Today marks Michael Phelps’ return to the 200m butterfly, an event he swore he would never enter again after announcing his comeback. Recently, Phelps said he’s been training like a 200 flyer in order to prepare better for his 100 fly. It seems as though that has prompted him to swim the 200 fly, which he will do so this morning. Phelps will be in heat five lane six right beside Chase Kalisz.
2015 ARENA PRO SWIM SERIES – CHARLOTTE
- Thursday, May 14 – Sunday, May 17, 2015
- Mecklenburg County Aquatic Center, Charlotte, NC
- Friday-Sunday: Prelims 9AM/Finals 6PM (Eastern)
- Live Stream
- Live results
- Also available via Meet Mobile – “2015 Arena Pro Swim Series at Charlotte”
- Psych Sheet
- Saturday morning heat sheet
WOMEN 200 FLY
Katinka Hosszu continued her strategy of swimming fast in the prelims sessions here in Charlotte, dropping a 2:09.22 to lead the way into the championship final of the women’s 200m fly tonight.
Hosszu will have a few challengers. SwimMAC’s Kate Mills looked extremely good this morning, winning heat six with a 2:10.74. Hali Flickinger is also among those who will have a chance in tonight’s finals. Flickinger clocked in at 2:10.80 this morning to take the third seed overall.
Camille Adams and Cassidy Bayer are the fourth and fifth seeds respectively. Bayer, 15, got the chance to swim against Hosszu this morning and held her own for most of the race. With a little finals push both Adams and Bayer could be in the mix.
Becca Mann, Christina Bechtel, and Emma Nunn will be the remaining championship finalists.
Caitlin Levernz and Kelsi Worrell will face off in the ‘B’ final of the 200m fly. Leverenz was a 2:14.54 this morning, Worrell a 2:15.23. Worrell has proven that she can swim a good 200 long-course at previous meets, and after winning the 100m fly last night should be the favorite heading into the consolation final.
MEN 200 FLY
With the comeback in full force, Michael Phelps swam his first 200m fly since the 2012 London Olympics. He wasn’t afraid to attack the race early on, leading the way to the 100 meter wall in 57.09. At the 150, Phelps was still in front, but that last 50 seemed to prove to be trouble.
Phelps tightened up heading into the wall and was passed by both Chase Kalisz and Ioannis Drymonakos to finish third in his heat.
That time of 2:00.64 for Phelps will get him into the ‘A’ final as the sixth seed overall with. Drymonakos is seeded just ahead of him with his time of 1:59.94.
The top seed overall as rising age-group star Andrew Seliskar. Seliskar, who has already been a 1:55 this season, rocked a 1:59.21 to grab the top seed over Gunnar Bentz. Bentz was a 1:59.76 this morning.
The third seed was Chase Kalisz, who ran down Phelps on the last 50 in order to drop a time of 1:59.82. Jack Conger was the only other swimmer other than Drymonakos to go under 2:00, taking the fourth sot in 1:59.94.
Mick Litherland and Tyler Clary squeezed into the final to take the seventh and eighth seeds respectively.
WOMEN 50 FREE
Arianna Vanderpool-Wallace took advantage of the home meet this morning with a very fast 24.78 in the 50m freestyle to grab the top spot heading into finals.
Vanderpool-Wallace will have some company to compete with tonight, and some very seasoned company with the likes of American swimming star Natalie Coughlin. Coughlin was fast this morning in 25.21 to take the second seed behind Vanderpool-Wallace. There’s no denying that she can be in the mix tonight, she was already very solid in a 100m backstroke time trial earlier this meet.
Canadian swimmer and Georgia swimmer Chantal Van Landeghem showed her sprint prowess with a 25.37 to finish just behind Coughlin in the overall rankings.
Katie Meili, who is on fire at this meet after a stunning 100m breaststroke victory, will be tied for fourth overall in 25.55. Amanda Kendall swam an identical time.
Lauren Pitzer, Michelle Williams, and Kelsi Worrell are the remaining championship finalists.
MEN 50 FREE
It’s going to be a tight race tonight in the men’s 50m freestyle as the top eight were all roughly within half-a-second of each other this morning.
Leading the way was Josh Schneider in 22.38, the only swimmer to dip into the lower end of a 22-swim. Bruno Fratus was the closest to Schneider, sporting a 22.62 at the wall to take the second seed.
Marco Orsi who was absolutely fantastic on the 4x100m freestyle relay last night with a 48.21 split, will be the third seed heading into finals with his 22.65.
Cullen Jones of SwimMAC Carolina was right behind him. Jones clocked in at 22.73, tying 50m freestyle world record holder Cesar Cielo in the process.
Anthony Ervin and Nathan Adrian just squeezed into the finals with times of 22.87 and 22.89. They took the seventh and eighth seeds behind Renzo Tjon A Joe.
The ‘B’ final should be an incredible race as well. All the swimmers, led by Karl Krug and Michele Stanucci (22.93) are within two-tenths of a second of each other. There’s no clear leader, and it’s truly anybody’s race.
WOMEN 100 BACK
Katinka Hosszu dropped yet another prelim bomb this morning, dipping under the magical one-minute barrier in the 100m backstroke to lead the charge with a 59.91. That time puts her in the top 10 world rankings.
She was the only swimmer under 1:00 as Kathleen Baker stormed in to grab the second seed in 1:00.78. Canadian backstroke specialist and Missouri swimmer Dominique Bouchard grabbed the third seed behind Baker. At the touch, Bouchard was a 1:00.87.
Kirst Coventry of SwimMAC was just behind Bouchard in 1:01.28 with Olivia Smoliga grabbing the fifth seed in 1:01.44. Carolina Colorado, Danielle Hanus, and Kylie Masse rounded out the top eight.
With Bouchard, Hanus, and Masse, a large portion of swimmers in this final are Canadian swimmers. Only three swimmers in the final are American, led by Baker.
MEN 100 BACK
After his 200m fly prelim, Phelps looked as though he was hurting. Even more evidence pointed to this when he scratched his 100m backstroke swim.
Junya Koga was the clear leader in the 100 back with a 54.76 to go with his solid 24.74 50m backstroke time from earlier this meet. David Plummer will be one of his biggest competitors tonight after swimming a 54.95 this morning and taking the second seed.
Ryan Lochte and Eugene Godsoe weren’t far off of the leaders as well. Lochte was a 55.00, Godsoe a 55.06.
Arkady Vyatchanin, Omar Pinzon, Jack Conger, and Guilherme Guido are the remaining championship finalists.
WOMEN 200 BREAST
Micah Lawrence was swimming on another level compared to all the swimmers in the heats of the 200m breaststroke. She swam a time just slightly slower than what she was in Australia this past January, touching in at 2:25.51 to take the top seed.
She’s in first by a long-shot as her closest competitor appeared to be Breeja Larson. Larson was almost five seconds behind her sporting a 2:30.05 this morning.
Annie Lazor was slightly slower than her in 2:30.37 as was Canadian Olympian Martha McCabe in 2:30.39.
Melanie Margalis and Alia Atkinson will be right behind those two with times of 2:30.47 and 2:30.55. Laura Sogar wasn’t far off that mark taking the seventh seed in 2:30.70.
Rounding out the championship final will be 100m breaststroke winner Katie Meili. Meili swam a 2:31.29 to squeeze into the final by just seven one-hundredths of a second.
MEN 200 BREAST
Brazilian medley swimmer Thiago Perreira will lead the charge in the men’s 200m breaststroke after putting up a nice 2:14.58 in prelims this morning.
Nic Fink of Georgia was right behind him followed by Josh Prenot of Cal. This morning, Fink was able to muster a 2:14.74 with Prenot almost matching him going a 2:14.75.
Carlos Claverie from the University of Louisville grabbed the fourth seed with a 2:15.35. He was ahead of 2014 100m breaststroke national champion Cody Miller who tied Chase Kalisz for the fifth seed with a 2:15.38.
Reece Whitley made a championship final as he clocked in at 2:15.65 to throw down a very impressive 200m breaststroke for a 15-year-old. Whitley scared the 15-16 age-group record in that event, and will have a clear shot of it tonight if he’s able to improve on his time. Yesterday, he bettered his prelim time by a long-shot in finals so there is some solid hope that he’ll be close to that record tonight.
Thomas Dahlia of Louisville took the eighth and final seed with a 2:16.23, leaving Richard Funk and Andrew Seliskar to battle it out on the ‘B’ final.
WOMEN 50 FLY
Arianna Vanderpool-Wallace is attempting to lay claim to all the 50s tonight. After taking the top seed in the 50m freestyle, Vanderpool-Wallace also grabbed the top spot in the 50 fly with a 26.38.
Just like in the 50 free, she’s going to have her hands full with competitors. Kelsi Worrell of Louisville, who won the 100m fly earlier in the meet, grabbed the second seed in 26.53. She has the speed as was indicated in her fastest ever 50-yard-fly split at the NCAA Championships in March.
Claire Donahue was the third fastest overall this morning in 26.95, just ahead of the 26.97 that Amanda Kendall put forth.
Alyssa Marsh of SwimMAC went a 27.30 to grab a spot in the ‘A’ final. She’s seeded fifth, heading into tonight ahead of Jeserik Pinto, Ellen Thomas, and Megan Bestor.
MEN 50 FLY
Cesar Cielo showed very good promise in the 50m fly where he’s looking to go to the 2015 World Championships and become a three time repeat champion in the event.
This morning he was a 23.69 to claim the top seed ahead of Sean Fletcher who was a 23.97.
Those two were the only swimmers under 24-seconds as Matthew Josa was the third fastest swimmer overall with a time of 24.11. He was just slightly ahead of Tim Phillips who was a 24.14.
Cullen Jones who usually specializes in the sprint freestyles managed a solid swim this morning, rocking a 24.21 at the wall to take the fifth seed.
Eugene Godsoe and Santo Condorelli tied for sixth in 24.24. Arthur Mendes is the remaining finalist with the 24.32 he threw down this morning. Mendes was four one-hundredths faster than Ryan Lochte, who is seeded ninth with the middle lane in the ‘B’ final.
WOMEN 400 FREE
Leah Smith had an incredible collegiate season this year, and is transferring her success into long-course meters. Heading into finals, Smith is currently the top seed in the 400 free with a 4:09.91. She was the only swimmer under 4:10.
Lotte Friis and Becca Mann should make things interesting. They’re the second and third seeds. Friis was a 4:11.36 this morning, Mann a 4:11.69.
Sierra Schmidt, Allison Schmitt, and Cierra Runge were all in the 4:12 range this morning and will have a chance to better that tonight.
Lindsay Vrooman and Kennedy Goss rounded out the field with a 4:14.32 and a 4:15.85.
MEN 400 FREE
Marwan El Kamash dropped almost four seconds off his personal best time to take the top seed in the men’s 400m freestyle. At the touch, Kamash was a 3:52.02.
Connor Jaeger of Club Wolverine was second to Kamash with a 3:53.17. Jaeger is the favorite in the event.
Although Jaeger’s the favorite, Dion Dreesens was close to him this morning with his 3:53.18. Conor Dwyer, who has shown massive improvement over the last few years, was very close as well with a 3:53.33 to grab the fourth seed.
Michael Weiss and Michael Klueh followed suit, just slightly behind.
Jonathan Roberts and Matias Koski were the remaining two swimmers to make the championship final.
scratches:
Jessica Hardy 50fr
Thiago Pereira 200 breast
Godsoe & Lochte 50fly
Allison Schmitt 400fr
😀 😀
Any news on Bilquist scratching this meet?It really messed up my Fantasy Swimming in the 50 free and 100 back.
To be honest I am one of those d-bags who does not get excited about breaststroke very often. Only occasions I can think of are Kevin Cordes in 2013 and Adam Peaty this year. HOWEVER, Reece Whitley is getting me so excited about American breaststroke again. Cordes would have totally won me over as “the face of American breaststroke” if he was more consistent, and if he had broke 50 seconds in 100 yard breast. Not to say I do not like him or that he is bad, but he is not the one to totally change the face of breaststroke. Reece Whitley has an amazing opportunity to do something great in this sport.
Watched his interview yesterday and… Read more »
Man, Samh, we are on the same page here. I have become less of a dbag who shrugs at breaststroke over the years, but it still takes a Peatyesque swim to get me truly excited. And when I watched Whitley’s 100 I immediately thought “Rio, podium, hardware.” A bold call, perhaps, but think of how much time can drop for a boy from 15 to 16–even a giant kid like RW. And he seems focused and happy which is important. I think I’ve seen him in fly results–does he do other strokes? With his size and skill at pacing the 2br, why don’t we see more 200ims from him?
Go Penny!
I have a bit of a beef:
Alright, Nathan Adrian and Bruno Fratus. You can get into finals of the 50 free without going all out. We get it. But – WHY?!?! Just to rub it in people’s faces?
Are you worried you’re going to swim slower tonight because you swam that ONE LAP FAST this morning?
Katinka Hosszu is racing 1,000 meters every day, and she races 900 of them ALL-OUT.
Josh Prenot signs up for a 200 fly / 200 breast double, not guaranteed to final in either.
90 other swimmers raced their butts off to try for one of your spots in finals.
Suck it up! You just might surprise yourself with a… Read more »
Well.. if they are good enough to save energy and are in middle of training? Why not? At Kazan probably guys like Cielo Manadou Adrian Fratus Mcevoy can get into finals without going all out..
Floppy, I don’t disagree, but learning how to move through the rounds at major meets and improve your time with each successive race IS an important skill that takes practice. The US swimmers are generally better at it than those from a lot of other countries because of NCAA training. What’s the point, for example, of doing what Seebohm did and swimming your pb in the Olympic prelims (100 back) but being unable to repeat or improve on that time in the final? Hosszu trains with a different goal than Adrian. His training is geared toward bursts of top speed. He will only be able to give those bursts at a few crucial moments, so he has to practice managing… Read more »
I am mostly talking about the 50, which leaves you winded but virtually no lactic acid build-up.
On Seebohm… She had no other events going on. Who’s to say she might have won the 100 back if only she swam 1:00 in prelims? Maybe, she would still have a silver medal… and a slightly slower best time.
Phelps swimming 17 events over 8 days, averaging 200m/race: absolutely, cruise when you can. An NCAA swimmer doing 14 races in 3 days: absolutely, cruise when you can.
A practice meet, when you have 4 races (300 meters) in 2 days? Why practice swimming slow?
Of course, some of it is also just me being bitter.
~grumpy floppy
What happen to Tom Shields?
He made it into the consol’s of the 200 fly, but I guess he decided not to swim the 50 fly, which is a tough double to do well. Not to be a complainer, but scheduling the 50 free/ 50 fly and 200 fly/50 fly on the same night seems like a bad idea for both butterfliers and sprinters IMO.
Ziegler went 4:23.50. Hard to believe Phelps was over a second quicker when he was 14 in the 200m fly than this morning . Feeling a time drop for tonight though , hope to see him in the 1:57 range but realistically probably 1:58 high
Thanks.
I’ve missed Kate Ziegler’s 400 free. Someone has her time?