By Braden Keith on SwimSwam
2020 SEC Swimming & Diving CHAMPIONSHIPS
- Tuesday, February 18 – Saturday, February 22, 2020
- Auburn, AL – James E. Martin Aquatic Center
- Prelims/Finals: 9:30 AM/5:30 PM Wed-Sat, 10/4:20PM Tues (Central Standard Time)
- Defending Men’s Champion: Florida (7x) (results)
- Defending Women’s Champion: Texas A&M (4x)
- Live results
- Live Video – SEC Network
- Championship Central
- Men’s Fan Guide
- Women’s Fan Guide
- Psych Sheets
Pre-cut psych sheets for the 2020 SEC Men’s & Women’s Swimming & Diving Championships have been sent out. These pre-cut psych sheets don’t force coaches to cut their rosters down, nor entries-per-swimmer down, to the maximums, but do start to give a few clues about where coaches are pointing their swimmers for the meet.
Each team is allowed a maximum of 22 athletes at the meet. Starting last year, that maximum became indiscriminate between swimmers and divers – coaches can enter as many as they want of either, and each athlete counts as 1 regardless of whether they are swimmers or divers.
Tennessee senior Erika Brown, a contender for national swimmer of the year this season, is entered in the 50 free, 100 free, 200 free, 100 fly, and 100 back. Those were all of the events she was ever going to swim (though she did race the 200 IM mid-season), so that doesn’t tell us much.
Where we did learn a lot, though, is for National Teamer and Texas A&M Aggie Shaine Casas. He’s the top seed in the 100 back, 200 back, and 200 IM at the meet. While those are clearly his best events so far this season, and the same 3 that he swam at last year’s SEC Championships, last season he shifted to the 100 and 200 fly at the NCAA Championships. He’s also the conference’s 4th-best swimmer in the 50 free this season, 5th-best in the 100 free, 2nd best in the 200 free (behind only his teammate Mark Theall), and top-ranked 100 butterflier.
Other Entry Notes:
- Kieran Smith, a sophomore at Florida, is one of the 16 fastest swimmers in the SEC in 8 different events. In true Florida fashion, he’s pre-entered in all 8 events.
- Kentucky’s Asia Seidt will swim the 100 back, 200 back, and 200 IM. That was always her likely entry list, with the most plausible curveball being the 200 free, where she’s the 6th-best in the conference this season.
- Missouri’s Sarah Thompson is entered in the 50 free, 100 back, 200 back, and 100 fly. She is the 3rd seed in the 50 free and 100 back and the 6th seed in the 200 back. Interesting, she has taken no option for the 100 free, where she would be the 6th seed. That race is swum on the last day of the meet, along with the 200 back.
- Danny Kovac of Missouri will swim the 100 fly, 100 breast, and 200 IM. While in most league meets, and NCAAs, the 100 fly and 100 breast come on the same day, at the SEC Championships, they don’t. He’s also the 5th-best 50 freestyler in the conference this season (which would be 4th with no Shaine Casas).
- Missouri’s Nick Alexander won’t swim the 500 free, where he’s the 5th-best swimmer in the conference this season, but has left the door open to choose from among the 100 back (7th seed), 200 back (4th seed), 200 IM (3rd seed), and 200 fly (6th seed). He was 2nd at SECs last season in the 200 IM.
Read the full story on SwimSwam: Psych Sheets for the 2020 SEC Swimming & Diving Championships Released