On winning the NCAA title as a freshman: That’s been the goal all season, especially with how this meet has been going. I put a lot of pressure to perform well at that event for the team and I think we’ve got a lot of momentum now going into this last relay and into tomorrow as well.
On his mindset going into the race: For that race I just wanted to go out fast because I knew there was a bunch of really fast guys in that race. I just hoped that my 200 training would help me in that last 25.
As reported by SwimSwam’s Jared Anderson. Video edited by Coleman Hodges.
It was 8th seed Shane Ryan who led the 100 back most of the way, taking “outside smoke” all the way to the homestretch. But Cal freshman Ryan Murphy proved why he’s got so many swimming fans excited, closing like he was being pulled to the wall by a giant magnet and nipping Ryan in a touchout for his first NCAA title. Murphy went 44.63, closing in 22.9 after going out in a 21.7. Ryan took home second place at 44.78 – he was out in 21.5 for Penn State.
Texas junior Kip Darmody went 45.03, getting Texas back rolling after an event off. Defending champ David Nolan took fourth in 45.21 in what’s been a frustrating week for the Stanford Cardinal. Nolan slipped on his start in the 200 medley this morning, and without a good split from their star, Stanford missed a shot to score. Now with Nolan failing to defend either of his NCAA titles, Stanford needs a big momentum boost.
West Virginia’s Bryce Bohman put his team on the scoreboard for the first time with a 5th-place finish, going 45.30. The second seed, USC’s Luca Spinazzola, dropped to sixth at 45.55 after his huge prelims swim, and Cal’s Tony Cox took home seventh in 45.79. Swimming the second half of a tough double, Florida State senior Pavel Sankovich fell to 8th in 46.44 after taking second in the 100 fly a few races earlier.
The B final went to Indiana’s James Wells in 45.90, just topping Big Ten foe Nate Savoy of Penn State. Cal’s Jacob Pebley moved up a spot to take 11th, leapfrogging Texas’s Aaron Gustafson. Not often would a two-point swing like that affect a meet much, but the way this one’s been, every single swim is significant.
On the team points board, Cal has now officially overtaken Texas, sitting first with 286.5. Texas is at 270.5. The Longhorns only got one diver into finals, but Michael Hixon is seeded first. So if his seed holds up, Texas will lead by 4 going into the final relay of the night.
