SwimSwam Pulse is a recurring feature tracking and analyzing the results of our periodic A3 Performance Polls. You can cast your vote in our newest poll on the SwimSwam homepage, about halfway down the page on the right side, or you can find the poll embedded at the bottom of this post.
Our most recent poll asked SwimSwam readers which 2018 NCAA team champ was more likely to repeat in 2019:
RESULTS
Question: Which team is more likely to repeat as NCAA champs?
- Stanford women – 68.1%
- Texas men – 15.7%
- They are equally likely to repeat – 16.2%
Just over two-thirds of voters picked the Stanford women as more likely to repeat as NCAA champions than the Texas men, with about 16% saying both teams were equally likely to defend their titles in 2019.
Stanford was far more dominant last year, but also lost a massive group of swimmers to graduation or the professional ranks: Olympians Simone Manuel and Katie Ledecky are gone, as are All-Americans Janet Hu and Ally Howe. On the other hand, Stanford brings in by far the best freshman class in the nation, headed by Canadian superstar Taylor Ruck, who projects to be one of the best freestylers in the NCAA as a rookie.
Texas gritted out a tough, multi-team battle for the win last year, but has history on its side, with four consecutive NCAA titles – that means no swimmer on the team, outside of transfers, has experienced anything but a #1 showing at the NCAA Championships. Texas also brought in the #1-ranked recruiting class, led by top freshman freestyler Drew Kibler, to replace a senior class that included Olympian Joseph Schooling.
Slightly more voters said the two teams were equally likely to repeat than picked Texas outright. Both teams are the heavy favorites going into the season, though there’s plenty of swimming yet to happen before March.
Below, vote in our new A3 Performance Poll, which asks voters which events they’d like to see added to the NCAA lineup:
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ABOUT A3 PERFORMANCE
The A3 Performance Poll is courtesy of A3 Performance, a SwimSwam partner
4×25 relays
4×25 relays, without the 15 meter rule.
I could be wrong, but wasn’t the 100 IM declared an official NCAA event a year or two ago? Why hasn’t it been implemented?
It’s an official event, like the 1000, but isn’t a championship event yet at D1 nationals. The NCAA differentiates between official events and championship events.
Ah gotcha. Thanks! I really want to see it as a championship event.
I am disappointed no major conferences have gotten on the 100 IM train.
Sure, it’s not an NCAA event (yet). But I think every college swimmer remembers That Sprinter who could match anyone on the team at any 50 stroke, but couldn’t put together a full 100 of any one stroke.
I’d loved to see Dressel v Andrew v Morozov in SCM, and always wonder what some Ex-ncaa swimmers could go, even at a midseason meet.
For me this is such a sad discussion. I voted for the mixed relays, not because I’m a fan of novelty events, but because the other choices seemed worse. I love to watch swimmers swim the strokes! It was great when the 1500m for women was added to the Olympic program. It was an insult to women not to have it. AND it gave women competing against each other a real chance to demonstrate who was a better swimmer. While short course, by nature of the 25 yard pools, has less swimming than long course, the proposed events have less swimming than most of the other short course events. Starts in shorter events are a bigger factor than in longer… Read more »
I came here to r̶e̶p̶e̶a̶t̶ ̶f̶a̶c̶t̶s̶ ̶a̶b̶o̶u̶t̶ ̶T̶e̶x̶a̶s̶ ̶s̶u̶p̶e̶r̶i̶o̶r̶i̶t̶y̶ discuss college swimming, but then I saw the new poll and I can’t stop thinking about how awesome a 4×200 Medley relay would be.