbewerben der offenen Klasse dominierten die internationalen Schwimmer. Marlene Kahler holte sich ihren dritten Sieg mit einer persönlichen Bestzeit über 200 m Freistil von 2:00,54 Minuten. Über 800 m Freistil hatte sie bereits einen neuen österreichischen Rekord von (8:32,51) erreicht. Die 18-Jährige konnte somit bereits zwei olympische Normen unterbieten, im letzten Jahr erreichte sie bereits die A Time über 1500 m Freistil. Über diese Strecke trat sie heute nicht an.

Alle Sieger der offenen Klasse:

• 50 m Rücken Männer: 1. Ole Braunschweig 1997 SG Neukölln Berlin 00:25,11
• 100 m Rücken Frauen: 1. Johanna Roas 1993 SG Neukölln Berlin 01:02,65
• 100 m Schmetterling Männer: 1. Michal Chudy 1997 KS Warta Poznan 00:53,26
• 200 m Schmetterling Frauen: 1. Claudia Hufnagl 1996 Team Austria 02:11,58
• 50 m Freistil Männer: 1. Bernhard Reitshammer 1994 ASV Linz 00:22,83
• 200 m Brust Frauen: 1. Jenna Laukkanen 1995 Team Finland 02:29,19
• 50 m Brust Männer: 1. Valentin Bayer 1999 Team Austria 00:27,90
• 200 m Freistil Frauen: 1. Marlene Kahler 2001 Team Austria 02:00,54
• 200 m Lagen Männer: 1. Patrick Staber 1996 Team Austria 02:02,41
• 1500 m Freistil Frauen: 1. Paulina Piechota 1999 UKS 190 Lodz 16:51,47
• 800 m Freistil Männer: 1. Sven Schwarz 2002 W98 Hannover 07:59,26

Read the full story on SwimSwam: Swim Open Berlin: Siege für Ole Braunschweig und Sven Schwarz

By James Sutherland on SwimSwam

Just over two days after Chinese superstar Sun Yang was handed an eight-year period of ineligibility from the Court of Arbitration for Sport, rival Mack Horton has broken his silence on the matter.

Horton’s name has consistently been coming up since the Sun verdict was delivered, as the Australian has long been one of the most vocal athletes against allowing athletes convicted of doping, specifically Sun, to compete.

Speaking to Australia’s 7NEWS, Horton didn’t take shots at Sun, and instead spoke about how, no matter what the call was, he continues to fully support clean sport.

“I think regardless of the outcome it was always going to be a statement to the world and my stance has always been about clean sport never about nations or individuals,” said the 2016 Olympic gold medalist.

“It goes on,” he said, after being asked if he was relieved. “I’m just a guy still chasing the dream… we’ve got a job to do this morning and we’ll just keep going.”

The two athletes have a long history, dating back to the 2016 Olympics when Sun splashed Horton during a warm-up session prior to the start of the competition. “He splashed me to say ‘Hi’ and I ignored him because I don’t have time for drug cheats,” Horton would go on to tell the media.

On the first day of those Olympics, Horton won gold in the men’s 400 freestyle, with Sun in second, and the Aussie was quoted as saying: “Definitely a win for the good guys. Don’t know if it was a rivalry between me and him, just me and an athlete who has tested positive I guess” post-race.

The two would continue to butt heads at the 2019 World Championships last summer, first needing to be separated during a warm-up, and then, after Sun won gold and Horton silver in the 400 free, the Aussie refused to share the podium with him.

Sun’s ineligibility sentencing stems from an incident at a September 2018 out-of-competition anti-doping test, where he challenged the authority and credentials of the doping control agents. He ended up smashing a vial of his blood, and was found guilty of having tampered with the doping control process.

Sun has since said he plans to appeal to the Swiss Federal Supreme Court.

Read the full story on SwimSwam: Horton Responds To Sun Sentence: “My Stance Has Always Been About Clean Sport”

By Andrew Mering on SwimSwam

2020 ACC MEN’S SWIMMING AND DIVING CHAMPIONSHIPS

• When: Wednesday, February 26th to Saturday, February 29th
• Where: Greensboro Aquatic Center, Greensboro, North Carolina
• Championship Central: Here
• Live Results

First a few notes

• The top scoring class at the meet were the Virginia Tech sophomores with 331 individual points. The next best class were the Louisville juniors with 323. 3rd best were the NC State seniors with 318. It is rare for a conference champion to not have either of the top 2 scoring classes at the meet, and really speaks to the consistency of NC State’s roster. All four of their classes scored at least 200 points. Their seniors were their only class that was the top scoring for that year in the conference. The top freshmen class belonged to Virginia. The top sophomore and junior classes were the previously mentioned Virginia Tech and Louisville classes.
• Louisville return the most individual points with 706 returning. NC State are next best with 642, followed by Virginia Tech with 634 and Virginia with 577.
• The most points scored by any team in an event were NC State’s 114 in the 100 fly. Next best were Miami’s 113 in platform diving. Miami finished with 197 points, so more than half of their total came in that single event (Miami has no swim team, just divers).
• By Swimulator power points the top swim of the meet was Nicolas Albiero of Louisville’s 1:38.65 200 fly

There is a lot of data below. A quick table of contents: Final Scores, Individual Scores by Class, Score Progression, Points in Each Event for Each Team, Number of Times Each Team Got Each Place (Individual Events), and Individual Swimmer Performance Breakdown

Final Scores

1. NC State: 1250
2. UVA: 1089
3. Louisville: 1066.5
4. VT: 898
5. Florida St: 812.5
6. ND: 803.5
7. UNC: 630.5
8. Pitt: 520
9. GT: 506
10. Duke: 421
11. Miami: 197
12. BC: 134

Individual Scores by Year

Score Progression

What the score was after each event

Points in Each Event

What each team scored in each event

By Lauren Neidigh on SwimSwam

2020 TENNESSEE LAST CHANCE MEET

• February 28-29, 2020
• Knoxville, TN
• Short Course Yards
• Estimated NCAA Invite Times
• NCAA ‘A’ Cuts
• Results

Following the SEC Championships last week, Tennessee hosted their 2020 Last Chance Meet for swimmers on the bubble to try to qualify for the NCAA Championships. The Vols’ Nikol Popov did just that with her swim in the 200 breast.

Putting up the fastest breaststroke times of the meet, however, was Louisville’s Morgan Friesen. In prelims of the 100 breast, Friesen dropped a 59.62 to move up to 25th in the NCAA. She then swam a 2:07.24 in a 200 breast time trial, which is arguably even more impressive, as it ranks #8 in the NCAA this season. Teammate Kaylee Wheeler raced to a 59.04 in the 100 breast final ahead of Popov (1:00.04). Wheeler is now #12 in that event.

It was a strong day for breaststrokers, as Tennessee’s Brett Champlin swam to #24 in the 200 breast. Champlin clocked in with a lifetime best 1:54.03. Kentucky’s Wyatt Amdor threw down a personal best 52.32 in the 100 breast to move to 22nd in the nation.

ADDITIONAL IMPACT SWIMS

• Louisville’s Lainey Visscher swam a 22.21 in a time trial of the 50 free, taking 7 hundredths from her season best in the individual event. Then, in a 100 free time trial, she put up a 22.15 on the front half of the 100 free time trial. She’s now ranked #35.
• Kentucky’s Connor Blandford lowered his best to a 3:42.73 in the 400 IM. He should be safely qualified for NCAAs as he’s now ranked #15.
• Louisville freshman Maddie Luther swam a 16:13.80 in the mile. She’s now 34th in the nation.

Read the full story on SwimSwam: Friesen Drops 2:07 200 BR, 8 Potential NCAA Qualifiers at Tennessee Last Chance

By Braden Keith on SwimSwam

Just like we did last week with the women, this week we took a look at how many swimmers each NCAA team is likely to qualify for the swimming portion of the upcoming Men’s NCAA Swimming Championships.

With one week of men’s conference action to go (the women are done), and just the MAC and the Pac-12 left to go, we calculated how many swimmers from each NCAA Division I team are likely to qualify for the upcoming NCAA Championship meet.

Note: this analysis was done based on times pulled from the NCAA database on Sunday afternoon. Many Last Chance times have already been entered from this weekend, as have all of the conference meet results, but some late-in-the-day last chance swims might not be considered yet.

The 2020 Men’s NCAA Swimming & Diving Championships will be held from March 25th-28th in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Methodology

• This analysis presumes that swimmers who are currently ranked in the top 15 in the NCAA are safely qualified for the meet. It would be an unprecedented occurrence for a swimmer currently ranked in the top 15 in the NCAA heading into the final weekend of conference meets to not earn an invite.
• The analysis presumes that swimmers ranked 16-20 are “likely” invitees. These swimmers are relatively safe, but they could theoretically get bumped.
• The analysis presumes that swimmers ranked 20th-30th are “on the bubble.” Barring improvements of their times at last chance meets, their fates are dependent on how fast, or not, swimmers are at the last few remaining championship meets, as well as which swimmers ahead of them choose which events for NCAAs (like Shaine Casas, who right now has NCAA invite times in 5 different individual events, but can only swim 3 later this month).

Observations

• This analysis currently has 226 swimmers. 235 swimmers earn an invite to the NCAA Championships every season. A similar analysis at this point last season would have been exactly 235 swimmers, and last season, the cut line came mid-way through the 30th place rank. So, expect this year’s cut line to be closer to 29th place, pending what happens at the Pac-12 Championships.
• The Texas Longhorn men have at least 20 likely NCAA qualifiers, with another 4 possible ‘on the bubble’ qualifiers, for the NCAA Championships, and that’s before accounting for their divers. Last season, Texas had 18 swimmers and 4 divers qualify for the NCAA Championships. With a maximum roster size of 18, and divers counting only as one-half of a roster spot, that meant they had to cut two swimmers, Jack Collins and Johnthomas Larson, from their roster. This year, the Longhorns could be looking at a cut of 4, or even more, swimmers from their roster.
• The defending NCAA Champion men, meanwhile, have some work to do. So far, they only have 5 swimmers locked-in to an NCAA Championship qualifying position. Last year, when they won the title, Cal had 14 individual swimmers qualified for the meet, 4 of which have since graduated. But, with honors of going last, they know the times to target to lock up their spots at the NCAA Championship meet.
• The Texas A&M men, who finished 2nd at last week’s SEC Championship meet, have only 5 possible qualifiers at present. That’s as compared to 13 for the champion Florida Gators (with 9 very likely). While the A&M men have made big strides in the last few seasons, that highlights where the gap between Florida and A&M still exists: depth.
• The Arizona men have their work cut out for them at this week’s Pac-12 Championship meet. The team has one swimmer, Brooks Fail, who is a lock for an NCAA invite, and 5 more currently sitting on the bubble (more than any other team in this analysis). The Arizona women didn’t have a great Pac-12 championship meet last weekend, with only 4 top-8 finishes in individual swimming events. The good news is that, after some struggles in the morning, a lot of those women wound up dropping time in finals, which is what’s key for hitting NCAA Championship invite times.
• After not having any swimmers at last year’s NCAA Championship meet, the North Carolina men have made a small step in the right direction with one sure-fire qualifier: junior breaststroker Valdas Abaliksta.

Data

By Lauren Neidigh on SwimSwam

2020 MISSOURI QUALIFIER

• February 29-March 1, 2020
• Columbia, MO
• Short Course Yards
• Estimated NCAA Invite Times
• NCAA ‘A’ Cuts
• Results

Following the SEC Championships last week, Missouri hosted their 2020 Qualifier for swimmers on the bubble to try to qualify for the NCAA Championships. Mizzou’s Jack Dahlgren had a big swim in the 200 back to qualify for NCAAs. He took over a second off his lifetime best, hitting the wall in 1:39.92. His former season best from November had him ranked 30th, but he’s now the 6th fastest man in the country this season.

That’s significantly faster than Dahlgren swam at the 2020 SEC Championships in mid-February. He won the B final there with a 1:42.14. His time last night would have been fast enough to earn the bronze medal at that meet. Dahlgren’s former lifetime best was a 1:40.99 from the 2019 SEC meet. He placed 20th in the event at the 2019 NCAA Championships as a freshman. His time tonight would have placed 2nd in the B final/10th overall at NCAAs last season.

There were no other new NCAA Qualifiers at the meet so far, with only Sunday finals remaining. Teammate Nick Alexander, who will qualify for NCAAs with his #6 ranking in the 200 IM, swam the 100 fly. Alexander clipped his best, lowering it from a 46.38 to a 46.35.

Read the full story on SwimSwam: Missouri Last Chance: Jack Dahlgren Drops 1:39 200 Back to Qualify for NCAAs