Arena Pro Swim Series at Orlando Day 2 Prelims: No Lochte, No Jones

Day two of the Arena Pro Swim Series at Orlando brings some serious speed, where the kings and queens of the splash n’ dash get to do their thing, alongside butterfliers, sprint backstrokers and mid-distance freestylers.  Add the 200m breaststroke into the mix and we’re sure to see some impressive swims thrown down in the morning to strategically set-up incredible finals.

2015 PRO SWIM SERIES AT ORLANDO

• Thursday, February 12 – Saturday, February 14
• YMCA Aquatic Center, Orlando FL
• Prelims 9AM/Finals 6PM (Eastern Time)
• Psych Sheets
• Live stream
• Live results

EVENT ORDER

Friday

• 200 fly
• 50 free
• 100 back
• 200 breast
• 400 free

NOTABLE PRE-SESSION SCRATCHES

Women’s 200m fly – Even though Elizabeth Beisel is still listed on the heat sheets, she made it pretty clear in talking with Rowdy Gaines Thursday evening that she is still taking care of her sidelining groin injury.  Count her as a scratch for Friday’s 200m fly, 100m backstroke and 400m freestyle events.

Men’s 200m fly – No notable scratches.

Women’s 50m free & Women’s 100m back – Megan Romano is another fan favorite that is listed on the Friday AM heat sheets for both the 50m free and 100m back; however, based on her no-show today in Orlando, she may need to be counted as a likely scratch for the remainder the meet.  Azura Florida’s Allyson Ponson, the 14th seed in the 50m freestyle, is also a scratch for that event, as is her teammate Jennifer Marquez, who was the 21st seed.

Men’s 50m free – SwimMAC Elite’s Cullen Jones is absent from the heat sheets in the sprint freestyle; he was ranked as the 2nd seed on the psychs with his time of 21.83.  There’s still plenty of firepower left in the field, however, with the likes of Josh Schneider, Derek Toomey, Bruno Fratus, just to name a few of the speedsters.

Men’s 100m back – It seems Ryan Lochte will also be a no-show for day two prelims, much to the dismay of loyal fans in the Orlando stands.  Lochte was an obvious threat for the 100m backstroke event, locking in the 5th seed going into the meet, which makes one lament for a Grevers/Lochte/Vyatchanin showdown.

Women’s 200m breaststroke – no notable scratches.

Men’s 200m breaststroke – As with Thursday’s 100m breaststroke prelims, Panamanian swimmer Edgar Crespo is an addition to the psych sheets and now is positioned in heat 5 of the 200m distance in 2:18.90.  With Cody Miller’s stellar performance in the 100m distance, we’ll see what he has left in the tank to carry his wicked speed into this longer race to combat Great Britain’s Callum Tait.

Women’s 400m freestyle – 21-year-old Irish swimmer Grainne Murphy is a scratch again for Friday; she was seeded 11th in this event.  Two-time winner on Thursday, Hannah Miley, looks good to take this event, that is, if Andreina Pinto, Sam Cheverton or young Courtney Harnish don’t make a move to claim the win for their own, which is completely possible.

Men’s 400m freestyle – Distance aces Connor Jaeger and True Sweetser, from Club Wolverine Elite and Gator Swim Club, respectively, will be missing once again from the pool.   Irishman Andrew Meegan is also no longer swimming this mid-distance event.