2021 T2 Naples Open
- Friday, January 15, 2021 – Sunday, January 17, 2021
- T2 Aquatics Norris Aquatic Center, Naples, FL
- Short Course Yards (SCY) Prelims
- Long Course Meters (LCM) Finals
- Results
T2 Aquatics in Naples, Florida played host this weekend at the 2021 T2 Naples Open. One of the stars of the meet was 15-year-old Edie Simecek who was the only swimmer to represent Flatiron Swimming and made the most of her weekend, picking up 6 top-3 finishes including 4 victories in the 100 back, 100 fly, 200 fly, and 100 free. Simecek’s long course victories came at 1:07.22 in the back, 1:02.99 in the 100 fly, 2:19.85 in the 200, and a 59.28 in the 100 free. She also notched a 2:29.73 LC 200 IM for 3rd place and a 28.05 LC 50 freestyle for 2nd.
Also among those who had a successful weekend was 16-year old Amadeusz Knop of the Sarasota Sharks. Knop raced six events in Naples, picking up wins in both the 200 back and 200 IM. He was just over his best in the yards prelims for both events, swimming a 1:53.82 to his 1:51.46 back PB and a 1:57.64 to his 1:53.12 IM PB.
In the long course finals, Knop claimed victory with a 2:06.55 in the backstroke and a 2:11.17 in the IM. That 200 back swim for Knop is just over 3 seconds slower than what he swam at the 2020 U.S Open – Sarasota in November 2020 where he placed third to Clark Beach and Yeizel Morales with a 2:03.41.
Knop’s teammate Eliza Brown also picked up two victories at the meet, placing first in the 200 IM and the 200 breast. Brown raced to a 2:07.77 short course yards to earn top seed going into the finals and was a 2:21.53 200 breast yards for second seed. As the pool switched to long course for the finals, Brown prevailed, hitting a 2:21.72 200 IM and 2:36.67 200 breast. That breast swim for Brown was a new best time, improving upon her 2:37.23 from November.
Brown also finished 2nd in the 100 breast (1:16.28), 2nd in the 400 free (4:30.47), and 3rd in the 100 fly (1:05.82). Brown announced earlier this month that she will swim for the University of Princeton beginning in the fall of 2022.
Michigan commit and current Sarasota swimmer Connor Hunt opened the meet with a victory in the 400 IM, swimming a 4:30.73 long course swim, just off his PB of 4:26.31. Hunt added victories in the 200 fly and 1650 freestyle, hitting times of 1:55.61, and 15:37.06, respectively. Hunt will graduate from high school this year and is set to begin his collegiate career as Michigan Wolverine next fall.
go sharks