Psych Sheets for 2019 Tennessee Invitational Released

2019 Tennessee Invitational

• November 21st-24th, 2019
• Alan Jones Aquatic Center, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee
• SCY, Prelims/Finals
• Meet Details
• Psych Sheets

Psych sheets are out for one of this weekend’s big collegiate swimming & diving invitationals, the Tennessee Invitational, where among the participating teams will be top-20 programs Indiana, Georgia, Virginia, and Tennessee. They’ll be joined by top-20 Division II program Carson-Newman.

Swimmers are allowed unlimited swims at the meet, so those entered in more than 3 individual events may actually swim more than 3 individual events, at least in prelims.

Among the biggest lightning-rods of the meet will be Virginia freshman Kate Douglass, who has kicked off her college career with a bang. She ranks in the top 5 swimmers nationally in 6 different events already as a freshman this season based on times coming into this weekend: the 50 free (22.12), 100 free (48.45), 100 breast (59.55), 200 breast (2:07.92), 100 fly (51.29), and 200 IM (1:55.15). Among those times, the 100 breast, 200 breast, and 200 IM are national #1s for her.

Already a highly-touted recruit, those latter three events are all lifetime bests for her, as is her swim in the 100 fly from the first few weeks of the year.

This weekend, she’s individually entered in the 100 fly, 100 breast, 200 breast, and 200 IM, but don’t be surprised to see her lead off some relays to get times in those races as well.

Her 100 fly race against Tennessee senior Erika Brown will be a highlight of the meet. Those two rank 1st and 2nd in the nation in that event this season, and Brown finished 4th in the 100 fly at last year’s NCAA Championships.

Editor’s note: Michigan sophomore Maggie MacNeil has the fastest time by a collegiate swimmer in the 100 fly this season, but because it was at an intrasquad meet, and not a bona fied competition, it doesn’t technically count for NCAA rankings.

Brown is entered in 6 races this weekend. Besides the 100 fly, she’s also scheduled for the 200 IM, 50 free (#1-ranked nationally), 100 free (also #1 nationally), 200 free, and 100 backstroke.

Other Highlight Races at the Tennessee Invitational This Weekend:

• The distance freestyle matchups between Virginia’s Paige Madden, Indiana’s Cassy Jernberg, and Georgia swimmers Courtney Harnish and Olivia Anderson, among others, will represent 5 or 6 swimmers who could be NCAA scorers at the end of the season.
• Tennessee’s Alec Connolly has been locked-in this season, including a 43.52 in the 100 yard free that ranks him 5th nationally. He’ll have battles in all of his races, mostly from the Indiana men, and will have a chance to validate those early-season swims. Last year, he was 43.0 at this meet, but was half-a-second slower coming in. By the transitive property of time drops (which always works), he should be at least 42-mid this week.
• The best battles of the men’s meet should come in the distance freestyles, where Virginia freshman Jack Walker will test his nation-leading status in the 500 free against Georgia’s Andrew Abruzzo, who is looking for his breakout collegiate season, and Tennessee’s Taylor Abbott, who has won a lot of races for the Volunteers early this season. Throw in Indiana’s Mike Cavillo and another Georgia Bulldog Greg Reed, and the distance frees will be about as good as you’ll see nationally at a mid-season invite.
• Note that in the team scoring, Georgia and Tennessee are likely to run away with the points, if for no other reason than divers. Indiana and Virginia have sent their divers elsewhere this week. We’ll try and isolate just swimming points post-meet.