Triple-Trouble in Palo Alto
Want a recipe for a great early-season tri-meet? Take one defending National Champion, add a near-miss runner-up, throw in two of the biggest-impact recruiting classes in the Nation, and frost with a program that is hungry to rebound faster than anyone expected. Chill in a cool Northern California November for a weekend, and you’ll end up with the Florida-Stanford-Michigan meet that will highlight the National schedule this weekend.
Florida is still recovering from an emotional few weeks with the well-publicized loss of Fran Crippen, whose sister Teresa is one of the leaders and stars of the women’s team. She took an indefinite leave before the Gators’ loss to Georgia, and no timetable has been set for her return yet. It’s unlikely she will be at this meet.
It’s hard to peg certain parts of Florida’s lineup without Crippen, specifically what their young freshman Elizabeth Beisel will swim because she is so versatile. But there are a few very exciting races that we expect to see.
The 50 free should be the best on the day. This race will feature 5 out of the top 25 sprinters in the nation. This includes Stanford’s Besty Webb (23.15-11th in the nation), who the Cardinal are hoping for big things from, Florida’s top sprinting tandem of Sarah Bateman (22.72-3rd in the nation), and Michigan’s Natasha Moodie (22.94-7th in the nation). As a result of the speed and sprint-depth of both teams, the 200 free relay could be very tight as well.
If I had my druthers, I’d like to see Beisel square off against Stanford’s Felicia Lee and Maddy DiRado in the 200 IM. Those three represent three of the four best 200 IM’ers in the nation this year. A similar matchup would be even better in the 400, where we could see them also square off against Michigan’s Mattie Kukors and Adrienne Bicek, who have both gone 4:20’s early this season. None of the three freshmen have swum the 400 IM yet this season.
Live results available here through the Stanford website.
Wisconsin at Arizona (Women)
The Wisconsin Badgers will travel to the great Southwest to take on the Arizona Wildcats in the desert on Friday at 2 PM Mountain Time.
Though Wisconsin doesn’t quite have the same depth and reputation as Arizona does, they do have a small nucleus of very powerful, very fast swimmers. Maggie Meyer is tied for the best 100 backstroke time in the nation and third in the 200. Becca Thompson is top 7 in both of the sprint freestyles. Ashley Wanland ranks third in both breaststrokes. Versatile freshman Rebecka Palm won all of her events against a very good Minnesota team, and is currently 12th in the 100 fly in the nation. They even have a very good distance swimmer in Danielle Beckwith, who has already gone a 1000 time under 10 mintues (9:56) this season.
Given this combination of talents, it is no surprise that the Badgers have put together the fastest 200 medley in the country this season. The only other team in the country that can throw up a medley relay lineup that is this strong across the board is Cal.
With that being said, Arizona is no stranger to the medleys either. The Wildcats won both the 200 and the 400 versions of the race at NCAA’s last season, and though they graduated a good portion of those relays, they still look very strong. Their rebuild is being led by freshman Margo Geer, who has impressed early with top-4 times in both the 50 (22.77) and 100 (49.68) freestyles this season. Their big returning stud is breaststroker Ellyn Baumgardner, who was overshadowed last season by 100-yard National Champion, and teammate, Annie Chandler last season, but finished 3rd in that same event. There won’t be much of a dropoff there this season.
Arizona hasn’t swum enough to get a great feel for them, and they don’t routinely swim all that well in October. After their top echelon, Wisconsin has a pretty heavy dropoff, but dual meets give huge rewards for winning races. For that reason, I foresee a mild upset here for the Badgers.
Wisconsin at Arizona (Men)
The Arizona men, like their women, are in rebuilding mode this season. This was very evident when they were upset in their first dual against a very veteran UNLV program. The Wisconsin men have a few outstanding swimmers, but nowhere near Arizona’s depth.
If you asked 100 swimming fans to name the best 100 butterflier in the nation so far this year, you’d probably get guesses like Tom Shields from Cal, Mark Dylla from Georgia, or even Tommy Wyher from North Carolina. A list of the top 200 IM’ers would probably include other big names from those same schools.
But would you believe that the answer to both questions is Daniel Lester from Wisconsin? Because it is. His 47.8 100 fly and 1:49.4 200 IM both are tops in the NCAA right headed into this meet.
Arizona’s Cory Chitwood is a favorite to win both backstroke events this year at NCAA’s, and is also a very good 200 IM’er. Hopefully we get to see him and Lester match up at least once in this meet.
Don’t expect an upset here, though Lester could be good for several event wins.
Other Meets
Cal women at Colorado State-Saturday at 11 AM Pacific Time
USC Diving Invitational-All Weekend (If you’re into diving, check this meet out. Lots of divers from aroundthe country will be there).
Florida-Stanford will be good. Under normal circumstances, I’d pick Florida, but missing Crippen could cost them. I’ve said this before: Felicia Lee is one of the most underrated swimmers in the country. Everyone knows how good she is, and she’s STILL underrated. She went 26.4 long course 50 free right off of altitude training last summer. She will be huge for Stanford in the sprint relays (and obviously flys and 200 IM). Winning NCAA’s this year wouldn’t be considered a shock.
Not sure Wisconsin will beat Arizona. That would be quite an upset. Don’t think it would mean much for the end of the season even if it did happen, though, because Zona always comes to swim in March, and… Read more »
Lester’s a sophomore. Interestingly, last year he was a 200 fly 200/400 IMer. Seems to have really worked on his speed over the summer. Snuck under the radar to finish 7th at NCAA’s in the 200 fly (would’ve been 8th if it weren’t for the “Hand of Dog” call for Dylla.
He’s actually gone 48.3 TWICE this season, which is faster than he went all of last season that I can find.
Agree that Arizona is likely going to place higher at season’s end, but given dual meet scoring, and Wisconsin’s ability to win as many as 8 or 9 events, the upset is possible. If Thompson can hold Geer off in one or the other sprint, I like the… Read more »