Duke
A pair of Blue Devils reached the finals of the women’s 100-meter butterfly to highlight the second day of competition at the 2015 AT&T Winter National Championships, held at the Weyhauser King County Aquatic Center.
Sophomores Isabella Paez and Leah Goldman were 17th and 24th, respectively, in the event preliminaries Friday morning, qualifying them to the C final. Both NCAA qualifiers as freshmen in 2015, Paez and Goldman each dropped time in the evening session. Paez was second in the heat at 59.99, a mark that broke the previous school record, while Goldman touched third in a personal-best 1:00.33.
Goldman also competed in the 100-meter breaststroke preliminaries, turning in a time of 1:13.91.
A day after punching his ticket to the 2016 British Olympic Trials, freshman Yusuke Legard took to the water in a 200-meter freestyle time trial. The Weybridge, Surrey, United Kingdom native raced to the wall in 1:54.94.
The AT&T Winter Nationals reach their conclusion Saturday, with Goldman, Legard and junior James Peek slated to race in the 100-meter freestyle. Paez will also compete in the 200-meter butterfly.
Florida
The University of Florida men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams were represented by six former Gators in Day Two competition at the USA Swimming AT&T National Championships inside the Weyhauser King County Aquatic Center in Federal Way, Washington.
Seven-time All-American and Olympic Gold Medalist, Conor Dwyer, led the Orange and Blue alums in Day Two competition, swimming to a first-place finish in the men’s 200-meter freestyle event. Dwyer touched out with a time of 1:46.62 for the top finish -- his second win this week.
The former Florida men also received Top-10 finishes from Dan Wallace (3rd, 4:21.03) and Carlos Omana (10th, 4:25.44) in the 400-meter IM. (Complete results shown in the chart below).
Two-time Olympic medalist, Elizabeth Beisel, headlined today’s prelims for the Orange and Blue, posting the fastest mark among the field in the women’s 400-meter IM (4:41.40). Later in the finals, Beisel shaved over four seconds off her time but finished second overall with a time of 4:37.01.
Fresno State
Three Fresno State swimmers have made it through day two of three in the AT&T Winter National Championships at Weyerhaeuser King County Aquatic Center in Federal Way, Wash.
In the 100m backstroke, freshman Ugne Mazutaityte swam a 1:02.89 in the prelims on Friday, then would go into a swim-off and break Lithuania’s record with a time of 1:02.62, but wasn’t fast enough to make the Finals cut. Mazutaityte will swim in the 200m back on Saturday.
On Thursday, senior Leah Hatayama swam the 50m freestyle in 26.75 seconds and on Friday, in the 100m breaststroke, senior Brooke Rodriguez swam a 1:13.14. Neither Bulldogs made the Finals cuts.
Houston
University of Houston swimmer Ashley Grijalva had a strong opening day for the Cougars at the AT&T Winter National Championships in Federal Way, Wash., Friday morning.
The Gilbert, Ariz., native was the first Cougar in the water, swimming the 100-meter breaststroke. The current American Athletic Conference Female Swimmer of the Week captured 54th place with an overall time of 1:13.00. She swam the first 50 meters in a time of 33.70 and the second half in a time of 39.30.
Saturday morning, Grijalva and freshman Delia Weber will jump in the pool for the 200-meter breaststroke and the 800-meter freestyle, respectively.
Indiana
Indiana University freshman Lilly King earned a silver medal in the 100 breaststroke at the AT&T Winter National Championships on Friday night in Federal Way, Wash.
King had a tremendous performance in the “A” final of the 100 LC breaststroke, touching the wall in a school record time of 1:06.43, getting just edged out for gold by Russian world champion Yulia Efimova.
The freshman qualified for the “A” final with a great swim in the morning prelims, timing in with an Olympic Trials qualifying time of 1:07.13.
Swimming in the same “A” final was classmate Miranda Tucker, who placed fifth overall with an Olympic Trials cut time of 1:07.95. With her impressive mark, the freshman’s time ranks fourth all-time at Indiana.
IU had a great showing in the 200 LC freestyle, with Blake Pieroni and Anze Tavcar each posting impressive performances. Pieroni qualified for the “A” final of the event with an Olympic Trials cut time of 1:48.94 – the second-fastest time in IU history. In the evening finals, Pieroni placed seventh with a mark of 1:49.13 – also an Olympic Trials cut and the third-fastest time in program history.
Tavcar qualified for the “C” final of the 200 LC freestyle with an Olympic Trials cut time of 1:50.99. At the evening finals, Tavcar went even faster, clocking in with an Olympic Trials mark of 1:49.83 – the fifth-fastest time at Indiana.
Kennedy Goss used a great morning swim to qualify for the “A” final of the 200 LC freestyle. In the evening final, Goss placed eighth with an Olympic Trials qualifying time of 2:01.60. In the morning prelims, the freshman hit the wall in an Olympic Trials qualifying time of 2:00.59.
In the “C” final of the women’s 100 LC butterfly, Miranda Tucker placed sixth with a time of 1:00.92. In the prelims, Tucker qualified with an Olympic Trials cut time of 1:00.62.
In the morning prelims of the 100 backstroke, Kennedy Goss placed 59th overall with a time of 1:04.91.
Indiana alumna Lindsay Vrooman had a great showing in the 200 LC freestyle, winning the “B” final with an Olympic Trials qualifying time of 1:59.45. Hoosier alum James Wells placed eighth in the 100 back “C” final with an Olympic Trials cut of 56.84.
Kansas
Half a world away from her home in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, Kansas junior Yulya Kuchkarova reached into the national record books and left another mark with a speedy performance in the 100-meter backstroke Friday morning at the USA AT&T Winter Nationals. Kuchkarova was one of four Jayhawks to swim inside Weyerhaeuser King County Aquatic Center Friday, and was joined by Chelsie Miller in advancing to finals.
Kuchkarova's lifetime-best swim of 1:01.69 in the 100 back prelims broke her previous national record of 1:02.67 from 2014 Summer Sectionals and solidified a FINA 'B' standard for the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Summer Olympics.
Kuchkarova, who represented Uzbekistan at the 2012 London Olympics and is now eligible for selection to Rio, was 15th fastest among the talented competitors in prelims and the time put her into the 'B' finals late Friday. She was unable to better her time, but did turn in another sub-1:02 time.
"We're really proud of her," Kansas head coach Clark Campbell said of Kuchkarova, who also set a national record in the 50-meter back in time trials Thursday. "That 100 has been a monkey on her back for a long time now. She hasn't been able to get under 1:02 for two years and to get her best time also, it was a big step for her."
Miller also earned a spot in finals with her swim in the 400-meter individual medley. The Houston, Texas product kicked it into gear after a sluggish first couple of strokes and moved up two places to finish sixth in her heat and 14th overall in prelims in 4:51.55.
KU's All-American returned to the pool for finals and cut three seconds off of her previous time. She finished fifth in the evening race with a swim of 4:48.25, four seconds shy of her current Olympic Trials qualifying time.
"With what we've been doing this fall compared to what she was doing this summer, the morning swim was a little rough," Campbell said. "She's on such a unique plan because her table is set for Trials so this fall has been all about the training and getting her fitness level as high as we can. She's having to race tough in this meet but what we're seeing is that every swim has been getting better so we're really excited."
Two additional Jayhawks, Haley Molden and Lydia Pocisk, participated in Friday morning's action but their times weren't enough to earn a bid to finals and both are close but still looking for 2016 Olympic Trials cuts. Molden competed in the 200-meter freestyle, swimming a time of 2:05.63, while Pocisk registered a mark of 1:14.97 in the 100-meter breaststroke.
Kansas' Nationals contingent has a full slate Satudray with all five Jayhawks in attendance competing in five events. Kuchkarova will take the pool first as she looks to earn her second FINA qualifying time, this time in the 200-meter backstroke.
Freshman Libby Walker will take the starting blocks for the first time during the three-day event. She will join Miller in the 200-meter butterfly followed and then swim the 800-meter freestyle. Both Walker and Miller have already recorded trials cuts in the 200 fly.
Molden will swim for an Olympic Trials cut in the 100-meter freestyle, while Pocisk will do the same in the 200-meter breaststroke.
Missouri State
Missouri State’s Uvis Kalnins and former Bears swimmer Paul Le earned swims in the finals of their respective events as Bears competitors wrapped up the second day of the AT&T Winter National Championships Friday, Dec. 4, at Weyerhaeuser King County Aquatic Center.
Kalnins opened the Friday evening events competing in the 100-meter breaststroke C final. After topping his best time of the year in a first-place effort in heat 6 of the preliminaries (1:03.14), the MSU senior again repeated a top performance by touching the wall in a lifetime-best 1:02.78 for the fastest time in the C final and 17th overall finish.
Le qualified for the 100 backstroke B final by earning his top time of the year (55.55) behind a third-place finish in heat 11 of prelims. He was just .02 seconds away from making an A final appearance, as the second-place finisher in his heat – Luke Kaliszak – beat him out by one one-hundredth of a second for the last spot in the top final of the 100 back.
The three-time NCAA qualifier eventually finished third in the 100 back B final with a time of 55.58 for 11th overall.
MSU junior Lauren Pavel also had a fifth-place showing in the fourth heat of the 100 breast, finishing in a time of 1:12.84 – less than .60 seconds behind her Summer Nationals finish – for 52nd overall.
Bears senior Dora Kiss competed in her second event at Winter Nationals and placed 62nd overall in the 200 freestyle by coming in at 2:07.28.
Nebraska
The Nebraska swimming and diving team was back in action at day two of the 2015 AT&T Winter National Championships. Day two was full of many career bests for Husker swimmers.
Nebraska had two swimmers competing in the 100-meter butterfly. Taryn Collura led the way for Nebraska posting a career-best time of 1:01.53, finishing in third-place in heat five and 31st overall. Erin Oeltjen wasn’t far behind Collura, swimming a career-best time of 1:02.11 earning her 2nd-place in heat three and 43rd overall.
Jordan Ehly and Samantha Hardewig competed for Nebraska in the 100-meter breaststroke. Ehly swam a career-best time of 1:11.82 earning her a first-place finish in heat one and 40th overall. Hardewig posted a time of 1:15.50 securing a fifth-place finish in heat two and 75th overall.
In the 100-meter backstroke, Nebraska had three swimmers competing on Friday afternoon. Erin Oeltjen led NU racing to a first-place finish in heat three posting a time of 1:03.44 finishing 34th overall. Jacqueline Juffer captured eighth-place in heat three after swimming a time of 1:04.78 ranking 57th overall. Morgan McCafferty was also strong for the Huskers, swimming a time of 1:04.21, earning fourth-place in heat two and 44th overall
Nebraska also had three swimmers compete in time trials Friday afternoon. Collura just missed out on an Olympic trial cut in the 100-meter butterfly swimming a career-best time of 1:01.30. Katt Sickle swam a career-best time of 2:03.46 in the 200-meter freestyle and Julia Roller swam a 2:18.30 in the 200-meter butterfly.
Through two days of action at the 2015 Winter National Championships, three Nebraska swimmers have earned Olympic trial cuts. Collura earned her cut in the 50-meter freestyle (25.89), Sickle’s came in the 400-meter freestyle (4:16.43), while Oeltjen earned a cut in the 100-meter backstroke (1:03.05).
Rutgers
Junior Rachel Stoddard (Hillsborough, N.J.) produced an Olympic Trials cut in the 100 breast during the morning session of the AT&T Winter Long Course National Championships in Federal Way, Wash.
“We are all extremely proud of Rachel and her first Olympic Trials cut and our first as a program,” said head coach Petra Martin. “It’s a big step for Rachel as well as for our whole team. She comes ready to work every day and does the right things in and out of the pool to put her in a position to succeed.”
Stoddard hit the wall during the time trials with a mark of 1:11.30 in the 100 breast during the championships, which serves as a chance for swimmer across the country to secure Olympic Trials cuts. The finish represents Stoddard’s first Olympic Trials cut of her career.
The Scarlet Knights are also represented at the championships by senior Morgan Pfaff (Red Lion, Pa.) and Joanna Wu (Kent, Wash.). All three will compete tomorrow during the third and final day of competition.
Vermont
Sophomore Shannon Cowley of the Vermont swimming & diving program posted a time of 1:15.28 in the 100-meter breaststroke at the AT&T U.S. Winter National Championships on Friday at Weyerhaeuser King County Aquatic Center.
Cowley was competing for a chance to qualify for the Olympic trials for the 2016 Summer Olympic Games. She placed 74th overall after entering the competition as the 84th ranked swimmer.
"This was a great experience for Shannon. I was proud of her effort," said head coach Gerry Cournoyer.
Wagner
It is an incredible day for the Wagner women's swimming & diving team as two swimmers competed in day two of the 2015 AT&T US Winter Nationals this morning at the Weyerhaeuser County Aquatic Center in Federal Way, WA.
Junior Anu Nihipali (Honolulu, HI/Hawaii Preparatory Academy) swam the 100 Backstroke while junior teammate Katja Claesson (Fullerton, CA/Troy) swam the 100 Breaststroke during prelims Friday morning.
Nihipali claimed first place in her heat, recording a time of 1:02.77 (Long Course Meters) which qualifies her for U.S. Olympic Trials, making her the first swimmer in Wagner history to make a US Olympic Trial cut. With her time of 1:02.77, she is seated 24th overall in the 100 Back heading into finals Friday night.
Claesson swam the 100 Breast minutes before Nihipali's 100 Back. The California native produced a 1:12.17 (Long Course Meters) and finished second overall in her heat, missing the US Olympic Trial cut by less than a second.
Nihipali returns tonight after making it back to finals in the 100 Back. Finals are set to begin at 6:00 p.m.
West Virginia
West Virginia University senior Andrew Marsh and junior Nate Carr each advanced to the finals and placed in the top 20 on the second day of the 2015 AT&T USA Swimming Winter National Championships in Federal Way, Washington, on Friday.
Marsh advanced to the B final and placed 16th overall in the 100 backstroke, while Carr earned a spot in the C final in the 400 individual medley and finished 20th overall.
“Overall it was a pretty good night,” WVU coach Vic Riggs said. “Nate’s 400 IM was better and Andrew was just off his prelim time in the 100 backstroke. We have some areas we need to improve on. Our morning was better but not where it should’ve been. We are still overthinking our races instead of racing. For many, this is still a new experience, so we are learning every time we swim.”
Marsh finished 16th overall with a 56.11 in the 100 backstroke. He earned his spot in the 100 backstroke B final with a 55.95 to place 14th overall in the prelims.
Carr placed 20th overall in the 400 individual medley. He used a time of 4:30.67 to move up four places from his swim in the morning’s prelims. Carr advanced to the C final thanks to a 4:33.84 in the prelims and earned the 24th and final spot by a margin of 0.58 seconds.
Marsh also raced in the 100 butterfly and came just 0.29 seconds shy of punching another ticket to the finals. The senior placed 27th overall with a 54.81.
Senior Max Spencer raced in the 100 breaststroke and finished 52nd overall in his 2015 Winter Nationals debut. Spencer touched the wall in 1:05.10, 0.06 seconds shy of finishing in the top 50.
Senior Ross Glegg swam in the 200 freestyle and touched the wall in 1:58.65 to finish 84th.
Also on Friday, senior Jay Hickey and sophomore James Koval raced in time trials. Koval notched a 4:34.45 in the 400 individual medley, while Hickey swam a 2:09.55 in the 200 backstroke.
