2015 ACC Men’s Championships: Day 3 Prelims Real Time Recap

The third day of the 2015 ACC Men’s Championships features the 400 IM, 100 butterfly, 200 freestyle, 100 breaststroke, and the 100 backstroke. The 400 medley relay is also today, but that event will be a timed final tonight.

This morning is very important for scoring. Virginia Tech needs to have a big morning to hold off NC State after they made up nearly 200 points on the Hokies. Yesterday, NC State earned 16 final swims compared to Virginia Tech’s 7. If the Hokies want to hold on to their lead and defend their conference title, they will need to get a few more swimmers into finals today.

NC State has looked untouchable, however. They have broken two ACC relay records and won every individual event except the 200 IM. If they come out as strong this morning as they were yesterday, the meet will be theirs. At that point, there will be a battle for second place between Virginia Tech, UNC, and Louisville.

For todays events, the 400 IM is up first. NC State’s Christian McCurdy will be defending his ACC title in the event. He had a great 200 IM, dropping 3 seconds from his previous best time from this season. That should set him up well today. He is the fifth seed and about six second behind the top seed, Louisville’s Nolan Tesone. Tesone also swam well yesterday, dropping a half second from his best time to post a 1:44.58.

The 199 butterfly is going to be a shoot out. Louisville’s Pedro Coutinho has the top seed, but keep your eye out for Georgia Tech’s Andrew Kosic who had a great 50 yesterday and NC State’s Soeren Dahl who has been swimming very well individually and in the relays.

The 200 freestyle will be fast this year. NC State’s Simonas Bilis will be the favorite to win after posting a 1:32.05 relay split in the 800 freestyle relay and winning the 50 freestyle yesterday. David Williams also had a strong 1:33.3 split on the same relay. Trevor Carroll from Louisville is the top seed in the event. He finished second in the 500 yesterday and led of Louisville’s 800 free relay in 1:33.99.

Peter Kropp, the Duke sophomore and ACC Record holder in the 100 breaststroke is the favorite to win today. Many people are hoping he can break 52 seconds and reclaim the top time in the nation. He led the nation in this event prior to the start of the conference championship meets. ND’s Zach Stephens is the defending champion in this event. He did well in the B final of the 200 IM yesterday, bringing his last 100 home in 54.3.

The final event of the day, the 100 backstroke, should be a battle between the top seed, Grigory Tarasevich from Louisville, Collin Higgins from Virginia Tech, and Andreas Schiellerup from NC State. Tarasevich and Schiellerup both looked strong in the 200 medley relay, splitting 21.6 and 21.3, respectively, and Higgins is the ACC record holder in the 200 backstroke. Sam Lewis from UNC has also been swimming well, so expect him to be a factor, earning a spot in the A final of the 50 freestyle last night.

Keep refreshing this page for event-by-event updates from Atlanta. You can also follow our new live Twitter account, @SwimSwamLive, for second-by-second updates.

2015 ACC MEN’S CHAMPIONSHIPS – DAY 3 PRELIMS

• Dates: Wednesday, Feb. 25 – Saturday, Feb. 28; Prelims 10AM/Finals 6PM (Eastern Time)
• Location: Georgia Tech – Atlanta, GA
• Defending Champion: Virginia Tech (results)
• Live Results
• Live Video (ESPN 3)
• Psych Sheet
• Championship Central
• SwimSwam’s Fan Guide

ICYMI:

Day 1 Finals Recap
Day 2 Prelims Recap – Day 2 Ups/Mids/Downs – Day 2 Finals Recap – Day 2 Scoring Update – Five Things From Day 2

400 IM

• 2014 ACC Champion – Christian McCurdy, NCSU – 3:43.61
• NCAA “A” Standard – 3:42.40
• ACC Record – 3:38.00 – Gal Nevo, Georgia Tech, 2009

Robert Owen started off the morning well for Virginia Tech with a top qualifying time of 3:43.80, dropping close to 9 seconds from his pervious best time this season. His teammate, Zach Switzer, was the second swimmer into the A final for the Hokies, matching them up evenly with NC State. Last years champion, Christian McCurdy, qualified second at 3:44.59, while his teammate, Anton Ipsen, qualified fifth giving NC State two in the A final. Louisville’s Nolan Tesone had a solid drop of a second and a half to qualify third at 3:44.91.

Also swimming in tonight’s final will be Michael Miller (4th, Duke), Henry Campbell (6th, UNC), and Tom Anderson (8th, ND). It took a 3:48.67 to make the A final, a 3:51.79 t0 make the B final, and a 3:56.60 to make the C final.

100 Butterfly

• 2014 ACC Champion – Pavel Sankovich, FSU – 45.12
• NCAA “A” Standard – 45.61
• ACC Record – 45.00 – Pavel Sankovich, FSU, 2014

Sam Lewis had a big morning swim for UNC as the only swimmer to break 46 with his time of 45.93. UNC will have to swimmers in the A final; Ben Colley qualified fourth at 46.42. Florida State’s Connor Knight dropped from his seed time to qualify second with his time of 46.11. Andrew Kosic from Georgia Tech was third at 46.36. Soeren Dahl was NC State’s lone A finalist in fifth at 46.45. Louisville has to be happy with their butterfliers, locking three into the top 8. Aaron Young was 6th at 46.51, Josh Quallen was 7th at 46.70, and Pedro Coutinho finished 8th at 46.77.

It took a 46.77 to make the A final, a 47.51 to make the B final, and a 48.01 to make the C final in the 100 butterfly.

200 Freestyle

• 2014 ACC Champion – Frank Dyer, ND – 1:33.20
• NCAA “A” Standard – 1:33.62
• ACC Record – 1:32.45 – Scot Robison, UVA, 2010

NC State bounced back with 3 swimmers qualifying for the A final of the men’s 200 freestyle. Freshman Ryan Held is the top seed with his time of 1:33.75, followed by Simonas Bilis at 1:33.98. Their third qualifier is David Williams. He qualified 6th at 1:34.74. Louisville was the next team to make a statement, also qualifying three for the A final. Trevor Carroll led the pack in third at 1:34.42, Matthias Lindenbauer is 6th at 1:34.71, and Rudy Edelen was 8th with a 1:36.19. Owen Burns from Virginia Tech qualified fourth with his time of 1:34.62, and his teammate, Lucas Bureau, also made it in with a 7th place time of 1:35.50.

It took a 1:36.19 to make the 3 team A final, a 1:37.42 to make the B final, and a 1:37.97 to make the C final.

100 Breaststroke

• 2014 ACC Champion – Zach Stephens, ND – 52.59
• NCAA “A” Standard – 52.29
• ACC Record – 52.02 – Peter Kropp, Duke, 2014

Duke sophomore Peter Kropp earns the top spot in the men’s 100 breaststroke, just missing his ACC record with another NCAA “A” cut time of 52.17. Louisville’s Thomas Dahlia qualified second, barely missing the NCAA A cut time at 52.33. Dhalia’s teammate, Addison Bray, also earned an A final swim with his 6th place time of 53.36. Florida State’s Jason Coombs put up a solid 52.97 to qualify in third, and NC State’s Derek Hren was fourth at 53.15.

Virginia Tech’s Brandon Fiala qualified fifth at 53.34 after winning the 200 IM last night. UVA’s Yannick Kaeser posted the 7th fastest time at 53.49, and UNC’s Kurt Wohlrab closes out the A final with his time of 53.50.

It took a 53.50 to make the A final, a 54.23 to make the B final, and a 55.14 to make the C final.

100 Backstroke

• 2014 ACC Champion – Pavel Sankovich, FSU – 45.83
• NCAA “A” Standard – 45.62
• ACC Record – 45.31 – Pavel Sankovich, FSU, 2014

North Carolina took control of the final event of the morning, taking the top 3 spots going into tonights final. Nic Graesser led the way with a 46.19, while Sam Lewis and Ben Colley tied for second at 46.46. NC State got the next two swimmers in at 4th and 5th. Andreas Schiellerup qualified in 4th at 46.53 and Hennesey Stuart was right beind him at 46.72. Louisville took the final three spots with a 46.80 from Girgory Tarasevich, a 46.96 from Aaron Young, and a 47.08 from Aaron Greene.

It took a 47.08 to make the A final, a 48.07 to make the B final, and a 49.14 to make the B final.