2021 NCAA Men’s Championships: Day 4 Finals Live Recap

2021 NCAA MEN’S SWIMMING & DIVING CHAMPIONSHIPS

• When: Wednesday, March 24 – Saturday, March 27, 2021
• Where: Greensboro Aquatic Center / Greensboro, NC (Eastern Time Zone)
• Prelims 10 AM/ Finals 6 PM (Local Time)
• Short course yards (SCY) format
• Defending champion: Cal (1x) – 2019 results
• Streaming:
• Championship Central
• Psych Sheets
• Live Results

Saturday Finals Heat Sheet

The last session of the 2021 Men’s NCAA Championships is underway with the start of the 1650 free timed finals, with the top heat starting tonight’s finals session. Following the mile, the finals of the 200 back, 100 free, 200 breast, 200 fly, platform diving, and 400 free relay will be contested. Texas comes in tonight with their 42-point lead built from yesterday over Cal for the team championship title. Florida and Georgia currently run 3rd and 4th respectively while Indiana sits 30 points behind Georgia in 5th. Louisville is also 8 points behind Indiana for 6th, Texas A&M is a mere 7 points ahead of NC State for 7th, and Ohio State (108), Virginia (102), and Michigan (100) are all within less than 6 points of each other.

Swimming in lane four of the fastest-seeded mile heat is Florida’s Bobby Finke, whose entry time of 14:12.18 is just a tenth of his own American/U.S. Open/NCAA records. Be on the lookout for Georgia freshman Jake Magahey, who took an upset win in the 500 free on Thursday. Into the 200 back, Cal freshman Destin Lasco is coming off his third NCAA freshman record (1:37.19) to take the top seed. Texas A&M’s Shaine Casas is seeded second and will shoot to sweep the backstrokes and earn his 3rd title this weekend after winning the 200 IM and 100 back thus far.

Cal senior Ryan Hoffer will also be gunning for a perfect 3-for-3 title sweep this weekend with his top seed in the 100 free (40.90, pool record) following his wins in the 50 free and 100 fly. In the 200 breast, Cal’s Reece Whitley could give the Bears another event win tonight after he broke the pool record at 1:49.87. Minnesota’s Max McHugh won the 100 breast yesterday, and is seeded second behind Whitley in the long breast. As a freshman, McHugh swam a lifetime best of 1:49.41 to become the 2019 NCAA runner-up.

Louisville’s Nicolas Albiero swam 0.05s faster than Cal’s Trenton Julian during the preliminaries of the 200 fly. Both swimmers will compete out of lanes four and five in the championship final and battle for their first individual NCAA titles. Following the platform diving finals, where Texas’ Jordan Windle took the prelims top seed, the five timed finals of the 400 free relay will close out the evening. In heat four will be Indiana (2), Cal (4), Florida (6), and Georgia (8) while the final heat will have Louisville (2), NC State (4), Alabama (6), and Texas (8).

CURRENT TEAM SCORES (AFTER DAY THREE)

1. Texas 414
2. Cal 372
3. Florida 282
4. Georgia 198
5. Indiana 158
6. Louisville 150
7. Texas A&M 127
8. NC State 120
9. Ohio State 108
10. Virginia 102
11. Michigan 100
12. Mizzou 67
13. Arizona 66
14. Virginia Tech 60
15. Stanford 58
16. Alabama 53
17. LSU 52
18. Tennessee/Miami 38
19. (tie)
20. UNC/Purdue 31
21. (tie)
22. Georgia Tech 29
23. Florida State 24.5
24. Pittsburgh 23
25. Minnesota 20
26. Notre Dame/USC 15
27. (tie)
28. Penn State 13
29. Wisconsin 10
30. Kentucky 9
31. Utah 6.5

1650 FREE – TIMED FINALS

• NCAA Record: 14:12.08, Bobby Finke (Florida) – 2020
• American Record: 14:12.08, Bobby Finke (Florida) – 2020
• U.S. Open Record: 14:12.08, Bobby Finke (Florida) – 2020
• Meet Record: 14:22.41, Clark Smith (Texas) – 2017
• Pool Record: 14:23.52, Connor Jaeger (Club Wolverine) – 2014
• 2019 Champion: Felix Auboeck (Michigan), 14:23.09
• 2020 Top Performer: Bobby Finke (Florida), 14:12.08

Slower Heats Recap

Top 3: 

1. Bobby Finke (Florida)- 14:12.52 *Meet/Pool Record
2. Jake Magahey (Georgia)- 14:28.69
3. Ross Dant (NC State)- 14:31.17

After the 250-yard mark, no one could match Bobby Finke‘s pace during the fastest heat of the 1650 free. The question was not if Finke would win the title, but if he could break his 14:12.08 records from the 2020 SEC Championship final. At the touch, the title was Finke’s, touching in at 14:12.52. This is now Finke’s third 14:12 performance and the third-fastest swim in history.

Picking up second place for the Bulldogs was Jake Magahey, hitting 14:28.69. Moving up to third place was NC State sophmore Ross Dant, whose time of 14:31.17 makes him the 15th-fastest American in history.

Out of heat four, Arizona’s Brooks Fail dropped 13 seconds from his seed time to place fourth overall at 14:31.48, just 0.31s behind Dant. That also mints an Arizona program record. Rounding out the top six times were Notre Dame’s Jack Hoagland (14:33.93) and former ND teammate Zach Yeadon of Cal (14:36.06).

200 BACK – FINALS

• NCAA Record: 1:35.73, Ryan Murphy (Cal) – 2016
• American Record: 1:35.73, Ryan Murphy (Cal) – 2016
• U.S. Open Record: 1:35.73, Ryan Murphy (Cal) – 2016
• Meet Record: 1:35.73, Ryan Murphy (Cal) – 2016
• Pool Record: 1:37.19, Destin Lasco (Cal) – 2021
• 2019 Champion: John Shebat (Texas), 1:36.42
• 2020 Top Performer: Shaine Casas (Texas A&M), 1:37.20

Top 3:

1. Shaine Casas (Texas A&M)- 1:35.75 *Pool Record
2. Destin Lasco (Cal)- 1:35.99
3. Bryce Mefford (Cal)- 1:38.31

It was an insane race for the 2021 title in the 200-yard back, with Cal freshman Destin Lasco challenging two-time winner this weekend Shaine Casas of Texas A&M. The pair were neck-and-neck for the last 75 yards. However, it was Casas who took the title at 1:35.75 over Lasco’s 1:35.99, both swimmers’ first swims under 1:36.

Casas’ swim was just two one-hundredths off Ryan Murphy‘s 2016 American record of 1:35.73, making Casas the second-fastest performer ever. Lasco’s finishing time of 1:35.99 breaks his own NCAA freshman record (1:37.19) from this morning and makes him the third swimmer ever to break the 1:36-barrier. Only Casas and Murphy have broken the barrier along with Lasco.

Lasco led a 2-3-4 finish for the Cal Bears, with teammates Bryce Mefford (1:38.31) and Daniel Carr (1:38.86) placing 3rd and 4th respectively. The Texas Longhorns picked up a 5-6 finish from Austin Katz (1:38.92) and Carson Foster (1:39.23).

Winning the B-final in a time of 1:40.00 was Mitchell Whyte of Louisville, touching 0.01s ahead of Georgia’s Ian Grum.

100 FREE – FINALS

• NCAA Record: 39.90, Caeleb Dressel (Florida) – 2018
• American Record: 39.90, Caeleb Dressel (Florida) – 2018
• U.S. Open Record: 39.90, Caeleb Dressel (Florida) – 2018
• Meet Record: 39.90, Caeleb Dressel (Florida) – 2018
• Pool Record: 40.90, Ryan Hoffer (Cal) – 2021
• 2019 Champion: Dean Farris (Harvard), 40.80
• 2020 Top Performer: Daniel Krueger (Texas), 41.26

Top 3:

1. Ryan Hoffer (Cal)- 40.89 *Pool Record
2. Drew Kibler/Daniel Krueger (Texas)- 41.59
3. (tie)

Halfway through the race, Drew Kibler flipped one one-hundredth ahead of Ryan Hoffer 19.56-19.57. Off the last turn, the 100 free title was Hoffer’s with his strong underwaters and closing speed. Hoffer touched the wall at 40.89, shaving 0.01s off his own personal best and pool record. Hoffer remains the 5th-fastest swimmer in history.

Tying for second place were Texas teammates Drew Kibler and Daniel Krueger at 41.59, both slightly gaining from their morning swims. Another Cal Bear, freshman Bjorn Seeliger, placed fourth at 41.74, just 0.02s ahead of Alabama freshman Matt King (41.76).

Winning the B-Final was Matt Brownstead of Virginia at 42.12, touching 0.13s ahead of Youssef Ramadan of Virginia Tech (42.25), both freshmen.

200 BREAST – FINALS

• NCAA Record: Will Licon (Texas), 2017 – 1:47.91
• American Record: Will Licon (Texas), 2017 – 1:47.91
• U.S. Open Record: Will Licon (Texas), 2017 – 1:47.91
• Meet Record: Will Licon (Texas), 2017 – 1:47.91
• Pool Record: Reece Whitley (Cal), 2021 – 1:49.87
• 2019 Champion: Andrew Seliskar (Cal), 1:48.70
• 2020 Top Performer: Reece Whitley (Cal), 1:49.85

Top 3:

1. Max McHugh (Minnesota)- 1:49.02 *Pool Record
2. Reece Whitley (Cal)- 1:49.54
3. Hugo Gonzalez (Cal)- 1:51.20

Max McHugh and Reece Whitley swam neck-and-neck through the entirety of the 200 breast final. At the 50 mark, McHugh was out 24.41 to Whitley’s 24.63. McHugh continued to lead over Whitley by 0.06s at the halfway mark while Whitley had a 0.03s-advantage over McHugh at the 150 mark. At the touch, it was McHugh who took over Whitley to sweep the breaststrokes here in Greensboro.

McHugh, who recovered from a gunshot wound in July 2019, won with a pool record time of 1:49.02, making him the 5th-fastest performer in history. Taking second place was Whitley at 1:49.54, making him the 8th-fastest performer in history. Earning a 2-3 finish for Cal was Hugo Gonzalez, who placed third behind Whitley at 1:51.20, tying as the 15th-fastest performer in history with Olympian Clark Burckle. Texas’ Caspar Corbeau finished in 4th for the Longhorns at 1:51.43.

Winning the B-final by 0.03s was Ohio State’s Jason Mathews (1:52.56), touching out Texas’ Jake Foster (1:52.59).

With the 200 fly, platform diving, and 400 free relay to go, Texas leads Cal by 21 points. Florida and Georgia are locked into 3rd and 4th, respectively. Louisville is only 9 points behind Indiana, and leading Texas A&M by 10 points. Meanwhile, NC is currently 8th, 5 point ahead of Ohio State and 1 point ahead of UVA.

TOP TEN TEAMS (BEFORE 2FL, DIVING, AND 400 FR-R)

1. Texas 529
2. California 508
3. Florida 331
4. Georgia 239
5. Indiana 168
6. Louisville 159
7. Texas A&M 149
8. NC State 136
9. Ohio St 131
10. Virginia 130

200 FLY – FINALS

• NCAA Record: Jack Conger (Texas), 2017 – 1:37.37
• American Record: Jack Conger (Texas), 2017 – 1:37.37
• U.S. Open Record: Jack Conger (Texas), 2017 – 1:37.37
• Meet Record: Jack Conger (Texas), 2017 – 1:37.37
• Pool Record: Nicolas Albiero (Louisville), 2021 – 1:38.65
• 2019 Champion: Andreas Vazaios (NC State), 1:38.57
• 2020 Top Performer: Nicolas Albiero (Louisville), 1:38.65

Top 3:

1. Nicolas Albiero (Louisville)- 1:38.64 *Pool Record
2. Trenton Julian (Cal)- 1:38.85
3. Antani Ivanov (Virginia Tech)- 1:39.26

Cal’s Trenton Julian was first at the halfway mark at 46.64 while Louisville’s Nicolas Albiero was 5th at 47.40. Yet Albiero’s strong underwaters allowed him to catch Julian on the last 25, sealing his first individual NCAA title at 1:38.64. That time knocked 0.01s off his own 2020 Greensboro pool record from the 2020 ACC Championships. He remains the 5th-fastest swimmer all-time and 3rd-fastest American ever. Julian settled for second place at 1:38.85, dropping eight-tenths from this morning.

Coming in third place was Virginia Tech’s Antani Ivanov at 1:39.26, touching ahead of Georgia teammates Luca Urlando (1:39.75) and Camden Murphy (1:39.99). Texas’ Sam Pomajevich took sixth place at 1:40.36. Ivanov is now the 11th-fastest performer in history, passing Indiana alum Vini Lanza. Both Urlando and Murphy broke 1:40 for the first time in the final, moving up to #9 and #10 all-time in US history, respectively. Michael Phelps‘ former 2010 American record of 1:39.65 ranks 8th all-time in US history.

Indiana freshman Tomer Frankel won the consolation final at 1:40.68, which is the 8th-fastest time in the event.

PLATFORM DIVING – FINALS

• Meet Record: 548.90, Nick McCrory (Duke) — 2011
• Pool Record: 515.20, Nick McCrory (Duke) — 2013
• 2021 Prelims Leader: Jordan Windle (Texas), 479.60

Top 3:

1. Brandon Loschiavo (Purdue)- 469.05
2. Ben Bramley (Purdue)- 450.20
3. Zach Cooper (Miami)- 442.65

Teammates Brandon Loschiavo and Ben Bramley finished 1-2 in the platform diving final for the Purdue Boilermakers, a 37-point pick-up. The Boilermakers now move from 18th to 16th in the team standings. Finishing in third place for Miami was Zach Cooper (442.65), bumping the Hurricanes up from 22nd to 19th overall.

Taking fourth place was 1-meter champion and prelims leader Jordan Windle of Texas (422.75). The Longhorns retain a 37-point lead over Cal heading into the final event, the 400 free relay.

400 FREE RELAY – TIMED FINALS

• NCAA Record: 2:44.31, NC State — 2018
• American Record: 2:44.31, NC State — 2018
• U.S. Open Record: 2:44.31, NC State — 2018
• Meet Record: 2:44.31, NC State — 2018
• Pool Record: 2:45.69, NC State — 2018
• 2019 Champion: Texas, 2:45.12
• 2020 Top Performer: Texas, 2:46.57

Top 3: 

1. Cal- 2:46.60
2. Florida- 2:46.88
3. Louisville- 2:47.98

Out of heat four of five, the Florida and Cal relays duked it out for the heat win. Florida freshman Adam Chaney smashed his lifetime best to lead off in a 41.74, which ranks #2 all-time in 17-18 age group history behind Hoffer’s 2015 NAG (41.23). Cal’s Seeliger led the Bears off in a 42.22.

Following the lead-off legs were Cal’s Hoffer (40.86) and Florida’s Kieran Smith (41.27) and third legs Lasco of Cal (41.74) and , Eric Friese of Florida (41.45). On the final leg, Florida’s Trey Freeman got run down by Cal’s Gonzalez, who split 20.12/21.66 to total 41.78 to Freeman’s 42.42. Cal won the heat at 2:46.60, just 0.28s ahead of Florida (2:46.88). Both times would stand as the two-fastest times of the event.

In the final heat, freshman Matt King led the Alabama Crimson Tide off in a 41.63 for the early lead. That now moves King up to 20th all-time in US history, just 0.01s behind Olympian Anthony Ervin. King placed 5th in the 100 free final earlier in the evening at 41.76. Texas’ Krueger led off in 41.79 while Louisville’s Haridi Sameh was also sub-41 leading off (41.94).

After that, Louisville legs Albiero (42.09) and Michael Eastman (42.05) out-split Texas’ middle legs Chris Staka (42.32) and Jake Sannem (42.54) to hold a body-length lead heading into the anchors. Texas’ Kibler split 41.63 to creep up on Louisville’s Colton Paulson (41.90), yet it was not enough to take the heat win. Louisville won with a time of 2:47.98, placing third overall behind Cal and Florida. Texas settled for second in the heat and fourth overall at 2:48.28.

With the conclusion of the 400 free relay, the Texas Longhorns have confirmed themselves as 2021 NCAA team champions with 595 points. The Cal Bears took the 2021 runner-up position with 568 points while Florida (367), Georgia (268), and Louisville (211).

Texas head coach Eddie Reese has now earned an NCAA team championship title in five different decades with the 2021 title tonight.

Coach Eddie Reese

43 years

15 NCAA titles

12 second place

7 third place

40 straight years top 10

41 straight Conf titles

125 NCAA winners (individual and relay)

National title 5 different decades (I was on his Auburn team in 78 that finished 2nd so almost six)

🐐

— Rowdy Gaines (@RowdyGaines) March 28, 2021

FINAL TEAM SCORES

1. Texas 595
2. Cal 568
3. Florida 367
4. Georgia 268
5. Louisville 211
6. Indiana 207
7. Ohio State 180
8. NC State 164
9. Virginia 152
10. Texas A&M 151
11. Virginia Tech 135
12. Michigan/Arizona 106
13. (tie)
14. Stanford 99
15. Alabama 91
16. Mizzou 86
17. Purdue 83
18. LSU 68
19. Miami 54
20. Tennessee 48
21. Georgia Tech/Minnesota 40
22. (tie)
23. Florida State 32.5
24. UNC 31
25. Notre Dame 29
26. Pittsburgh 28
27. USC 21
28. Wisconsin 20
29. Utah 17.5
30. Kentucky 14
31. Penn State 13
32. West Virginia 5