2017 Santa Clara PSS Preview: Murphy, Pebley to Battle in Backstrokes

2017 Arena Pro Swim Series – Santa Clara

• Thursday, June 1st-Sunday, June 4th
• 50-Meter Course
• Prelims 9 am/Finals 5 pm (PST)
• Santa Clara, California
• Psych Sheet
• Live Results

The 2017 Arena Pro Swim Series at Santa Clara kicks off tonight at the George F. Haines Aquatic Center in Santa Clara, California. Several U.S. Olympians and international stars will gather to compete in Santa Clara, including Olympic gold medalists Caeleb Dressel, Katie Ledecky, Nathan Adrian, Anthony Ervin, Cullen Jones, Ryan Murphy, and Simone Manuel. Read on for a preview of a few of the many exciting races to come this weekend.

Men’s 100/200 Back:

Cal teammates Ryan Murphy and Jacob Pebley should put on a show in the backstrokes. As of this point in the season, Pebley is ranked 5th in the world (1:55.56), while Murphy is ranked 8th (1:55.82). In the 100 back, U.S. Olympic gold medalist Matt Grevers enters the mix. Grevers has consistently been one of the top backstrokers in the U.S. for almost a decade, and will be one of the top challengers to Murphy and Pebley in that event. Of course we can’t count out junior standout Michael Taylor, a Florida commit, who had a fantastic showing in the 100 and 200 back at Olympic Trials last summer. International stars Grigory Tarasevich (Russia) and Markus Thormeyer (Canada) will also look to make waves in the backstrokes.

Women’s 1500 free:

Distance superstar Katie Ledecky will take on the 1500 free to open the meet. This will be the first long course mile for Ledecky since she busted the World Record and won gold at the 2015 World Championships in Kazan. Ledecky has reigned as queen of the distance events since winning her first Olympic gold medal in 2012, and will look to jump to the top of the world rankings in this race. That spot is currently occupied by Hungary’s Boglarka Kapas with a 16:04.19.

Men’s 50/100 Free:

The sprint field at this meet will be absolutely loaded between the likes of U.S. Olympic gold medalists Anthony Ervin, Nathan Adrian, Caeleb Dressel, and Cullen Jones. Add Russian rocket Vlad Morozov into the equation and we have quite a race to watch. As of now, Morozov is the 2nd fastest man in the world this year, having set a new Russian Record with his 21.44 from Nationals. Other top international contenders to compete are Argentinian National Record holder Federico Grabich and Brazilian Olympic sprinter Marcelo Chierighini.

Women’s 100 Back:

Rio Olympic medalists Kylie Masse (Canada) and Kathleen Baker (USA) will battle in their signature 100 back. Masse is currently the fastest woman in the world this year after putting up a 58.21 at Canadian Trials. Fellow Canadian and Olympic basktroke medalist Hilary Caldwell will be in the mix, as will Cal backstroke standout Amy Bilquist and fast-rising age group star Regan Smith. At just 15 years of age, Smith has already broken the 1:00 barrier in this event.

Men’s 200 Breast:

The majority of the top U.S. contenders for a spot in the 200 breast at the 2017 World Championships will go head-to-head this weekend, as Josh Prenot, Kevin Cordes, Nic Fink, and Will Licon are all slated to swim the event on Friday. Though he’s leaned more towards butterfly than breaststroke at his recent championship meets, Chase Kalisz will also be a medal threat here, as will Louisville’s Carlos Claverie, who competes for Venezuela internationally.