Womens’ 100 Breast

The Favorites:  Rebecca Soni and Jessica Hardy are clearly the two favorites in this event, but both get there entirely different ways.  Hardy is a pure sprinter, she still holds the world record in the 50 breast and 100 breast and is one of the favorites to get a 50 free berth, while Soni’s specialty is the 200, although she has swum the fastest textile times in both the 100 and the 200.  Hardy’s staying power on the second 50 will determine the results of this race.  Club teammates Annie Chandler and veteran Amanda Beard as well as Micah Lawrence will try to chase the two favorites down, they have each been under 1:08.

The College Girls:  A&M’s Breeja Larson has taken the college world by storm the past couple of years, she has gone from recruiting afterthought to the fastest short course sprint breaststroker in history over the course of the past two years.  Ellyn Baumgartner of Arizona has actually had the fastest long course time of the college swimmers, while Wisconsin Badger Ashley Wanland comes in right behind the two.  And while she sits pretty far down the rankings currently, don’t sleep on Cal Bear Caitlin Leverenz.  She may be more of a 200 swimmer, but her 26.6/57.7 breast splits on the medley relays at NCAAs last year proves that she can sprint as well.

The Teenagers:  Sarah Haase and Kelly Naze are the top two high schoolers in this event.  Haase has been sub-minute in short course, while Colorado Star Naze swam her best time two years ago.  Georgia commit Annie Zhu joins the pair as high schoolers under 1:10.

The Call:  Soni and Hardy are clearly the two best 100 breaststrokers, possibly the best in American swimming history.  I think Hardy takes this at Trials with Soni saving up a little bit more for the bigger meet in August.

Mens’ 200 Fly

The Favorites:  Michael Phelps broke into the international spotlight in Sydney as a 15-year-old and hasn’t looked back, becoming the greatest butterflyer in the history of the sport.  He’s pretty much a lock for an Olympic berth in the event.  The second spot is much more up for grabs.  Tyler Clary is the other American under 1:56 this year, while Bobby Bollier, who is coming off of the less-than-stellar college season for him, clocks in right at 1:56 low.  Dan Madwed and Davis Tarwater, both with ties to Michigan swimming like Phelps and Clary, have dropped some very fast 200 fly times thus far.  Tarwater recently returned from an overseas stint with some improved sprint skills.

The College Boys:  UNC’s Tom Luchsinger leads the university crowd at right over 1:57.  Stanford’s David Mosko and Southern Cal transfer Dakota Hodgson follow him on the list.  There’s a pretty thick Cal Bears flavor to this race, as sprinter Seth Stubblefield, IMer Ben Hinshaw, Robbie Sullivan and NCAA champions Will Hamilton and Tom Shields appear high in the rankings.

The Teenagers:  Clark Smith is the top high school swimmer in the event, and the only one to break 2 minutes thus far.  Young fly/back combo swimmer Corey Okubo has been making a name for himself the past year and is the next high school swimmer ranked.  All-around stars Chase Kalisz and Josh Prenot follow closely behind.

The Call:  Of course Phelps is the first pick.  He’s proven himself to be the best American flyer even if he’s not entirely on his game, and you can bet he’ll be there in a month.  For the second pick, I’m going to go with another former Club Wolverine star, Tarwater.  I like what the veteran has shown after his time overseas and his overall body of work bodes well for a breakout performance.

Women

The Favorites:  Natalie Coughlin is perhaps the most talented female backstroker in history.  Her underwaters are legendary and give her the speed to beat anybody if she’s on her game.  Hot on her heels though is phenom Missy Franklin.  She’s already got a short course meters backstroke world record to her name in the 200 and that range makes her back half the strong point of her race.  This event boasts a much younger field than most, with Franklin, Rachel Bootsma and Elizabeth Pelton leading the high schoolers and making up 3 of the 4 Americans under the minute mark thus far.  Jennifer Connelly, the NCAA bronze medalist in the short course version of this event last year, rounds out the top 5 Americans.

The College Girls:   Two-time NCAA champion in this event Cindy Tran of Cal swims in the mold of Coughlin with powerful underwaters, but she hasn’t quite been able to translate that to long course success yet.  The runner-up in the event, Georgia Bulldog Megan Romano has had more success in the longer event with her finishing speed.  Another event, another top-10 American time for Florida Gator Elizabeth Biesel.  If I had to guess I’d say she’ll swim this and not the 400 free the day before.

The Teenagers:  High schoolers in this event aren’t just limited to the top three phenoms Franklin, Bootsma and Pelton.  Olivia Smoliga has a 1 flat long course best and a 52 short course.  Megan White and 15-year-old Kathleen Baker have each been under 1:02 as well.

The Call:  Hard to go against the Golden Girl even with as good as Missy is.  I think those two will take the race by a relatively big margin and I wouldn’t be surprised to see both of them break 59.

Men

The Favorites:  The abrupt retirement of Aaron Peirsol left a big hole in American men’s backstroking.   From Carey to Berkoff to Rouse to Krazylburg to Peirsol, the United States could always count on being in the lead or within a stroke of the lead on the leadoff of the medley relay, and there are several swimmers vying to take that mantle this Olympics.  While he’s only put in the third fastest seed time thus far, Matt Grevers is the defending silver medalist from Beijing.  Nick Thoman and David Plummer were the US’s representatives in Shanghai last summer.  Ryan Lochte enters with a solid seed time but this event is certainly not his specialty and comes right after the 200 free final.  Ben Hesen, who did his best time just last weekend, rounds out the top 5 (not counting Phelps, who is almost guaranteed not to swim it).

The College Boys:  Kyle Owens of Auburn stands right outside the top 5 at 6th.  He placed 4th at NCAAs but is better set up for long course swimming than the three who finished above him.  Texas’s pair of freshman All-American Kip Darmody and Patrick Murphy follow with 54 second seed times.  David Nolan of Stanford and Arizona Wildcats Cory Chitwood and Mitchell Friedmann come in with 55-low seeds.

The Teenagers:  This is one of the strongest events for high schoolers in the guys realm as well.  Ryan Murphy, Jacob Pebley and Jack Conger took turns exchanging blows during the short course season - over the course of one weekend each swam 46 high to 47 low 100 and 1:40 200 short course backstrokes.  Look for them especially at the 2016 Trials, but one or more could possibly get a second swim in this event this year as well.

The Call:  He may be third, but Grevers has the pedigree and the talent to defend his Olympic berth and I think he has the best shot at the win here.  I’ll go with my fellow ex-Oklahoman veteran backstroker Plummer for the second spot, though Lochte will push if he swims it.

Womens’ 400 Free

The Favorites:  This event is as wide-open as any for the women.  Open water expert Chloe Sutton has put up the fastest time this Olympic cycle, but not by much.  However, it was also two years ago so she could have more to drop.  On the other hand, Allison Schmitt put up her second-ranked time just last weekend, presumably untapered.  The US’s best 200 freestyler did that time in the course of an intense race against rising distance phenom and 15-year-old Kathleen Ledecky, who seems to drop time every time she touches the water, which is what you’d expect at that age.  Who knows what she could drop to in a month.  Veterans and the faces of American women’s distance swimming through Beijing, Katie Hoff and Kate Ziegler have also put up top-5 times this cycle.

The College Girls:  Ashley Steenvorden of Minnesota comes in right after the aforementioned top 5.  She’s had a very consistently good career with the Golden Gophers and looks to top it off with an Olympic Trials finals appearance.  Florida Gator Elizabeth Beisel isn’t usally thought of as a distance swimmer but could add this to her repretoire at Trials, she’s ranked 7th currently.  Haley Anderson of USC (that’s Southern Cal, not South Carolina) was the NCAA champion in this event last year, while freshman Georgia Bulldog Amber McDermott was the runner-up.  Watch out for the rest of the vaunted Georgia mid-distance crew, Shannon Vreeland and Jordan Mattern also come in with Trials cuts.

The Teenagers:  Ledecky is not the only youngster looking to make a splash at their first Trials.  Gillian Ryan and Leah Smith are seperated by a mere 4 hundredths at 10th and 11th seed respectively.  Chelsea Chenault joins the three as high schoolers who have broken 4:10 this cycle.

The Call:  Schmitt has proven herself to be the best mid-distance hope for the Americans, she’s put up fast times consistently throughout the season and in a variety of events.  I’m going to go with Hoff for the second spot, to secure an Olympic swim in her second event of the week.

 Mens’ 200 Free

The Favorites:  Michael Phelps and Ryan Lochte are the big two again in this one.  Phelps has the textile world record and is the only man to break 1:44 without the aid of a rubber suit.  Lochte actually got his Olympic feet wet in the 4×200 relay in 2004 and is the most recent world champion in the event.  Peter Vanderkaay and Ricky Berens are the next two fastest Americans, they also have Olympic relay experience while Vanderkaay boasts a 2008 bronze medal in this event.  After that comes two recent ex-college mid distance standouts, Conor Dwyer and Matt McLean.  Much as in the womens’ 400, this event is filled with lots of entries from one program, in this case the Texas Longhorns, after Berens comes names like Walters, Hill, Youngquist, Klueh and Weber-Gale.  The final heat could have a distinctly burnt-orange tint.

The College Boys:  Not really many past Longhorns Hill (the reigning NCAA short course champion) and Youngquist.  Hanging around in the late 20s are Florida freshman Nicholas Caldwell and Cal all-around star Tom Shields, who could possibly fight for a relay spot but will probably be focused more on the fly events.

The Teenagers:  Nick Alexiou is the only high schooler under the 1:50 mark, though Reed Malone could join him at Trials.  They’ve both done their best times in the past few months.  The sprint free events definitely favor the more physically mature veterans over youngsters.

The Call:  Picking some of these events is really not very fun, it’s actually pretty boring to just say Phelps and Lochte for the win, but they are so far ahead of everybody else there’s just no other option.  For the other four relay spots, I’m going to take surging Berens, all-around standout Tyler Clary, who popped off a 1:48 last month in presumably heavy training, veteran Vanderkaay and Dwyer, who continues his rise from borderline DI recuit at Iowa to big-time national teamer with an Olympic relay berth.

Womens’ 100 Fly

The Favorites:  Dana Vollmer is the American record-holder in this event as well as the defending world champion.  Her fastest time during this Olympic cycle is the top seed by almost a second over Christine Magnuson, the United States’ other representative in Shanghai.  These two ladies are the only ones to break 58 for the Americans thus far, but expect Claire Donohue and Kathleen Hersey to challenge them.  Natalie Coughlin comes in with the third fastest time, and would have a great shot to make the team in the event if she decides to swim it.

The College Girls:  Stanford’s Felicia Lee is the top seeded female college swimmer at 6th.  She’s a better long course than short course swimmer, and her best time is actually from two years ago.  She’s follow closely by Ivy League standout Alex Forrester in 7th, she came in sixth at this past March’s NCAA champs.  The top three Americans from that meet, Auburn’s Olivia Scott and Tennessee Volunteer duo Jennifer Connolly and Kelsey Floyd are a little further down in the rankings, but could be ready for breakout swims after big improvement this past season.

The Teenagers:  Kelly Naze comes in as the top seeded high schooler in the race at 10th place and the only one under 59 seconds, plus she did that time two years ago.  Next up is youngster Kendyl Stewart, while lurking further down is the fastest short course high school 100 flyer in history, Jasmine Tosky.

The Call:  Vollmer could challenge the world record this year if she peaks well, I’m taking her in the first spot.  For the second, I’ll take Donohue because of her front half speed.  She could very well be in the lead at the turn, and if she can hold on for the back half she could actually challenge Vollmer.

Mens’ 100 Breast

The Favorites:   The US has had 6 men under 1:01 this Olympic cycle, lead by two time Olympian Brendan Hansen‘s 1:00.08 at last year’s national championships after a hiatus from the pool.  During his absence, Mike Alexandrov, Mark Gangloff and Eric Shanteau took turns filling his spot as the best American breaststroker.  Shanteau seems to be peaking at the right time, the 200 specialist got very close to his textile bests at this past weekend’s UltraSwim, presumably untapered, while Gangloff and Alexandrov have blistering opening speed.  Joining them under the 1:01 mark are veterans Kevin Swander and Marcus Titus, the latter of whom would be a great story after winning a dispute over signals for hard-of-hearing and deaf swimmers.

The College Boys:  Texas’s Eric Friedland is the top college swimmer – he’s a previous college champion in the 200 - while hot on his heels (by 0.03 seconds) is Arizona freshman, NCAA champion and American short course record holder Kevin Cordes.  Stanford’s Curtis Lovelace rounds out the top three university swimmers in terms of entry times. 

The Teenagers:  This really seems to be a veteran-heavy event this cycle, as the top high school breaststroker is Georgia commit Zach Gunn at 1:03.1.  Following him is Dan Le at 1:03.5.

The Call:  Going with a little bit of deviance for this one, I think Shanteau is on his way to big things this year.  You can always count on him to make a run in the back half of this race and I think the competition won’t be far enough ahead to stop him from blowing by.  For second I’m going with a rising star, the young Wildcat Cordes.  He put up some blistering times this winter and has proved in the past he’s not just a short course swimmer.

Men:

The Favorites:  This race of starts, of course, with the big two in international swimming, Mssr’s Lochte and Phelps.  Phelps is the world record holder, but has taken some time off from this event in international competition.  In fact, it’s not even a lock that he will swim the event at Trials.  Lochte filled in nicely for the Americans with two world championship titles to his name since the last Olympic Games, including the “textile world record.”  The story on them is known:  Phelps the flyer and Lochte the backstroker build insurmountable leads in the front half.  Their back halfs don’t determine whether they win or not, but rather how low the time will be.  The second fastest American thus far in this Olympic cycle is another great overall swimmer, Tyler Clary.  He’s an especially strong front-halfer and while the odds are he won’t win the race, he could take the second spot from one of the big two if they underestimate their amount of rest for the meet.  The solid and underrated Robert Margalis is also a contender for the finals.  He’s been a staple on national teams for almost a decade but has never made an Olympic Games thanks to the once-in-a-generation talent above him.

The College Boys:  NCAA Division I champion in this event, Arizona’s Austen Thompson, is a great breaststroker, but he also brings solid fly and back legs to the table.  If he can close the freestyle strong he will have a good shot at finaling in this event.  Georgia Bulldog Andrew Gemmell is actually the fastest college swimmer in this race, he is the opposite of Thompson in that his freestyle is his big strength.  Youngster Adam Hinshaw of the national champion Cal Bears got his trial cut before even getting to the NCAA, and produced the 10th fastest time in Division I last year as a freshman.

The Teenagers:  Chase Kalisz and Josh Prenot are as formidable a high school IM duo as we’ve seen in recent memory.  Both at 4:18, they are currently the 9th and 10th fastest Americans in this Olympic cycle, and both have put up blistering untapered times this year.  We could see some fireworks there.

The Call:  This is probably the 2nd easiest race to pick on the men’s side.  Lochte and Phelps are so far ahead of really anybody in history in the IMs, it’s almost impossible to pick against them.  We will, however, see a closer race than the past few Trials finals and a look at the outside lanes should yield a glimpse into the future of this event for the Americans.

Women:

The Favorites:  Elizabeth Biesel is the surprise defending world champion, having posted a time four seconds ahead of any other American woman during the past Olympic cycle.  She’s a backstroke specialist who has her best races when she can take out the fly with the pack.  In contrast is back-halfer Caitlin Leverenz had a coming-out year in both long course and short course, dominating the IMs and breaststrokes throughout the year.  Ariana Kukors and Katie Hoff have been training with the FAST Center for Excellence and hope to reclaim some glory.  Kukors is best-known as the 200 IM world record-holder, while Hoff has been a great all-around swimmer for years.  It is perhaps her inability to choose a specialty that has hurt her in the big competitions.

The College Girls:  Stanford’s Maya DiRado is next in line after the top four.  She’s broken 4 minutes short course and swims a very good overall race.  Cammille Adams is an up-and-comer from Texas A&M who actually did her 6th ranked time untapered at the Austin Grand Prix this January.  Georgia’s Jana Mangimelli is the rare IMer whose strengths are in the middle section of the race, back and breast.

The Teenagers:  Not as many high schoolers threatening for finals as in the guys’ event, the top ranked currently is 18th ranked Jasmine Tosky, the fastest short course 100 flyer in high school history.  However, she may not even swim this event as she is so strong in many others.  Hali Flickinger and Lauren Driscoll are distance specialists, Driscoll almost matched her best time at the UltraSwim last night.

The Call:  After the winter season she had, both in long course and short course, I’m going to have to go with Leverenz for the first spot.  She has the single biggest advantage in her breaststroke leg and can dominate if she keeps contact with the leaders over the front half.  For the second spot, I’m going with the veteran Hoff.  She seems to be rounding into form and if she has decided to focus on the IM races she can still be one of the best in the world.

Yannick Lebherz booked his ticket to the Olympics thanks to his big win in the 400 IM. Lebherz, the German national record holder fell just short of his personal best of 4:14.02 as he touched in 4:14.90. Nonetheless it was good enough for an Olympic berth as it easily cleared the FINA A mark of 4:16.46. The time moves him up to 14^th on the year in the event. He will be the lone representative for Germany in this event as second place finisher Jacob Heidtmann finished well off the mark needed in 4:21.11.

On the women’s side no lady could produce a fast enough swim to earn a trip to London as winner Katharina Schiller touched in 4:44.52. That time comes up well short of the German standard in place of 4:38.84 and was off the FINA A mark of 4:41.75 as well.

In her warm-up swim of the championships Britta Steffen threw down a warning call to the rest of the world with a strong leadoff swim of 53.65. The defending Olympic gold medalist now sits fourth in the world this year behind Ranomi Kromowidjojo, Sarah Sjostrom and Francesca Halsall as she will look to move past them in the individual race later in the meet.

Manuel Schwarz took home a national championship in the men’s 800 freestyle to kick off the meet in a time of 8:02.04.  In the women’s 1500 it was Antonia Beck who took the win in 16:41.69.

Sutton, a 2008 Olympian in the open water, continues to look like a strong contender and the leader for the women’s distance events heading into trials as she took the win in 16:23.96. That time now ranks her seventh in the world standings behind New Zealand’s Lauren Boyle. Sutton is also slated to compete in a variety of other events this weekend including the 200, 400 and 800 freestyles. Finishing second was training partner Ashley Twichell in 16:25.25 to move up to eighth.

On the men’s side it was another Mission Viejo standout who took the win as Stanford senior Chad La Tourette took the 800 free in 7:58.91. That time improves upon his 14^th ranked time this year. Michigan’s Connor Jaeger took second in 8:00.81 to rank 21^st this year.

Tomorrow will kick off the second day of competition with a slew of National Team members in action. In the first event of the day the head to head matchup everyone is gearing up for this summer is on tap as Michael Phelps and Ryan Lochte will meet in the 200 free. Rebecca Soni and Jessica Hardy also expect to battle tomorrow in the 100 breaststroke and Dana Vollmer will take on training mate Natalie Coughlin the 100 fly. Spring events in the 50 back and 50 breast are also on the schedule.

His greatest rivals, including Kosuke Kitajima and Cameron van der Burgh both posted heartfelt responses to the news and showed that beyond the pool Alexander Dale Oen was a friend to all, who’s infectious smile is one many won’t soon forgotten. Kitajima first posted in Japanese, “I can not stop the tears,” and later followed that up with a tweet to the man who was expected to be his greatest challenger this summer, “In shock over the passing of a dear friend and great rival. RIP Alex.” Van der Burgh summed up Dale Oen as well, “To my greatest rival. My greatest friend. My brother in breaststroke. May you rest in peace. One love.”

The outpour continued from athletes all over the world who wanted to pass along their take on a great swimmer but an even better person. As I read over these athletes responses I think back to October 2010 when the news broke that Fran Crippen had died while competing in the UAE. The swimming world was shocked and saddened by the untimely death of someone so young and so full of life. The support the Crippen family received was overwhelming but showed just how loved Fran was. The same can be said of Dale Oen.

In the wake of one of the darkest days in Norweigian history Dale Oen was their shining star; their light in the darkness. His victory in the 100 breaststroke at the 2011 world championships came just three days after the terrorist attack rocked the Scandinavian nation and left 77 people dead. As he touched the wall Dale Oen pointed to the Norweigian flag on his swim cap to signify that the victory was for his entire country as they worked to move past unthinkable tragedy.  Today the country and the swimming world will once again try to understand this tragic event and remember a man who helped bring hope back to an ailing nation.

Swimmers from around the world react to the untiming passing of Alexander Dale Oen via Twitter:

Rowdy Gaines: The swimming world lost one of its own yesterday way too young. Alexander Dale Oen, World Champ and Olympic silver medalist dead at 26. RIP

Jennie Johansson: Totally in shock. Such a great swimmer and lovely person leaving us way to early. RIP Alex! My thoughts are with your family and friends

Darian Townsend: My thoughts and prayers go out to Alexander Dale Oen’s family. The swimming world has lost a true ambassador to the sport. Sad, sad day.

Kirsty Coventry: My thoughts are with Alexander Dale Oen’s family. He was an amazing swimmer and Ioved watching his performance at World Champs last year.

Dave Marsh: prayers from Charlotte to Dale’s family&all Norway.

Marieke Gueher: RIP @alexdaleoen a true champion and wonderful role model. This is the definition of a tragedy. You will be sorely missed.

Yannick Agnel: So shocked… Rest in peace

Ranomi Kromowidjojo: Alex…. RIP

Dorothea Brandt: I can not believe in the articles that say Alexander Dale Oen died. I am shocked! My thoughts and prayers go out to his family & friends.

Kathleen Hersey: Thoughts & prayers to Alexander Dale Oen, his friends, family and teammates. The swim community lost a great talent.

Jessica Hardy: A man of example, whom the world of swimming will surely miss. RIP Alexander

Damir Dugonjic: Really shocked to hear news about friend and swimmer Alexander Dale Oen. Such a tragedy

Rebecca Adlington: So shocked to hear about Alexander Dale Oen passing away. Such a talented swimmer. Was so young. Thoughts are with his friends and family.

Minka Jukic: I’m in shock…cannot believe this…Alexander Dale Oen…we will miss you, buddy… R.I.P.

Melanie Schlanger: Is shocked and saddened to hear of the passing of Alex Dale Oen. His achievements in swimming will never be forgotten.

Eamon Sullivan: RIP my friend, Alexander Dale Oen. One of the best breastrokers of all time. you will be missed. So so sad

Amaury Leveaux: sad day for the swimming world. RIP Alex. bad day for the world of swim RIP Alex <3

Roland Schoeman: My thoughts and prayers go out to all of Alex dale Oen’s friends and family. Very sad news to wake up to. Swimming has lost a gentleman

Brendan Hansen: Sad to hear of Dale Oen passing, that infectious smile will forever be missed in the ready room. RIP Alex

Markus Rogan: You will be remembered for giving Norway hope on one of its darkest days, RIP Alexander Dale Oen

Gideon Louw: My respects go out to Alexander Dale Oen.The Swimming world has lost a tremendous athlete, much too long before his time.

Ricky Berens: Terrible news in the swimming world. Very sad news. Thoughts and prayers to his family, friends, and teammates.

Norweigan coach Peter Loevberg said ”We’re all in shock. This is an out-of-the-body experience for the whole team over here. Our thoughts primarily go to his family who have lost Alexander way too early.”

Dale Oen captured the 100 breaststroke world title last year in one of the emotional races at the championships. As his country was shaken after a terrorist attack killed 77 people Dale Oen gave the Scandinavian country hope in the wake of unthinkable tragedy.  On his way to victory he also set a new textile best mark of 58.71 and many were gearing for him to challenge to world record at this summer’s Olympics.

Fellow swimmers have taken to Twitter to remember the late champion and it is apparent that his impact in the swimming community was felt worldwide.  Through the shock and grief felt this morning as the news broke we are reminded that not only are these elite athletes competitors in the pool but friends and colleagues outside of the water. The collective feelings are similar to the same felt on October 23, 2010 when the world lost another amazing individual in Fran Crippen. Like Dale Oen, Crippen was only 26 when he passed away during an open water race in UAE.

Check back to The Swimmers Circle throughout the day as we continue to remember the life of Alexander Dale Oen.

With more swimmers returning to the sport, more meets on the docket and more excitement in the pool, records are falling across events, age groups and the country.  I couldn’t keep up with all the times falling in Greensboro this past weekend at the USMS Nationals; in fact, I’m still trying to keep up with some of the great times posted by Chicago Masters at the Illinois Masters State Championships over the weekend of April 21^st and 22^nd where that team set 4 new National Records!

In the Men’s 25+ 400 Medley Relay, the team of Charlie Cunick, Tim Carlson, Justin Chiles and Vince Allegra demolished a 12 year old record, going 3:25.49 to take down the previous record of 3:27.13 held by Clay Britt, Wally Dicks, Jeffrey Roddin, Michael Fell (3-12-2000).

In the Women’s 18+ 200 Medley Relay, Hannika Schleebs, Kelly McNichols, Katie Braun and Julia Shallcross went 1:47.44 to slash the old record of 1:48.84 held by Clemson (May 23, 2010).

But, it wasn’t just relay strength alone as Kelly McNichols set two new 18-24 year old breaststroke records:

• 50 breaststroke – Kelly smoked a 28.47, well under Kara Denby’s old record of 29.01 (4/25/10)
• 100 breaststroke – When a record stands for almost a decade, you know it’s a tough one.  Kelly swam a 1:02.71 that was good enough to beat the 1:02.86 set by Riley Mants back in May of 2003.

Beyond the record-setting swims, the coaches and team were stoked with the attendance by 55 of their swimmers; a team size that no doubt powered them to the Men’s Title and a 2^nd Place Overall team finish.