By Chris Harrell
What a great NCAA meet! Lots of drama, surprises, a tight team race and much, much more. Before we get going on our look ahead to the men’s meet, I’d like to take a look back, hand out a few awards and recap my top 10 predictions.
All Hail the Pac-10: There’s no question who the power conference was in women’s swimming & diving this year as the PAC-10 earned four of the top five places at the NCAA meet. Those four schools alone (Cal, USC, Stanford, and Arizona) combined to score 1,313 points – more than the entire SEC (1,106.5), and Big Ten (574.5) – while Cal nearly outscored the fourth-best conference, the Big 12, by itself (454 to 424).
Swimmer of the Meet: Katinka Hosszu, USC. The only swimmer to win all three of her individual events should be a stone cold lock for this award, especially when two of those events are the 400 IM and 200 fly. Hosszu proved her seed times were as good as advertised and led the Trojans to their best finish in a long time and really wasn’t challenged to the wall in any of her three wins. Other worthy candidates included Auburn’s Ariana Vanderpool-Wallace for successfully completing the 50-100 free sprint double and Allison Schmitt of Georgia for successfully defending her 200 and 500 freestyle titles.
Diver of the Meet: Kelci Bryant, Minnesota. While falling one spot short of defending her three-meter crown, thanks in part to a less than ideal first dive, Bryant did add a one-meter title to her resume and supplied a strong Minnesota squad with 37 points in her two events. Miami’s Carrie Dragland also deserves special mention as the only diver to ‘A’ final on all three boards as does Abby Johnston of Duke for holding off Bryant to win the three-meter crown and taking fifth on the one-meter.
Coach of the Meet: Teri McKeever, California. There are a lot of coaches that impressed this week but only one won the title. The Golden Bears weren’t necessarily the favorite entering the meet but generally made the most of their opportunities and that’s why they walked out with the grand prize. Among others worthy include Dave Salo, USC, for his success in compiling so many individual threats at titles, Frank Busch, Arizona, and Steve Bultman, Texas A&M, for helping their freshmen show up on the big stage to keep top five and top 10 streaks going, respectively, and Pat Mead of Towson for proving one of the mid-majors can hang with the big schools with the right coaching and talent.
Race of the Meet: 200 Breast. If you had Haley Spencer of Minnesota winning the 200 breast, go buy a lottery ticket. Even as the top four swimmers reached for the final wall almost simultaneously, most Minnesota fans were likely looking at 100 breast champ Jillian Tyler to see if she could complete the double. Watching the scoreboard at the conclusion of that race provided the biggest ‘wow’ moment of the championships as Spencer stunned teammate Tyler (who ended up fourth) and Cal’s Caitlin Leverenz (third), just edging out another surprise performer at the meet, A&M freshman Breeja Larson, by .06. The top four finishers were separated by a mere .23. As a comparison, the difference between just first and second in the 50 free was .22.
Freshman of the Meet: Breeja Larson, Texas A&M. There were some other very worthy candidates: Maya DiRado of Stanford was top five in three events, Cal’s Cindy Tran was the only freshman winner after taking the 100 back (though she did nearly miss the ‘A’ final by qualifying eighth), Florida’s Elisabeth Beisel was top eight in three races, and Arizona’s Margo Geer was top three in two of the meets’ premier races, but Larson ultimately proved the biggest threat to win multiple events and was the most unheralded of the entire group entering the meet. Most people, including myself, thought we could pretty much hand Jillian Tyler the 100 breast title, and, for much of the race, it looked that way, but Larson gave chase the last 25 and missed catching the favorite by just .12. The 200 breast was much the same way, except the race was twice as long, the margin of victory of was exactly half (.06), and the winner was a shocker. Larson, who has only been swimming two years, entered the season as more or less an unknown with bests of 1:02.1 and 2:22 (not a misprint) in the breaststrokes, and ends the year as the NCAA runner-up and the USA 17-18 National Age Group Record Holder in both events (58.51/2:06.18).
Thoughts and Best Wishes to the Taylors: Our thoughts and best wishes go out to both diver Maren Taylor of Texas and the family and friends of the late Mark Taylor of the University of Houston.
Texas diver Maren Taylor seriously injured her arm during her first dive of the platform championship final on Saturday night but sucked it up and continued to compete in the second round going off the five-meter. While incredibly courageous, this proved an unwise decision as she was put on a stretcher while still in the diving well following her second attempt and was taken to a nearby hospital. I’d go to war with Maren Taylor any time after that show of courage and incredible example of putting team before self.
University of Houston head swimming coach Mark Taylor, 50, passed away of an apparent heart attack on Friday evening while in Austin for the NCAA meet. Taylor had just completed his ninth season at the helm of the University of Houston and was named the Conference USA Coach of the Year in 2009. A moment of silence was taken on the final evening at the NCAA meet in memory of Mark and his efforts for the sport. Taylor is survived by wife Lorraine, and their two sons, Troy and Zane.
Recapping My Top 10: No team deserves my apologies more than the University of Minnesota. The Golden Gophers grabbed ninth and I didn’t even have them in my top 11. I severely underestimated (see: forgot; that’s what happens when you write late at night kids) the impact that national champion diver Kelci Bryant would have on Minnesota’s fortunes, not to mention the impact swimmers like Haley Spencer and Ashley Steenvorden could make for the Golden Gophers. While I was correct in thinking their relays might leave a lot to be desired (two weren’t even top 16), these young ladies more than made up for it. Job well done Minnesota.
10. Tennessee (Actual finish 12th) – The Vols were the only team I had tabbed for the top 10 that didn’t end up there. Tennessee ended up 12th, behind the actual top 10 and Wisconsin which I correctly pegged 11th. The Vols finished 34 points shy of No. 10 Texas A&M. They got solid performances out of their 400 medley (4th) and 400 freestyle (7th) relays, while their three other relays finished in consols. Jenny Connolly led the way individually for the Lady Vols, as expected, but could only manage a top individual finish of fifth (100 fly) and took sixth later on Friday night in the 100 back. Freshman Lindsay Gendron and sophomore Kelsey Floyd did garner eighth-place finishes in the 1,650 and the 200 fly to help boost the Tennessee total.
9. Texas A&M (Actual finish 10th) – Had the Aggies stayed clean on the final relay, I would have hit this one right on the nose as they would have tied Minnesota for ninth. This extremely young A&M team was led by its youngest swimmers. Two freshmen (Cammile Adams and Breeja Larson) combined for three runner-up finishes (200 fly, 100 & 200 breast) while two more both earned spots in big girl finals (Sarah Henry, 6th, 400 IM; Paige Miller, 8th, 100 back). Platform diver Janie Potvin threw in the highest finish of her NCAA career (4th) but the 200 medley relay proved to be A&M’s lone ‘A’ finalist of their five relay entries. The Aggies did earn consol final wins in the 500 free (Adams) and 400 medley relay. Every A&M athlete that earned a second individual swim, or dive, returns next season.
8. Auburn (Actual finish 8th) – Yay, I got one right. The Tigers were indeed led by Ariana Vanderpool-Wallace who successfully swept the sprint freestyles and nearly led the Tigers to a win in the 400 free relay on Saturday night. Wallace missed the NCAA record in the 50 and fell short of her NCAA record 100 free performance at SEC’s, but still was easily the sprinter of the meet and was the butter to the Tigers’ bread on all four relays she competed on (5th and 4th in the medleys, 5th and 2nd in the sprint frees). An 800 free relay DQ cost Auburn a handful of points but would not have affected its’ placing. Freshman Olivia Scott was the only other Auburn swimmer to ‘A’ final (6th in the 100 fly) but they were given a big boost in the diving well from Vennie Dantin who grabbed sixth on both the one-meter and the tower.
7. Florida (Actual finish 7th) – Managed to nail this one too. The Gators only had one relay seeded to make top eight coming in and that’s exactly what happened (800 relay claimed 5th). Freshman Elizabeth Beisel rebounded from a rough eighth place finish in the 500 free final to take second in the 400 IM behind Hosszu and third in the 200 back behind Wisconsin senior Maggie Meyer and the surprising Dominique Bouchard of Missouri. Junior Teresa Crippen successfully made the ‘A’ final in both the 200 back and fly on the same night, grabbing fourth and sixth, after grabbing seventh in the 400 IM a night before. Shara Stafford (8th 200 free) and Sarah Bateman (6th, 50 free) were the other two Gators to earn big girl swims while Monica Dodson grabbed fifth on the three-meter.
6. Arizona (Actual finish 5th) – Young team or not, low seed times or not, I knew not to take Frank Busch’s crew lightly and I STILL didn’t rank them high enough. This was exhibited no more blatantly than the all-freshman Wildcat 200 free relay that came in seeded sixth that grabbed runner-up honors right out of the gate. Freshman Margo Geer has star written all over her, having taken third in the 50 and 100 free (21.93/47.95). The ‘Cats were sixth and third in the medley relays and fourth and third in the 400 and 800 free relays, doing major league damage, as they always do, in the double-point events. Junior Alyssa Anderson was the other big weapon that ‘Zona used on the field as she took third in both the 500 and the 200 fly. Sophomore Ellyn Bumgardner was the the final Wildcat to ‘A’ final, taking fifth in the 100 breast.
5. Texas (Actual finish 6th) – While perhaps not the best meet the hometown faithful could have imagined, the Longhorns did successfully erase the memories of the 11th-place finish from a season ago. Junior Karlee Bispo was a rock star for the Horns, ‘A’ finaling in all three of her races (3rd in the 200 IM and 4th in the 100 and 200 frees) while sophomore Laura Sogar did likewise in both breaststrokes (7th in the 100, 6th in the 200). The Longhorns were also solid in the relays (3rd, 6th, 4th in the frees; 10th and 7th in the medleys) and in the diving well. Sophomores Shelby Cullinan (7th) and Maren Taylor (8th) made the ‘A’ final in the three-meter while Taylor again qualified in the platform prior to her terrible injury in the final.
4. Stanford (Actual finish 4th) – The Cardinal edged Arizona out for the first team trophy by a mere six points. Stanford qualified for three relay ‘A’ finals, experiencing the most success in the 200 and 400 free relays (4th and 5th) and also snuck in the 400 medley relay to take eighth despite being seeded 12th. Freshman Maya DiRado was the only Cardinal to make three big girl finals, taking fifth or better in all three (200 IM, 2nd; 400 IM, 3rd, 200 back, 5th). Senior Kate Dwelley also had a big hand in the Cardinal success with a runner-up finish in the 100 free and a sixth-place effort in the 200. Betsy Webb was the only other Cardinal swimmer to ‘A’ final, taking fourth in the 50. Stanford also got a big boost from diver Meg Hostage who earned the bronze on the one-meter while taking seventh on the tower.
3. USC (Actual finish 3rd) – The Trojans, led by superstar Katinka Hosszu, were as advertised in the pool, rolling up loads of points in the individual events. No one more than Hosszu however as she cruised to wins in both IM’s and the 200 fly to be the no-brainer Swimmer of the Meet. Senior Lyndsay DePaul also reached the big girl final in three events, taking third in the 100 fly, fourth in the 200 fly and eighth in the 200 IM. In addition, three other Trojans were double finalists: sophomore Haley Anderson (3rd in the 1,650, 6th in the 500), senior Presley Bard (3rd in the 100 back, 6th in the 200 back), and freshman Kasey Carlson (4th in the 100 breast, 5th in the 50 free). The free relays did hurt the Trojans significantly with their best finish being eighth in the 800, though they did claim runner-up honors in the 400 medley and third in the 200 medley.
2. California (Actual finish – 1st) – California needed a lot of things to go right to claim the title and that’s precisely what happened – for the most part because they made them happen. They were absolute monsters in the relays, winning each of the first three (both medley and the 200 free) while grabbing second and third in the other two (800 and 400, respectively). THAT is how you win an NCAA team title. Coach McKeever earned her Texas title two-step by getting her crew ready in the individual events too as the group, led by Caitlin Leverenz, found ways to get the job done. Leverenz finished top five in all her events (200 breast, 3rd; 400 IM, 4th; 200 IM 5th) while five other teammates all hit the big girl final twice. Senior Amanda Sims won her second career 100 fly title and tacked on a fifth-place finish in the 200 fly while freshman Cindy Tran grabbed a title in the 100 back. Other Golden Bears earning ‘A’ final doubles were: Liv Jensen (2nd in the 50 free, eighth in the 100), freshman Deborah Roth (2nd in the 100 back, eighth in the 200 back), senior Hannah Wilson (fourth in the 100 fly, and seventh in the 100 free), and junior Sara Isakovic (fifth in the 200 free and seventh in the 200 fly).
1. Georgia (Actual finish – 2nd) – When I chose the Dawgs as the winner, I did so based on the number of seeded swims they had coming and despite their weakness in the medley relays. The Bulldogs did manage to make the ‘A’ final in the 400 medley relay but there were a number of individual swims that did not turn out quite as high as expected coupled with the number of swims that Cal overachieved in (see: Roth, Deborah). Believe it or not, Cal ended up with less ‘A’ final individual swims than Georgia, (Cal 14, UGA 15). The difference is over half the Bulldog finalists placed sixth, seventh, or eighth while Cal had only four in those slots. That, coupled with the point advantage on the relays, gave Cal the title. That said, the Bulldogs did indeed dominate the 200 and 500 frees and did win the 800 free relay by just over three seconds. Junior Allison Schmitt successfully defended her 200 and 500 free titles and was a key part of their two NCAA champion freestyle relays. Wendy Trott powered her way to a second straight 1,650 title while grabbing fifth in the 500 free while senior Morgan Scroggy ‘A’ finaled three times, finishing in the top five all three times (3rd in the 200 free, 4th in the 200 IM, 5th in the 100 free). Sophomore Megan Romano matched Scroggy’’s accomplishment, qualifying for big girl finals in the 100 free (6th), 100 back (7th), and 200 free (7th). Other Georgia swimmers earning championship swims were Shannon Vreeland (7th, 500), Melanie Margalis (6th, 200 IM), Jana Mangimelli (8th, 400 IM), and Chelsea Nauta (6th, 1,650) and Kelsey Gaid (7th, 200 back).