SMU Men Hit NCAA ‘A’ Cut In 800 Freestyle Relay On Night 3 Of Atlantic Sun Conference Meet

2024 ATLANTIC SUN CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP

• Dates: Wednesday, February 21 – Saturday, February 24
• Location: Allan Jones Aquatic Center, Knoxville, TN
• Combined men and women
• Defending Champions: N/A (inaugural meet)
• Live Results
• Live Video: ESPN+
• Championship Central: men’s site ׀ women’s site
• Psych Sheet
• Teams: Bellarmine, Florida Atlantic (men), Gardner-Webb, Liberty (women), North Florida (women), Old Dominion, Queens, SMU (men), UNC Asheville (women)

The third day of the inaugural Atlantic Sun Conference Championship is a wrap, and the Liberty women have separated themselves from the rest of the field. After trailing on day one and taking the lead yesterday, they are nearly 100 points ahead of Queens going into the final day. The SMU men lead by over 200 points, well on track to secure the conference title.

The 100 backstroke kicked off the finals session, with Liberty’s Abbie Shaw leading a 1-2-3-4 finish for her team. She touched in 54.27 for the win, just 0.03 ahead of junior teammate Sydney Stricklin (54.30). Senior Sydney Houtz (54.50) and sophomore Malia Francis (54.80) were 3rd and 4th.

The men’s 100 back win was claimed by Caden Fritz of Queens. He touched the wall in 47.15, with SMU teammates Russell Exum (47.32) and Jack Easton (47.36) rounding out the podium. The times from all three swimmers check-in as new personal best times.

Queens posted a 1-2 finish in the women’s 100 breast, posting a pair of times in the 1-minute range. Senior Danielle Melilli led the way in 1:00.45, holding off teammate Annika Huber (1:00.50) over the final few yards. Melilli won the 50 free on day one of the meet, and used her speed to take an early lead on Huber at the end of the first 50. Huber out-split Melilli by nearly half a second over the final 50 though, almost getting the touch. The men’s 100 breast saw a 1-2 punch from SMU, with freshman Kristaps Mikelsons (52.69) touching ahead of senior Lance Butler (52.87). Those were the only two swimmers to swim in the 52-second realm.

After posting a sizzling 51.26 en route to gold in the 100 fly on Thursday, Liberty freshman Kamryn Cannings bagged another win in the 200 fly. She stopped the clock in 1:56.12, with Queens freshman Abigail Zboran (1:57.38) finishing in the runner-up position. Zboran is already a two-time winner at this meet, as she claimed double IM gold earlier in the week. Cannings and Zboran were the only swimmers to swim under two minutes.

SMU fifth year, Danny Kovac (1:42.02), scored 200 fly gold for the men. He led another 1-2 finish for the Mustangs, with junior Cotton Fields hitting the touchpad in 1:42.76 for silver. Fields was 2nd in the 400 IM while Kovac won the 100 fly earlier in the week.

The SMU men claimed a decisive win in the 800 free relay, as the quartet of Jack Hoagland (1:33.54), Christopher Mykkanen (1:33.99), Jack Forrest (1:34.24), and Colin Feehery (1:34.13*) combined for a final time of 6:15.90. Note that the split from Feehery does not appear on the live results, with certain 50 splits not being recorded. Based on the final time, it appears he split 1:34.13 IF the other splits on the relay are accurate. They won the race by over 12 seconds, breaking the school record and securing an NCAA ‘A’ cut time.

Other Event Winners:

• Liberty’s foursome of Kamryn Cannings (1:46.40), Sydney Stricklin (1:47.96), Kate Baker (1:49.21), and Shelby Kahn (1:47.40) won the women’s 800 free rleay in 7:10.97.
• Liberty freshman Shannon Icard scored gold in women’s platform diving, scoring 215.95 points.
• Florida Atlantic junior Brandon Shepherd scored 255.00 points to win men’s platform diving.

Women’s Team Scores After Day 3:

1. Liberty — 669.5 points
2. Queens — 571 points
3. UNC Asheville — 439.5 points
4. Florida Gulf Coast — 431.5 points
5. North Florida — 189 points
6. Gardner-Webb — 157.5 points
7. Bellarmine — 101 points

Men’s Team Scores After Day 3:

1. SMU — 778 points
2. Queens — 522 points
3. Florida Atlantic — 429 points
4. Old Dominion — 244 points
5. Gardner-Webb — 166 points
6. Bellarmine — 114 points