-Stanford is flat out on fire. They won every single night heat they had a swimmer in until the 'B' final of the 100 breast (and they got second in that one!). That's just crazy. The Cardinal channeled their inner Tennessee, starting the meet off winning their third relay in three tries (200 medley), had Maya DiRado win the second race/IM of the meet/her career, then had Felecia Lee win a there-for-the-taking 100 fly. Sometimes I wonder how Stanford isn't the one leading meet but then I see Georgia with five girls in the 200 free and realize that's how.
-Texas A&M had a pretty darn good day as well with back-to-back NCAA titles in the 100 breast and 100 back. After prelims there were some doubters about what might happen at night in the 100 breast but Larson proved up to the challenge of finally having to face a few foes capable of throwing down a sub-58 time. A&M's Paige Miller has been throwing down sub-51 100 backs all week and looked to be a prime candidate to take the title. It seemed only appropriate that two-time champ Cindy Tran is the one that gave her the biggest fight -- two seniors going down to the touch in the final collegiate 100 back of their careers. The best races seem to be the ones where you have to go the scoreboard to see who won and this was definitely one of those.
-Missy Franklin rebounded like the champion she is with two monster 200 frees at night. The first proved her to be nearly a full second faster than any other collegiate woman that's ever swam the 200 free -- then she duplicates it at the end of the Cal 800 free relay, pulling her team onto her back from third into first to close the session with both of their second NCAA titles of the night. I said it in my preview and I'll say it again -- enjoy every time this young lady swims. We are fortunate to have even received the opportunity to see it.
-Speaking of previews, I had a diver picked to sweep the springboards; I just picked the wrong one. I had Maren Taylor of Texas pegged for the sweep; she has been excellent indeed, placing second on both. But Laura Ryan, diving in her hometown pool, has had other ideas. Ryan, who I actually picked to win the three-meter LAST season has been indomitable, pouring fuel onto the point-scoring bonfire that Georgia has lit. Ryan already has Diver of the Meet locked up. What will she do for an encore tomorrow?
More Looking Ahead:
-We do have a team race but it's not the one we were expecting. Georgia has all but won the team championship however a lively Stanford Cardinal squad is giving their Bay Area brethren all they can handle. While Georgia sits way out front with 369 points, Stanford actually leads California, 297 to 285. Not including diving, we have scored out the rest of the meet based on seed times from tomorrow and have Stanford getting second place by six points. Expect heavyweight efforts out of those two schools on Saturday.
-Another thing to look for tomorrow is a big surge from the Florida Gators. We have them tracked to move from seventh to fifth on the final day.
-Another thing to look for is a three-way fight between host Minnesota, Arizona and Virginia for the last two top 10 slots. Two will get them. One will not. I wouldn't bet against Minnesota with the way they have been performing all week plus they have a diver while the other two do not. The Cavs and Cats have some big events lined up in the pool though so who knows. It should be a great fight to watch.