Arena Pro Swim Series Orlando – Lochte, Jaeger, Beisel Scratch Day 1 Prelims

The first session of the Arena Pro Swim Series (formerly known as the Grand Prix series) in Orlando kicks off Thursday morning at 9am Eastern.  Some big names are set to perform on day one, including Megan Romano, Caitlin Leverenz, Conor Dwyer, Michael Klueh, Cody Miller among many others.  But, as with any meet, a few high-profile athletes originally slated to contest several events in the pool will be absent from tomorrow’s lanes, opening up the door of opportunity perhaps for the young talent looking to make their mark in the sunshine state.

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

Thursday

• 200 free
• 100 breast
• 100 fly
• 400 IM

NOTABLE PRE-SESSION SCRATCHES

Women’s 200 free – 2nd seed Elizabeth Beisel is absent from the heat sheets, most likely from the groin strain from which she is recovering, avoiding competition as a precaution.  That injury also prevented her from competing at the Aquatic Super Series in Perth recently.

Men’s 200 free – Fan favorite and 200 freestyle mega-threat Ryan Lochte seems to have scratched the entire day’s worth of events (he was also scheduled to swim the 400 IM).  Lochte’s absence jogs the memory of last year’s Orlando meet where the SwimMAC Elite star was snowbound back in Charlotte, delaying his arrival to the 2014 edition of the event.  Club Wolverine Elite’s Connor Jaeger, the #5 seed in the 200 free, is nowhere to be seen on tomorrow’s heat sheets, including being absent from the 400 IM.

Women’s 100 breast – Scottish speedster Hannah Miley is a scratch for the 100 breaststroke, although she is still slated to swim a hefty schedule with the 200 freestyle and 400 IM tomorrow.  The other notable scratch in the 100 breast is Pointe-Claire’s 18-year-old Marie-Laurence Godin, the #19 seed in the event.

Men’s 100 breast – Panamanian swimmer Edgar Crespo is actually a new addition to the event from the February 10th-published psych sheets; Crespo is now the 13th seed with an entry time of 1:02.42.

Women’s 100 fly – no notable scratches.

Men’s 100 fly – Marcos Antonio Macedo from Brazil has scratched the event and 12th seed Gator Swim Club stud Sebastien Rousseau will also no longer be swimming this event.  Rousseau is still slated to swim the 200 free and 400 IM events during this first prelims session.

Women’s 400 IM – Beisel is out of this race as well for tomorrow, making Miley the new #1 seed going into tomorrow’s prelims.   Ireland’s Grainne Murphy, the 15th seed, will also be missing from the race.

Men’s 400 IM – This event scored the highest scratch rate to kick off the meet with Lochte and Jaeger opting out of day one’s competition entirely, while Wilton Y Wahoos’ Stephen Holmquist (13th seed) and Gator Swim Club’s True Sweetser (32nd seed) are also on the list of non-swimmers.