2019 Tennessee Invite: Day 1 Finals Live Recap

2019 TENNESSEE INVITATIONAL

• November 21st-24th, 2019
• Alan Jones Aquatic Center, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee
• SCY, Prelims/Finals
• Meet Details
• Psych Sheets
• Live Results
• Results on MeetMobile: 2019 UT Invite

The first finals session of the 2019 Tennessee Invitational will be Thursday night, where top-20 Division I programs Virginia, Tennessee, Georgia, and Indiana will compete along with top-20 Division II program Carson-Newmann.

Among the highlights of the morning session was yet another lifetime best for Virginia super-freshman Kate Douglass, who swam 1:54.30 in the 200 IM. She’s expected to lead off a few relays in the evening session as well.

Other highlights of prelims were a 21.53 in the 50 free from Tennessee senior Erika Brown, and a 4:13.05 from Georgia senior Walker Higgins in the men’s 500 free.

Women’s 200 free relay

• NCAA “A” Cut – 1:28.43
• NCAA “B” Cut – 1:29.21
• 2019 Invite Time – 1:29.36

1. Tennessee – 1:27.20
2. Indiana – 1:29.06
3. Georgia – 1:29.95

BIG start for Tennesee winning in a NCAA “A” qualifying time while also clocking their fastest time this season. That time will place this relay 3rd all-time in program history. Stand-out Erika Brown went 2nd and clocked a 21.10 off a relay start which was the fastest out of the field. Indiana finished 2nd, clocking a “B” cut behind Cora Dupre’s 22.09 lead-off. That swim for Dupre is a new Indiana School Record in the event.

The Virginia “A” relay was disqualified in the race. Freshman Kate Douglass’s  lead off split of 21.50 still counts while Morgan Hill anchored the relay in 21.20.

Men’s 200 free relay

• NCAA “A” Cut – 1:17.17
• NCAA “B” Cut – 1:17.86
• 2019 Invite Time – 1: 18.05

1. Indiana – 1:17.41
2. Virginia – 1:18.36
3. Tennessee – 1:18.48

The Indiana men came up just shy of the NCAA “A” cut in the 200 free relay with a season-best time.  Bruno Blasovic split a 19.16 on the 2nd leg while Mohamed Samy Hassan anchored with a 19.09. The fastest split of the night goes to anchor leg Alec Connolly of Tennessee with a 19.05. Virginia’s time of 1:18.36 was faster than their time of 1:18.62 at the 2019 ACC Championships, or of any time that they swam last season.

Women’s 500 free

• NCAA “A” Cut – 4:35.76
• NCAA “B” Cut – 4:47.20
• 2019 Invite Time -4:40.96

1. Paige Madden – Virginia – 4:34.64
2. Courtney Harnish – Georgia – 4:37.16
3. Josie Grote – Indiana – 4:41.08

Virginia junior Paige Madden won the 500 free with an NCAA “A” cut in the 500 free, swimming a 4:34.64. That’s 5 seconds faster than she swam mid-season last year where she eventually finished 2nd at the NCAA Championships. Georgia junior Courtney Harnish finished 2nd in 4:37.16. Indiana’s Josie Grote was seeded 17th in prelims, but finished 3rd in the final in 4:41.08. That was the fastest time of her career by almost 2 seconds and fastest time of the season by over 17 seconds. She out-touched teammate Cassy Jernberg, who finished 3rd in 4:41.30.

Men’s 500 free

• NCAA “A” Cut – 4:11.82
• NCAA “B” Cut – 4:23.34
• 2019 Invite Time – 4:16.04

1. Jack Walker – Virginia – 4:15.27
2. Mikey Calvillo – Indiana – 4:15.94
3. Kevin Miller – Georgia – 4:16.41

Freshman Jack Walker of Virginia earned a big comeback win in the 500 free, swimming a 4:15.27 that finished just shy of his best time (4:15.02). Mikey Calvillo swam 4:15.94, which bettered his best time of  4:17.22 that he swam at the 2019 Big Ten Championships, earning 2nd just behind Walker. Senior Kevin Miller of Georgia finishes 3rd also bettering his previous best time 4:17.12 he set at the 2019 SEC Championships.

Women’s 200 IM

• NCAA “A” Cut – 1:53.66
• NCAA “B” Cut – 1:59.94
• 2019 Invite Time – 1:56.76

1. Kate Douglass – Virginia – 1:52.84
2. Zoie Hartman – Georgia – 1:53.69
3. Meghan Small – Tennessee – 1:54.49

Kate Douglass earned a NCAA “A” qualifying time in the 200 IM with a 1:52.84, which is good for the 2nd fastest time in the nation this season and 3rd-fastest ever by a freshman. Her best time coming into college was a 1:56.09, which she already undercut once this season prior to the Invite.

That time for Douglass breaks both the Virginia and ACC Records of 1:54.06 that was set by former Cavelier Kaitlyn Jones in 2016.

Georgia’s Zoie Hartman clocked a 1:53.69, just shy of the “A” cut but she has added herself to the Georgia record books, clocking the 2nd fast time in school history. Tennessee senior, Meghan Small, earns bronze with her fastest time this season in 1:54.49 – almost a full seconds faster than she was at this meet last season.

Men’s 200 IM

• NCAA “A” Cut – 1:41.34
• NCAA “B” Cut – 1:46.77
• 2019 Invite Time – 1:43.82

1. Mohamed Samy Hassan – Indiana – 1:44.00
2. Matthew Garcia – Tennessee – 1:44.71
3. Clayton Forde – Georgia -1:45.04

Mohamed Samy Hassan just out touched Matthew Garcia of Tennessee in a time of 1:44.00 to validate his top seed coming into the final. His best time of 1:43.89 was from the 2019 NCAA Men’s Division I Championships, though he didnt drop much time from mid-season to NCAAs. Garcia, finishing in 2nd, touched with a new lifetime best of 1:44.71, down from his previous 1:45.23 set at the 2019 SEC Championships. Clayton Forde was seeded 14th in prelims with a 1:52.02 and came back to earn 3rd in the 200 IM with a time of 1:45.04, a difference of 6.98 seconds. This is also a lifetime best down from a 1:47.73 he swam at the 2018 UGA Fall Invitational.

Women’s 50 free

• NCAA “A” Cut – 21.66
• NCAA “B” Cut – 22.76
• 2019 Invite Time – 22.23

1. Erika Brown – Tennessee – 21.19
2. Morgan Hill – Virginia – 21.82
3. Cora Dupre – Indiana – 22.11

Erika Brown clocked a 21.19 in the 50 free, good for a 1st place finish, NCAA “A” cut,  7th best performance in history, and a tie for the nation’s fastest swim this season. Virginia’s Morgan Hill earns silver with a 21.82, just off her best time of 21.68 set at the 2019 ACC Championships. Freshman Cora Dupre of Indiana finished 3rd, just ahead of Tennessee’s Bailey Grinter. Dupre swam the 200 IM in prelims, but scratched to focus on this 50 free. Dupre’s best time of 22.37 was set during a relay lead off just a few weeks ago.

Men’s 50 free

• NCAA “A” Cut – 18.96
• NCAA “B” Cut – 19.96
• 2019 Invite Time – 19.35

1. Kyle Decoursey – Tennessee – 19.34
2. Alec Connolly – Tennessee – 19.47
3. Bruno Blasovic – Indiana – 19.61

Tennessee’s Kyle Decoursey earned a 1st place finish with a time of 19.34. In he process, he beat out his teammate, Alec Connolly, who has been the team’s sprint leader this season up to this point, who was in 2nd. Connolly broke his best time of 19.48 from the 2018 SEC Championships by .01 seconds. Junior, Bruno Blasovic of Indiana, finished 3rd with a 19.61.

Men’s 3 mtr diving

• NCAA Zones Qualifying Score- 320

1. Zack Allen – Georgia – 371.85
2. Keegan Richardson – Tennesee – 347.15
3. Josh Getty – Georgia – 316.65

Zach Allen, a junior at Georgia, won the 3 meter diving competition with a score of 371.85. Josh Getty, also a junior at Georgia, rounded out the top with a score of 316.65.

Women’s 400 medley relay

• NCAA “A” Cut – 3:31.66
• NCAA “B” Cut – 3:33.78
• 2019 Invite Time – 3:34.28

1. Virginia – 3:27.58
2. Georgia – 3:30.98
3. Tennessee – 3:32.25

The Virginia winning 400 medley relay, made up of Caroline Gmelich (51.88), Alexis Wenger (58.91), Kate Douglass (49.98), and Morgan Hill (46.81), smashed the NCAA “A” cut in a time of 3:27.58 and finished ahead of Georgia by over 3 seconds. Their time of 3:27.58 would have placed the team 4th at the 2019 NCAA DI Women’s Championships.

That’s the 2nd-best 400 medley relay in school history, and the school’s fastest since 2015.

Georgia freshman Zoie Hartman split 57.8 on the breaststroke leg of the Bulldogs’ runner-up relay, setting up a tantalizing matchup between her and Douglass in the individual event later in the meet. Erika Brown split 50.08 on the fly leg for Tennessee’s 3rd-place relay.

Men’s 400 medley relay

• NCAA “A” Cut – 3:05.95
• NCAA “B” Cut – 3:07.74
• 2019 Invite Time – 3:08.16

1. Virginia – 3:06.69
2. Tennessee – 3:07.20
3. Indiana – 3:08.68

Virginia claimed 1st in the 400 medley relay ahead of Tennessee and Indiana. Joe Clark of Virginia clocked a 46.01 in the 100 backstroke, the fastest split of the night. Alec Connolly of Tennessee anchored his team’s relay in a 42.41 in the 100 free, which was also the fastest split of the night.

Team Scores: Day 1

Women

1. Tennessee – 320
2. Georgia – 308
3. Indiana – 213
4. Virginia – 200
5. Carson-Newman – 72
6. Tennessee Aquatics – 14
7. UNC Asheville – 5

Men

1. Georgia – 291
2. Indiana – 265
3. Tennessee – 239
4. Virginia – 188
5. Carson-Newman – 66
6. Tennessee Aquatics – 20