After competing in long course meters Friday night, Texas, Indiana and Florida clashed in the NCAA’s short course yards format Saturday, with Texas once again taking all wins amidst a flurry of big-time swims.
Texas won all of its duals in both genders, with the Indiana women beating Florida and the Gator men returning the favor over the Hoosiers.
Women’s Meet
Texas won the women’s meet with ease, as rising star Madisyn Cox lit up the pool for three individual wins.
Cox opened things up with a 1:47.93 win in the 200 free, gutted out a tough 200 breast win in 2:12.83 (Indiana’s Miranda Tucker was 2:12.90), then closed the night with a runaway 4:15.00 win in the 400 IM.
Maybe one of the night’s most impressive swims came from Texas freshman Quinn Carrozza, who went 1:56.43 to win the 200 backstroke. That time checks in at #4 in the NCAA for short course yards times this season.
Also helping the Longhorns was freshman Olivia Anderson, who got a revenge win in the 100 breast. Anderson was topped in a battle of freshmen last night, falling to Indiana’s Lilly King. But Anderson struck back Saturday with a 1:01.54 to touch out King (1:01.64).
In a huge night for the Longhorn freshmen, Bahamian pickup Joanna Evans swept the 500 free (4:49.67) and 1000 free (9:55.24).
In the battle for second, Indiana topped Florida. Gia Dalesandro swept the butterflys for IU to facilitate that win. Dalesandro was 1:58.86 in the 200 and 54.43 in the 100, topping Texas’s Remedy Rule in both races. Indiana also got a 55.01 win from sophomore Marie Chamberlain in the 100 back.
Florida was led by sprinter Natalie Hinds, who swept the 50 and 100 frees. After splitting those races with Longhorn Rebecca Millard Friday night, Hinds was on her game Saturday, going 22.90 and 49.32 for a pair of touchout wins.
Scores:
- Texas 155 – Florida 105
- Texas 141 – Indiana 115
- Indiana 142 – Florida 120
Men’s Meet
The freestyle events were the highlight of the men’s side, with 4 NCAA leading times showing up on Saturday.
Texas crushed the distance races, starting with the opening individual event, the 1000 free. There, freshman Townley Haas, among the top-ranked freshmen in the nation, went 9:04.17 to win and jump to the head of the NCAA rankings in the event this year.
Then in the 500 free, defending NCAA champ Clark Smith blasted a 4:21.95, another time that will lead the NCAA for the season.
Indiana took its turn hitting a national leader time in the 200 free, one more distance rung down. Sophomore Blake Pieroni followed up his headline-grabbing performances from Friday night with a 1:36.06 that moved him to #1 in the nation.
Pieroni would once again beat Florida’s sprint star Caeleb Dressel for the 100 free title, this time by just .01 seconds. Pieroni was 43.69, Dressel 43.70. Neither man could match Dressel’s NCAA-leading time of 43.17, though.
And in the 50 free, Dressel picked up the win an another nation-best time, going a blazing 19.36. Dressel is the defending NCAA champ in the event.
The rest of the meet was loaded with notable times. A few more standout swims:
- Defending NCAA champ Joseph Schooling tore through the 200 fly in 1:45.78. That’s the third-best time in the nation this year. Schooling also won the 100 fly in 46.97 with teammate Jack Conger (47.55) topping Dressel (47.57) for second.
- Yet another NCAA champ won his event – Will Licon of Texas took the 200 breast in 1:58.84.
- Texas freshman Ryan Harty looked solid as well, going 1:43.87 to win the 200 back (#2 in the nation right now) and added a 3:50.26 to win the 400 IM late.
- Indiana’s other event win came in the 100 breast, where Tanner Kurz was 54.33.
- One event prior, Florida won the 100 back with Jack Blyzinskyj going 47.04.
Scores:
- Texas 154 – Indiana 108
- Texas 162 – Florida 100
- Florida 140 – Indiana 122
That 19.36 by Dressel is only .18 from the auto cut and almost five-tenths faster than he’s been already this season. That’s smoking fast for October.
He was impressive. He was so quick off the blocks compared to everyone else. He looked like a rested swimmer swimming against a field that lifted all week. If he wasn’t rested, he is going to be scary this year.
Easy there, Swimmer A, it’s early mid-October. When you are the up-and-comer to make a point, you might get a little rest, even in October. It was a long Summer for all with these schools. Save your excitement for March.
Look at Blake Pieroni taking down Conger and Dressel head-to-head haha. Followed that up by leading off the 4×100 faster than his individual 100. Impressive.
He was 1:47.3 this summer, he’s got a chance next year…
For what it’s worth, Conger swam this meet with an injury and wearing kinesio tape.
They were in the wrong lanes.
How did three guys DQ in the 200 free….(with splits / without false starts)? How is that possible?
The three guys who DQed apparently lined up in the wrong lanes. So DQ for not being in the correct lane.
That’s rough. From the results, it looks like their times were:
Clark Smith — 1:40.85
Jeff Newkirk — 1:37.61
Grayson Smith — 1:41.99
If official, that’d be a B cut and tied for the 10th-fastest time in the country right now for Newkirk, for whatever it’s worth.
Clark and Jeff’s times are reversed.
Ah, that makes sense, assuming the information about about them being in the wrong lanes is correct.