2014 PAC 12 Champs – 50 FREE – Reported by Jared Anderson
Junior college transfer Brad Tandy is swimming in his first official NCAA meet, but he’s wasting no time in making his mark for Arizona. The junior went 18.80 to break the championships record, rocket to the top of the national rankings and become just the second man under 19 in the NCAA this season. It’s hardly surprising considering Tandy went 18.97 swimming exhibition earlier this season, but the difference between that swim and this one is still significant in terms of the 50 free.
Cal’s Seth Stubblefield helped himself out with an NCAA invite in a big way, taking second in 19.32. While his prelims time of 19.45 would probably have made the cut, 19.32 should assure him a spot at the big dance.
Utah’s Nick Soedel, who’s had a fantastic junior season, showed off his consistency by going the exact same time a prelims and finals. He put up a 19.36 to just trail Stubblefield for the runner-up spot.
Tony Cox and Tyler Messerschmidt both went 19.4 for Cal. Cox’s 19.40 should move him from a potential NCAA bubble spot to a solid invite, much like Stubblefield’s swim. Messerschmidt dropped one one-hundredth to go 19.48.
USC freshman Dylan Carter put up a 19.51 for sixth, and his teammate Jack Wagner wound up seventh. Santa Barbara junior Wade Allen rounded out the A final.
There was a tie atop the B heat, with Golden Bear teammates Fabio Gimondi and Nick Dillinger each going 19.58.