Indiana
Indiana University junior Brooklynn Snodgrass can add another national title to her resume as she won the women’s 100 backstroke on day three of the AT&T Winter National Championships in Greensboro, N.C.
The meet concludes Saturday at the Greensboro Aquatic Center.
Snodgrass led wire-to-wire in putting up her winning time of 51.59. That is an NCAA automatic qualifying time for the 2014 NCAA Champion in the 200 backstroke. The Hoosiers also had two other swimmers in the A final, with Justine Ress seventh (53.19) and Kennedy Goss eighth (53.27).
That was the second championship final swim of the night for Goss as she and Haley Lips went 2-3 in the 200 freestyle to earn silver and bronze, respectively. Goss’ time of 1:44.87 is a season best, as is Lips’ mark of 1:45.05. Blake Pieroni finished fourth overall for the men with a season-best time of 1:34.55, while Anze Tavcar was 11th (1:35.32) and Jackson Miller 13th (1:36.78).
Gia Dalesandro won the bonus final and finished 17th overall with a mark of 53.45 in the 100 butterfly. Grace Vertigans took 20th with her season best mark of 54.11. Future Hoosier Miranda Tucker was 10th in 53.42. In the men’s bonus race it was Max Irwin who was the winner in 47.69.
Bailey Pressey took 20th overall in the 400 individual medley with a season-best time of 4:15.06. That is also an NCAA B cut for the sophomore.
It was a strong showing of Hoosiers past and future in the women’s 100 breaststroke. Lilly King, who will be a freshman at Indiana in the fall of 2015, placed sixth with a 59.91. Former Hoosier Bronwyn Pasloski was eighth (1:00.13), while Tucker was ninth in 1:00.01.
In the men’s 100 breaststroke Tanner Kurz won the consolation final (17th overall) with a time of 54.29. Right behind him in 54.29 was Ian Finnerty. Finnerty will be a freshman at Indiana in the fall of 2015.
Bob Glover finished 24th in the 100 backstroke (48.50), while former Hoosier James Wells took home the silver medal with a time of 45.92.
Vertigans, Pammett, Goss and Ali Rockett took fifth in the 200 freestyle relay after posting a time of 1:31.64. Tavcar, Pieroni, Ali Khalafalla and Irwin combined for a seventh-place finish in 1:20.14.
Louisville
The University of Louisville swimming team’s Kelsi Worrell notched the first individual championship at USA Swimming’s AT&T Winter National Championships at the Greensboro (N.C.) Aquatic Center. Worrell took top honors in the 100-fly with a school record time of 50.91.
“That was a great performance by Kelsi tonight,” said UofL head coach Arthur Albiero. “Somewhat surprising for this part of the season. She continues to learn and make adjustments in her races. She is such a great student of our sport.”
In other events, the Cardinals had a swimmer in every event final at the meet that features more than 800 swimmers including Olympians.
In the 400-IM, Abigail Chin won the B-final with a time of 4:12.16. Devon Bibault was 13th overall with a 4:14.90.
Nolan Tesone was fourth in the A-final of the men’s 400-IM with a time of 3:46.69. Carlos Claverie was second in the B-final with a 3:49.24. Ryan Massey was 22nd overall with a 3:55.83.
Besides Kelsi Worrell’s school record win in the 100-fly, Devon Bibault was sixth in the B-final with a 53.99. In the men’s 100-fly, Pedro Coutinho was fifth, boarding a 46.46 just ahead of teammate Josh Quallen’s 46.70 in sixth and Aaron Young’s 46.90 for seventh with three cards in the A-final.
In the 200-free, two Cards made the women’s B-final with Abigail Houck touching 14th with a 1:47.82 with Andrea Kneppers right behind her in 1:47.92. In the men’s 200-free, Trevor Carroll was sixth in the A-final with a time of 1:35.57 just one spot ahead of Matthias Lindenbauer’s 1:36.31.
In the 100-breast, Andrea Cottrell was seventh in the A-final with a time of 1:00.05. For the men, Thomas Dahlia was third with a time of 52.69. Addison Bray was 8th in the A-final with a 53.54. Carlos Claverie was 11th overall with a 53.76 and freshman Todd Owen was 21st overall with a 54.64 just ahead of Brennen Berger’s 55.11. Cardinal alum Carlos Almeida was second overall with a 52.55.
In the 100-back, Mackenzie Buss was 21st overall with a time of 54.65 and Hannah Magnuson was 23rd with a 54.83. In the men’s 100-back, Grigory Tarasevich was the top Cardinal finisher with a third place time of 46.09 in the A-final. Aaron Young was 8th in the A-final with a 48.19. Cardinal alum Pedro Oliveira was 11th with a 47.53. Nick Hasemann was 21st overall with a 48.31.
In the 200-free relay the Cardinal women finished fourth behind Andrea Knepper (23.52), Kelsi Worrell (21.75), Maggie Patterson (23.10) and Alexandra Sellers (22.86) collective time of 1:31.24.
In the 200-free relay, the Cardinal men also combined for a fourth place time of 1:19.29 posted by Thomas Dahlia (20.16), Caryle Blondell (19.95), Matthias Lindenbauer (19.70 and Trevor Carroll (19.48).
N.C. State
Four Wolfpack swimmers represented NC State on Friday at the AT&T Winter National Championships in Greensboro, N.C., inside the Greensboro Aquatic Complex.
Fly Into the Sky
Yuri Nakano finished in the top 25 of the women’s 100 butterfly, advancing to the ‘C’ finals heat and swimming a time of 54.97 in the event.
Breaststroke
Derek Hren and Ben Cono finished 15th and 16th of 98 swimmers in the ‘B’ finals heat of men’s 100 breastroke. Hren swam a time of 54.16 while Cono touched the wall at 55.30.
Wolfpack Improvement
All four swimmers that represented NC State on Friday at the Winter National Championships recorded top times for the 2014-15 season. Hannah Freyman matched her season-best swim in the 100 backstroke, while the other four swimmers shaved time off of their previous season-bests.
Yuri Nakano, 100 fly, 54.26
100 back, 55.78
Hannah Freyman, 100 back, 56.10
Derek Hren, 100 breast, 54.16
Ben Cono, 100 breast, 54.47
The ‘Wolfpack Top Times’ consists of the top five times in a given season for each individual event, and the top three times in relay events.
Postseason Focus
In addition to the Pack's second day performance, NC State recorded two more NCAA ‘B’ standard marks at the Winter National Championships.
Yuri Nakano, 100 fly, 54.26
Ben Cono, 100 breast, 54.47
Duke
Freshman swimmer Leah Goldman advanced to the women’s 100-yard butterfly final Friday, Dec. 5 to highlight the first few days of action for Duke at the 2014 AT&T Winter National Championships, held at the Greensboro Aquatic Center.
Goldman earned a spot in Friday evening’s consolation final with a 17th-place performance in the morning preliminaries at 54.09. She touched at 54.10 in the final to take third in the heat and 19th overall in the event. The rookie from Burlingame, Calif., also competed in the preliminaries of the 100 backstroke Friday, tying for 97th overall at 57.16.
Junior Linsay Cooper joined Goldman in the 100 butterfly preliminaries, placing 42nd with a mark of 55.44. Meanwhile, Thursday’s action in Greensboro saw sophomore James Peek take to the pool in the men’s 50 freestyle preliminaries, where he finished 58th with a 20.50 performance.
Sophomore Peter Kropp (200 breaststroke), freshman Isabella Paez (200 butterfly), sophomore Liza Bragg (200 backstroke) and Peek (100 freestyle) are all slated to take part in Saturday morning’s preliminaries beginning at 9 a.m. Kropp and Paez are also scheduled to swim in Sunday’s long course time trials.
Pepperdine
Jessica Mosbaugh, junior standout on the Pepperdine women’s swimming and diving team, opened action today at the AT&T Winter National Championships. Mosbaugh competed in the 100 breaststroke and delivered the Waves’ second-best time in program history.
Mosbaugh (Los Alamitos, Calif./Los Alamitos HS) qualified for the national championship event in both the 100 breaststroke and 200 breaststroke, meeting qualifying times during the PCSC Championships last spring.
Racing against some of the fastest swimmers in the country, Mosbaugh opened the 100 breaststroke with a personal-best 50 split time of 29.52. The junior ended up fourth in her heat, and 58th overall in a field of nearly 100 competitors.
Her final time of 1:04.00 goes down as the Waves’ second-fastest time in program history. Mosbaugh is the Pepperdine record holder in the event, setting the mark at 1:03.42 at the 2014 conference championships. She also holds the third-fastest time in the program annals with her initial record-setting time of 1:04.14 (set during the prelims of the 2014 PCSC Championship).
Although Mosbaugh was the lone Wave at nationals, her teammates were supporting her from Malibu. The team gathered for their normal morning practice at the Raleigh Runnels Memorial Pool, but took a break to huddle around several laptops to watch the live stream of her race.
“We had so much fun sitting around the computer watching. Everyone was cheering her on,” said head coach Nick Rodionoff, “You would have thought she could hear us.”
West Virginia
A final swim in the 100-yard backstroke by junior Andrew Marsh highlighted day two of the AT&T Winter National Championships at the Greensboro Aquatic Center in Greensboro, North Carolina, for the West Virginia swimming teams.
After qualifying for the A final in the men’s 100-yard backstroke, junior swimmer Andrew Marsh, the reigning Big 12 Men’s Swimmer of the Week, placed fifth overall with a season-best time of 46.58.
“It was a really strong day for Andrew,” said coach Vic Riggs. “The 100 fly and 100 back double is very hard, and he did a great job with it.
“His time in the 100 back is currently in the top 10 in the nation and should put him in a great spot for making NCAAs.”
In the B final of the men’s 100-yard butterfly, Marsh took third place in 47.49 to finish 11th overall in the event.
Marsh qualified for the A final in the 100 back after placing fourth in the prelims with a then-season-best mark of 46.87. Marsh had a strong prelim performance in the 100 fly, qualifying for the B final with a time of 47.49
The prelim session also saw Nate Carr place 31st overall in the men’s 400-yard individual medley with a time of 3:56.08.
In the women’s 100-yard butterfly prelims, Jaimee Gillmore placed 61st overall (56.22) while Julie Ogden took 75th (56.49). Courtney Parenti placed 67th in the women’s 200-yard freestyle prelims in 1:53.55, and Jenelle Zee finished 47th in the women’s 100-yard breaststroke prelims, touching the wall in 1:03.38.
In the men’s 100-yard breaststroke prelims, Max Spencer led the way for the Mountaineers, placing 51st in 56.56. Chris Brill followed close behind in 57th with a mark of 56.78.
The Mountaineers return to action for the final day of competition tomorrow morning. Each day, the prelim sessions will begin at 9 a.m., while the finals will begin at 5 p.m.
Kansas
Big 12 Women's Swimmer of the Week Chelsie Miller bolted to the top of the conference standings and continued to assert herself as a national contender with a silver medal in the 400-yard individual medley while leading Kansas swimming's efforts at the AT&T USA Winter Nationals at the Greensboro Aquatics Complex Friday. KU alumna Danielle Herrmann posted her second top-eight finish in as many days with a fourth-place finish in the 100-yard breaststroke and current Jayhawk Bryce Hinde reached finals in the same event.
Miller used the 2013 USA Winter Nationals as a springboard to one of the most successful seasons in Kansas history and repeated as the national runner-up in the 400 IM in Friday's finals. Miller led for portions of the race, finishing in a season-best 4:10.01, but was out-touched by Ohio State's Lindsey Clary 4:09.87 for the crown. Miller's time ranks as the fastest in the event in the conference entering the weekend and also ranked among the top-10 NCAA times at this point of the season and well under the 'B' qualifying standard for the 2015 NCAA Championship Meet.
"Tonight was a big night for Kansas swimming," Kansas head coach Clark Campbell said. "It started off really well (in the morning) with Chelsie getting a lane for the 'A' final. Her time of 4:10.01 will be invited to the 2015 NCAA Championships - we've cleared that hurdle and now we can focus on Chelsie getting ready for NCAAs and the championship season coming up in February and March."
Likewise, Herrmann, who swam for KU under head coach Clark Campbell from 2005-09, led for the first 75 yards in the finals of the 100 breast but couldn't hold the lead after the final wall. Her time of 59.17 in prelims was nearly three seconds faster than her school-record swim (1:02.01) at the 2008 Big 12 Championships and she finished fourth in the final heat.
"She's one of our stellar alumni," Campbell said. "She just keeps dropping times and it was a lot of fun to see her pick up fourth place tonight and still, at the age of 27, swimming her best times."
Hinde swam a lifetime-best to win heat No. 9 and advance to the 'C' final of the 100 breast, where she improved her position... Hinde was one of three current Jayhawks swimming the event, with freshmen Lydia Pocisk (1:03.89) and Hannah Driscoll (1:04.99) posting season-best performances.
"Our breaststrokers did a tremendous job, this morning as well," Campbell said. "It was great night for us and we're really looking forward to finishing up strong on the last day."
Delaware
In the University of Delaware’s second day of competition at the 2014 AT&T Winter National Championships Friday, all six Blue Hens who competed set personal season-best times in their events with Tim Ware setting a new school record in the 100 backstroke.
Ware provided the highlight Friday as the senior qualified for the event finals in the 100 backstroke competition. Ware swam the heat in 48.99, which landed him a 24th place finish and a spot in the finals Friday night. The time was the fourth fastest time in program history and second fastest time in Ware’s career.
In the finals, Ware improved upon his heat time by registering a time of 48.10 to set a new Delaware school record. The previous record was 48.56 by Hans Gillan at the 2010 Colonial Athletic Association Championship.
Freshman Greg Neidlinger also competed in the 100 backstroke event and swam the race in season-best 51.07, which earned him a 76th place finish.
Alex Tooley notched a 28th place finish in the 200 individual medley competition with a time of 3:55.62. That time is the fastest by a UD swimmer this season and the third fastest time in program history.
Cory Camp swam the 400 individual medley in 4:01.48, which earned him a 59th place finish. Camp’s time was the fastest of the freshman’s collegiate career and second fastest from a Blue Hen swimmer this season.
On the women’s side, Delaware had two swimmers compete Friday.
Dominique Montoya competed in the 200 freestyle event and tallied a 61st place finish with a time of 1:51.38. Montoya’s time was the fastest of the season for Delaware and the third fastest time in program history. Alyssa Sanders swam in the 100 backstroke competition and recorded a 65th place finish with a time of 56.30. The junior’s time was the fastest by a Blue Hen this season and third fastest time in program history.
Pittsburgh
After placing only one swimmer in the finals on the first full day of competition, five Pitt swimmers qualified for Friday’s finals to lead the Panthers charge at the AT&T Winter Nationals at the Greensboro Aquatics Complex.
“I was very pleased with the evening’s finals. We had some nice evening swims after a very tough day of preliminaries,” said head coach Chuck Knoles.
Seniors Kourosh Ahani and Luke Nosbisch, junior Blair Wegescheide and sophomores Zach Lierley and Kinga Cichowska all represented Pitt in their respective races for the second time during the day’s competitions following strong performances in the morning prelims.
Following the morning prelims, Knoles looked back on what his team had just accomplished and what they had to look forward to later that evening.
“Heading into tonight’s finals we have a bunch of kids swimming. We were very pleased with the morning prelim swims. It was fun to watch the kids get excited about swimming fast this morning and now those kids have a second opportunity to swim faster at the finals tonight at the National Championships. It’s very exciting for us.”
Lierley was the only swimmer to qualify for the A Final while the two women, Cichowska and Wegescheide were the only two to make the B Final. Nosbisch and Ahani were C Final participants.
Lierley was the first Pitt swimmer to punch his ticket to the finals, swimming a season-best and NCAA “B” cut time of 3:49.65 in the 400 IM to earn a spot in the A Final and secure a top-eight finish. That time was the sixth fastest of the prelims. In the night’s competition, Lierley placed seventh, finishing just a hair slower in 3:48.84.
In the 100 breast prelims, Cichowska was the 14th fastest swimmer in 1:01.36 and went on to duplicate her performance in the finals with the exact same time and finished 15th overall.
Pitt nearly had two swimmers qualify for the women’s 100 breast finals and had a third not far behind as all three women placed in the top-32. Senior Cam Dixon wound up as the first alternate (25th place) with her time of 1:02.44, while freshman Katie Fernander, competing in her first Winter Nationals, took 32nd with a season-best performance of 1:02.66.
Swimming in the 100 back, Wegescheide in the 100 back recorded the 13st fastest time in the morning with a “B” cut performance of 54.09 seconds. At night, Wegescheide settled for 16th after swimming the race in 54.39 seconds.
Coming off the 17th fastest time of the morning prelims with an NCAA “C” cut time of 48.21 in the 100 butterfly, Ahani bettered his performance later that night with a season-best showing of 47.90 seconds, dropping 0.31 seconds from his prelim time to take 18th place. Overall, his time from the finals was the 16th fastest of the evening. Ahani is the first Panthers swimmer to go under 48 seconds in the event this year.
“We saw some great swims across the board,” said Knoles. “It was nice to see Kourosh Ahani get under the 48 second barrier without shaving and not being fully rested for the meet. That was our goal to be under 48 seconds, so he did a nice job.”
Nosbisch was the final male to compete in the finals, earning a berth in the 100 breast C Final after posting the 20th quickest time of 55.00 seconds, an NCAA “B” cut, in the prelims. He eventually finished 22nd with a time of 55.09 seconds.
For the third straight night, the men put a relay team in the top-8 as Ahani paired with juniors Sean Heiden, David Sweeney and Sean Rhinehart to place eighth in the 200 free relay. Their showing was less than a second off the school record.
“We ended the evening on a high note having our men’s 200 free relay place eighth. Our time trial for the women’s relay that we did earlier in the day would have also been at about the same position had we made the cut.”
Earlier in the day freshman Emily Murphy set a Pitt freshman record in the 50 free after she led off the 200 free relay in the time trials with a time of 23.06 seconds.
“We are looking forward to a great last morning of the meet tomorrow. We have prelims in the morning and come back for finals at 5 p.m. and then jump back on the bus for Pittsburgh right after,” said Knoles.
Oakland
Junior Jorden Merrilees finished sixth in the A Final of the men's 400 Individual Medley at the third day of the 2014 AT&T Winter National Championships at the Greensboro Aquatics Complex Friday evening.
Merrilees' time of 3:48.81 in the 400 IM was just three-tenths off his PR in the event, which he set last February at the Horizon League Championship (3:48.51). Merrilees' mark is both an Oakland and Horizon League record.
Merrilees qualified for the C Final in the 200 Freestyle with a time of 1:37.96, setting a PR in the event and posting a time that is sixth-best in team history. Merrilees elected to not swim in the evening session.
In the morning session, sophomore Takara Martin finished 26th in the women's 100 Breaststroke, posting a time of 1:02.46 to just miss advancing into the evening session. Her time was also three-tenths off her PR and Oakland record time of 1:02.18 set last season at the Horizon League Championship.
"Both of our swimmers were just shy from their personal bests set last year, so that is promising for them as they prepare for the Horizon League Championship later this season," said Oakland assistant coach Katie Sullivan.
Western Kentucky
WKU swimming made major impacts on Friday on the national stage as four current Lady Toppers and Hilltoppers made it to the AT&T Winter National finals.
In Greensboro, N.C., all four swimmers heading to the final hit NCAA B-cut times in their respective events. Allie Duff notched a seventh-place finish in the B final of the 400 IM after finishing in 4:15.29, good for 15th overall. She cut some time off her prelim time of 4:16.40, which placed her 14th. In the 100 back, Nadine Laemmler continues to put up stellar times, taking fourth in the B final and 12th overall with a time of 53.46.
WKU had swimmers in the men’s and women’s 100 breast finals. Fabian Schwingenschlogl recorded a third-place time in the B final at 53.76, as that placed him 11th overall. On the women’s side, Claire Conlon topped the C final’s field after stopping the clock in 1:01.48 and getting 17th overall.
Queens
Queens University of Charlotte swim team made waves nationally on Friday, December 5, 2014, with several top finishes including a national record by Caroline Arakelian at the AT&T Winter National Championships.
Caroline Arakelian soared in the 400 Yard Individual Medley taking 11th overall in the event and setting a new NCAA Division II record with a 4:13.20 time. Her historic performance surpassed the previous record of 4:14.00 set in 2011.
Nicolas Arakelian took 9th overall in the 400 Yard Individual Medley with a 3:49.04 finish, topping the list of Division II swimmers by over six seconds. With his top ranking time, he earns a NCAA ‘A’ Standard time.
Matthew Josa sailed into the top heat to securing 4th overall in the 100 Yard Butterfly. Touching with a 46.20, Josa further his security in the number one national spot with over a second of separation.
Grabbing 14th overall in the meet, Niclas Eriksson’s 54.03 time in the 100 Yard Breaststroke took the third overall national spot for NCAA Division II swimmers.
The men’s 4x50 Yard Freestyle Relay brought Josa, Eriksson, Benjamin Taylor, and Hayden Kosater to the wall in 1:20.78 for a ninth overall finish while the women’s 4x50 Yard Freestyle Relay took 13th overall as Alexandra Marshall, Arakelian, Kristin Diemer, and Lillian Gordy touched with a 1:34.54.
Patricia Castro Ortega also grabbed a top finish in the 200 Yard Freestyle, swimming unattached to Queens and taking a 1:46.18 time. She placed 9th overall in the event.
Cleveland State
Cleveland State swimmers competed at the USA Winter Nationals for day two on Friday morning for preliminaries with one Viking returning for the finals later in the afternoon.
Philipp Sikatzki's 48.13 preliminary time in the 100 Butterfly was good enough to move into the second heat of the final rounds. In the final round, Sikatzki placed 12th with a time of 47.59. That marked Philipp's best time of the season in the 100 Buttefly event. Sikatzki also competed in the 100 Backstroke but his time was not enough for the final round.
Madisen Tretter (100 Breast), Phillip Brittain (100 Breast), Gage Alleman (400 IM), and Adam Ingledew (100 Butterfly) also competed in the prelimiary rounds on day two of Nationals. All gave valient effort, but did not make it back for the finals.
