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
It’s the final day of the 2021 NCAA Men’s Championships, with Texas leading the way as Cal tries to make the most of a strong day four on paper.
Ryan Hoffer of Cal and Shaine Casas of Texas A&M are seeking their third titles of the meet today, starting with prelims of the 100 free and 200 back, respectively. The 200 back and 200 breast will be the key races; Cal has five men seeded top 12 in the 200 back, so getting anything less than three into the A-final and two into the B will be a loss they might not be able to afford.
Meanwhile, after Hugo Gonzalez‘s miss in the 400 IM, he could help swing a bunch of points back in Cal’s favor if he goes from his non-scoring seed to make the 200 breast finals.
Texas has at least two men that look good to score in each event this prelims session, while Jake Foster could surprise for some points in the 200 breast, as on paper (the psychs), he is seeded at 37th with a time that is nearly two seconds off of his best. Austin Katz is also someone who has looked off this weekend, but it would be huge if he makes the A-final in the 200 back here, which is his best event and the race he won the 2018 NCAA title in.
200 BACK – PRELIMS
- 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
- 2019 Champion: John Shebat (Texas), 1:36.42
- 2020 Top Performer: Shaine Casas (Texas A&M), 1:37.20
Top 8
- Destin Lasco (Cal) – 1:37.19
- Shaine Casas (Texas A&M) – 1:37.23
- Carson Foster (Texas) – 1:38.41
- Bryce Mefford (Cal) – 1:38.55
- Daniel Carr (Cal) – 1:38.63
- Austin Katz (Texas) – 1:39.55
- Javi Acevedo (Georgia) – 1:39.60
Justin Grender (UVA)/Clark Beach (Florida) – 1:40.20
Swim-off results: Clark Beach of Florida won in 1:40.02 ahead of Justin Grender’s 1:40.96. Beach will swim in the A-final tonight and Grender will have lane four in the B.
Shaine Casas of Texas A&M took control of the final heat, doing enough to win at 1:37.23, which will be good for second tonight. Carson Foster of Texas was second in 1:38.41, just ahead of Cal’s Bryce Mefford (1:38.55).
Cal freshman Destin Lasco ran away with heat four, going 1:37.19 to break the pool record and hit the top time of the morning, becoming the #6 performer in history with a .94 drop from his old best. Texas’s Austin Katz was second in 1:39.55, touching out Georgia’s Javi Acevedo (1:39.60).
In the first circle-seeded heat, Cal’s Daniel Carr shot out to the lead and held strong, winning it in 1:38.63. Clark Beach of Florida and Justin Grender of Virginia tied for second there at 1:40.20 as Grender sliced .01 off of the school record. Beach and Grender are tied for the eight spot in the A-final, so a swim-off should decide which one gets in.
Cal gets three up into the A-final, while Colby Mefford hung on to snag 16th and the last spot in the B-final. Texas has two up, while Peter Larson was a couple tenths off of 16th, settling for the first alternate spot.
Missouri’s Jack Dahlgren and Indiana’s Jacob Steele tied for the heat two win at 1:40.49, both breaking 1:41 for the first time this season. For Steele, it’s his first time under 1:41 ever.
In heat one, Virginia’s Sean Conway won in 1:41.43, dropping a few tenths from seed.
100 FREE – PRELIMS
- 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
- 2019 Champion: Dean Farris (Harvard), 40.80
- 2020 Top Performer: Daniel Krueger (Texas), 41.26
Top 8
- Ryan Hoffer (Cal) – 40.90
- Drew Kibler (Texas) – 41.45
- Daniel Krueger (Texas) – 41.48
- Bjorn Seeliger (Cal) – 41.65
- Brooks Curry (LSU) – 41.77
- Kieran Smith (Florida) – 41.79
- Nikola Acin (Purdue) – 41.81
- Matt King (Alabama) – 41.83
Cal’s Ryan Hoffer dropped a big 40.90, finally beating his lifetime best from high school, a 41.23 done in 2015. He’s now the #5 all-time performer, and has a chance to move to #2 if he can drop to 40.76, which belongs to Vladimir Morozov.
The last heat went to Daniel Krueger of Texas at 41.48, ahead of LSU’s Brooks Curry (41.77) and Florida’s Kieran Smith (41.79). Purdue’s Nikola Acin dropped almost a half-second, going 41.81 to get a spot in the A-final.
The first circle-seeded heat went to Drew Kibler of Texas, clocking a 41.45 to edge out Alabama’s Matt King (41.83). King was DQ’d in the 50 free for a false start, so this was a good comeback for him as he squeaks into the A-final.
In heat three, Cal freshman Bjorn Seeliger rocketed out to the lead in lane one, going out in 19.6. He touched in 41.65, winning the heat by over a second. Seeliger did not suit-up at Pac-12s in this race, so a big drop was imminent; he took 1.3 seconds off of his seed and makes the A-final at fourth.
Cal and Texas each got two into the A-final, taking up the top four spots, while Texas also got a B-finalist with Chris Staka (42.37).
Mark Theall of Texas A&M dropped a 42.43 to claim heat two, just ahead of Texas’s Jake Sannem (42.50) as both men dropped about three-quarters of a second. Eric Friese of Florida had a nice early heat win, claiming heat four in 42.45 and dropping two-tenths.
200 BREASTSTROKE – PRELIMS
- 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
- 2019 Champion: Andrew Seliskar (Cal) – 1:48.70
- 2020 Top Performer: Reece Whitley (Cal) – 1:49.85
Top 8
- Reece Whitley (Cal) – 1:49.87
- Max McHugh (Minnesota) – 1:50.88
- Daniel Roy (Stanford) – 1:51.76
- Caspar Corbeau (Texas) – 1:52.01
- Carles Coll Marti (Virginia Tech) – 1:52.23
- Caio Pumputis (Georgia Tech)/Hugo Gonzalez (Cal) – 1:52.26 *TIE*
- –
- Keefer Barnum (UVA) – 1:52.30
In the last heat, Cal’s Reece Whitley looked effortless with a 1:49.87, about 1.3 seconds off of his season and lifetime best. Texas’s Braden Vines and Jake Foster were sitting fifth and sixth going into the last heat at 1:52.51 and 1:52.85, respectively. But Whitley and three other men touched ahead to get into the A-final, knocking Vines and Foster down to ninth and tenth.
One of those swimmers was their teammate Caspar Corbeau at 1:52.01, while Virginia Tech freshman Carles Coll Marti hit a 1:52.26. Coll Marti tied with another Spaniard, Hugo Gonzalez, at sixth in the A-final. Not seeded to score, this was a big swing for Gonzalez and Cal.
Last night’s 100 breast champion, Max McHugh of Minnesota, looked like he was swimming downhill in heat five. McHugh hit a 1:50.88, safely into the A-final with the second spot.
Heat four went to Stanford’s Daniel Roy at 1:51.76, breaking through in the final 50 ahead of Georgia Tech’s Caio Pumputis (1:52.23) and Virginia’s Keefer Barnum (1:52.30).
The electronic starter malfunctioned on heat three’s start, so the whole heat dove in before the officials called them back to re-start. After a few minutes, they were off again, and SMU’s Caleb Rhodenbaugh was 1:53.80 to take the heat.
Texas sophomore Jake Foster swam to the heat two win, hitting a quick 1:52.85 and a lifetime best by a few tenths.
Notably, top-eight seed Evgenii Somov of Louisville scratched the rest of this meet to travel and prepare for the Russian Olympic Trials.
200 BUTTERFLY – PRELIMS
- 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
- 2019 Champion: Andreas Vazaios (NC State) – 1:38.57
- 2020 Top Performer: Nicolas Albiero (Louisville) – 1:38.65
Top 8
- Nicolas Albiero (Louisville) – 1:39.61
- Trenton Julian (Cal) – 1:39.66
- Antani Ivanov (Virginia Tech) – 1:40.07
- Luca Urlando (Georgia) – 1:40.41
- Sam Pomajevich (Texas) – 1:40.77
- Brendan Burns (Indiana) – 1:40.83
- Brooks Fail (Arizona) – 1:41.17
- Camden Murphy (Georgia) – 1:41.33
In the last heat, Cal’s Trenton Julian powered to the win, just missing the top time of the morning with a 1:39.66. Second in the heat went to Georgia freshman Luca Urlando, who went a lifetime best 1:40.41, dropping a quarter second from his old best. Urlando is one of two Bulldogs into the A-final, with senior Camden Murphy going 1:41.33 for eighth.
Louisville’s Nicolas Albiero got it done in heat five, holding off Virginia Tech’s Antani Ivanov, 1:39.61 to 1:40.07.
In heat four, Texas’s Sam Pomajevich won in 1:40.77, ahead of Georgia’s Camden Murphy at 1:41.43.
Tomer Frankel, the Indiana freshman, dropped two seconds on the dot to claim heat two in a strong 1:41.73.
Texas has Pomajevich into the A and Alvin Jiang in the B at 1:42.46, while Cal sits #2 in the A-final and #16 in the B-final with Dare Rose.
Arizona’s Brooks Fail dropped 1.2 seconds to get into the A-final with a 1:41.17, and he’ll also have the mile later on. Fail is in heat four of five, though, so he’ll get a lot more rest before his 200 fly final than he would if he were in the heat that swims with finals.
Why does everyone on this board whine about Texas’ “diving advantage” instead of reflecting on what could Cal do to recruit and develop some divers that could qualify to NCAAs and contribute points? Cal is a great academic school with the chance to be on a nationally winning team and train in a beautiful facility with world class athletic training, nutrition, the whole nine yards. There is no reason that opportunity shouldn’t appeal to some top high school diver prospects. Is there a team culture problem? Do the swimmers there act like the swim swam board computer warriors and project to recruits that divers don’t deserve any respect/are second class / not really part of the team/ should be eliminated… Read more »
Sir, this is McDonalds, can I have your order please!
I think both approaches are okay. Call has more scholarships to pay top swimmers – Texas chooses to recuit divers because of the zen master – Scoggin. For those complaining about diving, imagine if Texas gave those say 2 scholarships to 2 top swimmers that would earn a lot of points at NCAAs. Well I know of cases like that – they went to Cal for a full scholarship instead of a partial at Texas. It is okay to congratulate Cal swimming and Texas diving for great showing. But not congratulating Texas after they win it all is poor losing and plain stupid. We Texas fans were afraid of Cal, I know I was, and they still might win it… Read more »
But your acting like the money is the thing. That can’t be the whole story. Almost no one gets a full ride as a freshman diver. And several of the most elite club diving teams are in California- multiple divers every year who would get in state tuition were they to choose Cal. For example Andrew Harness who as I type this is in 5th place at the moment, is from California. Brandon Loshiavo who is currently in 1st- a Californian. Jacob Fielding currently 7th, same!
I don’t think it’s a Cal team culture problem. It’s just SwimSwam posters venting and making disparaging comments they wouldn’t make in real life to someone’s face. It’s easier to dismiss and minimize something you were never a part of (i.e. diving).
Diving has always been part of this meet and probably always will. I think the snide comments about diving detract from an otherwise great meet. Texas has a great diving program and it deserves respect.
Best comment of the day!
I think it may be possible that some of the Texas aren’t fully tapered for this meet, just enough to get the team title, with the ultimate focus being on trials.
It’s also possible, and hear me out, that every Texas swimmer doesn’t hit their taper perfectly every year (which happens actually every year, in spite of the cult of Eddie trying to pretend like it doesn’t).
Now that’s funny.
Fail is having a great meet
Many finals for those Zona dudes
Beach takes the swim-off in 1:40.02.
NC State did not have a single scoring swim this morning
How come seeliger did not suit up at pac12s for the 100? I must’ve missed that
He did, he just took it easy for a 43.02. All he needed was the B cut. I’m p sure Durden likes to have it where his swimmers move up at NCAA’s. It gives off the impression that they taper well but in reality he could have easily gone this time at PAC-12’s, especially when you look at his relay splits.
Seeliger had a few dual meets where his relay splits were incredibly faster than the individual event. What is something similar between PAC 12 and dual meets for a guy like Seeliger? Little to no rest.
he is also new to yards, it is different than real mens pool of 50 meters
Or lots of dual meet rest
I’ve been commenting too much but I’m confused where we are at for the team race and who the comment section favors, upvote for cal downvote for Texas
Spent all morning trying to do free trials to watch and just couldn’t get it to work. Oh well.