2022 Tennessee Invite: Day 3 Finals Live Recap

2022 TENNESSEE INVITATIONAL

• November 17-19, 2022
• Allan Jones Intercollegiate Aquatic Center, Knoxville, Tenn.
• SCY (25 yards)
• Start Times: Prelims – 10 am / Finals – 6 pm (ET)
• What Will It Take To Qualify for 2023 NCAAs?
• Psych Sheets
• Live Stream (ESPN)
• Live Results
• Dual Meet Scoring (9-4-3-2-1)
• Day 1 Finals Recap
• Day 2 Prelims Recap
• Day 2 Finals Recap
• Day 3 Prelims Recap

The last session of the 2022 Tennessee Invite is here. We’re keeping our on eye on two big races tonight. The first is the men’s 100 free, where Volunteer sophomore Jordan Crooks came within 0.01s of his lifetime best this morning with a 41.17, and he could threaten the 41.0 mark tonight. The second is the women’s 200 free, where Kate Douglass led a strong UVA breaststroke contingent with a 2:03.57 this morning, one of the top ten performances in history.

The session will start with the fastest heats of the 1650s, then we’ll go into finals of the 200 back, 100 free, 200 breast and 200 fly before wrapping up with timed finals of the 400 free relay.

Women’s 1650 Free – Timed Finals

• NCAA ‘A’ Standard – 15:52.41
• 2022 NCAA Invite Time – 16:16.47

Top 3:

1. Sophia Knapp (Virginia) – 16:12.11
2. Kathryn Ackerman (Michigan) – 16:16.18
3. Aly Breslin (Tennessee) – 16:18.86

UVA freshman Sophia Knapp took the win in what appears to be a massive personal best. She came into today with a previous best of 16:35.08 from last year, and tonight she may have punched her NCAA ticket with a 16:12.11.

Michigan’s Kathryn Ackerman took 2nd in 16:16.18, just under last year’s invite time, while Tennessee’s Aly Breslin took 3rd at 16:18.86.

Men’s 1650 Free – Timed Finals

• NCAA ‘A’ Standard – 14:37.31
• 2022 NCAA Invite Time – 14:55.21

Top 3:

1. Jake Narvid (Tennessee) – 14:58.21
2. Joey Tepper (Tennessee) – 15:02.99
3. Jared Daigle (Michigan) – 15:08.67

The Tennessee men swept the top two spots here, although neither cleared last year’s invite. Jake Narvid set the pace with a 14:58.21, followed relatively closely by fellow Tennessee junior Joey Tepper at 15:02.99. Jared Daigle of Michigan was the only non-Volunteer in the top 5, taking 3rd at 15:08.67.

Women’s 200 Back – Finals

• NCAA ‘A’ Standard – 1:50.50
• 2022 NCAA Invite Time – 1:53.97

Top 3:

1. Josephine Fuller (Tennessee) – 1:50.12
2. Sophie Lindner (UNC) – 1:53.46
3. Ella Bathurst (Virginia) – 1:54.40

Josephine Fuller had a massive breakout swim in the women’s 200 back, dropping over two seconds off her best time of 1:52.68 from prelims. Coming into the meet, her personal best was a 1:52.73 from high school.

Fuller’s time gets under the NCAA ‘A’ cut, and is just the second swim under 1:51 this season. Claire Curzan holds the fastest 200 back time of the year at 1:48.50, so Fuller is ranked #2 behind her.

In addition to crushing her own best time, Fuller also broke Meghan Small’s Tennessee record time of 1:51.13 by over a second. Prior to the meet, she told Tennessee assistant coach Josh Huger that he had to jump into the pool if she broke the team record, so that’s exactly what he did after the meet.

Josephine Fuller – Josh if I break the school record in the 200 Backstroke you have to jump in the pool.

Me: Bet

Josephine drops a 1:50.12 to make it happen 💪 https://t.co/4apuwMl6i3

— Josh Huger (@JoshHuger) November 20, 2022

Finishing in second and third behind Fuller were UNC’s Sophie Lindner and Ella Bathurst, who both set season-best times. Notably, Lindner was substantially faster than her midseasons time of 1:56.11 from last year. She was also just over a second off her personal best of 1:52.12.

Men’s 200 Back – Finals

• NCAA ‘A’ Standard – 1:39.13
• 2022 NCAA Invite Time – 1:40.92

Top 3:

1. Harrison Lierz (Tennessee) – 1:42.05
2. Jack Aikins (Virginia) – 1:42.37
3. Landon Driggers (Tennessee) – 1:43.20

Harrison Lierz and Jack Aikins swapped leads multiple times in the men’s 200 back. Lierz was winning by 0.11 seconds at the halfway mark, but Aikins took over on the third 50 and was 0.13 seconds ahead of Lierz at the 150-yard mark. However, Lierz outsplit Aikins 26.45 to 26.90 on the closing lap to take the win.

This swim marked a best time for Lierz, who previously had been as fast as 1:42.43—a time he swam at the 2022 SEC Championships.

Landon Driggers had faster closing speed than both Aikins and Lierz, finishing with a 25.86 on his final lap to take third. It was a massive personal best for the transfer out of DII Indy, improving on his 1:44.57 from this year’s Austin Speedo Sectionals.

Notably, Nick Simons went a massive 1:41.84 in the ‘C’ final, a time that would have been fast enough to win the ‘A’ final.

Women’s 100 Free – Finals

• NCAA ‘A’ Standard – 47.18
• 2022 NCAA Invite Time – 48.44

Top 3:

1. Gretchen Walsh, Virginia — 46.89
2. Lindsay Flynn, Michigan — 48.13
3. Maxine Parker, Virginia — 48.33

Gretchen Walsh was dominant once again, this time racing to a 46.89 100 free. This swim was big drop from her season-best time of 47.11 from the UVA vs. Texas meet. It also makes her the second-fastest 100 freestyler this season, behind Stanford’s Torri Huske, who went 46.85.

In second behind Walsh was Michigan’s Linsday Flynn, taking 0.04 off her prelims time to go 48.13. Finishing third was Maxine Parker, who swam a 48.33 season-best time. At midseasons least year she was swimming a 49.73, so this meet marks a substantial improvement in her progression.

Men’s 100 Free – Finals

• NCAA ‘A’ Standard – 41.64
• 2022 NCAA Invite Time – 42.34

Top 3:

1. Jordan Crooks, Tennessee — 41.29
2. Gui Caribe, Tennessee — 41.44
3. Matt King, Virginia — 41.93

After swimming a 41.17 in prelims this morning, Jordan Crooks was a bit slower tonight to go 41.29. Nevertheless, it was still an impressive swim for the Tennessee sophomore, who opened with a stellar 19.21 opening split and dominated throughout the entire race.

In second was Crooks’ teammate Gui Caribe, who improved upon his personal best time of 41.91 from prelims to go 41.44 tonight. He is now ranked as the second-fastest freshman in history, just behind Crooks’ 41.16 from last year’s NCAAs. Matt King also dipped under the 42-second barrier to finish third, swimming a season-best time of 41.93.

Women’s 200 Breast – Finals

• NCAA ‘A’ Standard – 2:06.18
• 2022 NCAA Invite Time – 2:09.15

Top 3:

1. Kate Douglass, Virginia — 2:01.87
2. Alex Walsh, Virginia — 2:03.93
3. Ella Nelson, Virginia — 2:07.06

This 200 breast race was hands-down the best swim out of any of these invites, and it’s not even close.

After putting up a scorching 2:03.57 in prelims this morning, Kate Douglass dominated her way to a new NCAA, American, and US Open record to become the first woman under the 2:02 barrier in the 200 breast. Her time of 2:01.87 takes 0.32 seconds off her old record time of 2:02.19, which was set at the 2022 NCAA Championships.

Douglass opened her race in a 58.76, which was notably just a few tenths off her 100 breast best time of 58.14 that was set just yesterday. She then came home in 1:03.11 on the back half of her race.

Finishing over two seconds behind, but still clocking an extremely fast time, was Douglass’s teammate Alex Walsh, who went 2:03.93 and crushed the NCAA ‘A’ cut. She was less than a second off her best time of 2:03.00 from ACCs last year.

Ella Nelson made it a Virginia sweep by finishing third in a time of 2:07.06. In fact, UVA took the top four spots in this race, as Anna Keating finished fourth in a time of 2:08.01. Also getting under the 2:10 barrier were Mona McSharry and Letitia Sim, who were fifth and sixth with times of 2:08.91 and 2:09.14 respectively.

Men’s 200 Breast – Finals

• NCAA ‘A’ Standard – 1:51.54
• 2022 NCAA Invite Time – 1:53.23

Top 3:

1. Lyubomir Epitropov, Tennessee — 1:53.18
2. Noah Nichols, Virginia — 1:53.57
3. Max Iida, Virginia — 1:53.81

Lyubomir Epitropov and Noah Nichols were separated by just 0.04 seconds at the halfway point of the men’s 200 breast, but Nichols turned on the jets with a 29.05 third 50 to overtake Epitropov at the 150-yard mark. However, Epitropov had better closing speed, finishing with a 29.49 compared to Nichols’s 30.05 to take the win.

Nichols was slightly faster in prelims, as he went 1:52.62 (which was a personal best time) this morning. Epitropov crushed his prelims time of 1:55.90, being over two seconds faster tonight.

Finishing in third was Max Iida, who went 1:53.81. He was just 0.04 seconds off his personal best of 1;53.77 from the UNC Men’s Last Chance meet in February 2022.

Women’s 200 Fly – Finals

• NCAA ‘A’ Standard – 1:52.86
• 2022 NCAA Invite Time – 1:56.14

Top 3:

1. Abby Harter, Virginia — 1:54.45
2. Ellie Vannote, North Carolina — 1:55.16
3. Sara Stotler, Tennessee — 1:57.44

Virginia’s Abby Harter was the winner of the 200 fly by a body length, swimming a 1:54.45 as the only woman in the field under 1:55. Her time was a season-best by over a second, and marks her fastest non-NCAAs swim ever in the event.

In second was UNC’s Ellie Vannote, who shaved a few tenths off her best time of 1:55.43 from ACCs last year to go 1;55.16 tonight. Third place was Tennessee’s Sara Stotler, who went 1:57.44.

Men’s 200 Fly – Finals

• NCAA ‘A’ Standard – 1:40.20
• 2022 NCAA Invite Time – 1:42.42

Top 3:

1. Gal Cohen Groumi, Michigan — 1:41.40
2. Martin Espernberger, Tennesssee — 1:42.56
3. Patrick Hussey, North Carolina — 1:43.60

Gal Cohen Groumi won this 200 fly race by over a second, swimming a 1:41.40. He was less than a second off his personal best of 1:40.59, and is the second-fastest performer of the 2022-23 season, behind Leon Marchand who went 1;39.57 at the NC State Invite.

Freshman Martin Espernberger finished second in a time of 1:42.56, beating out his best time of 1:43.53 from prelims. Coming into the meet, his personal best was a 1:46.01, so this was a huge swim for him. Finishing third was Patrick Hussey, who took 0.05 seconds off his personal best of 1:46.65 from 2022 ACCs.

Women’s 400 Free Relay – Timed Finals

• NCAA ‘A’ Standard – 3:14.10
• NCAA ‘B’ Standard – 3:16.32

Top 3:

1. Virginia ‘A’ Relay — 3:11.18
2. Michigan ‘A’ Relay — 3:14.98
3. UNC ‘A’ Relay — 3:15.22

Fresh off breaking the American record in the 200 breast, Kate Douglass led off Virginia’s ‘A’ relay in a time of 47.67, slightly off her season-best time of 47.49. Behind her were Gretchen Walsh (46.62), Alex Walsh (47.70), and Maxine Parker (49.19) and the quartet combined for a time of 3:11.18 to win by over three seconds. With this race, Virginia has won all of their dual meet “matchups” against the other teams at this invite.

In second was Michigan’s Linsday Flynn (48.60), Christey Liang, Claire Newman, and Katie Crom (49.31), who went 3:14.98. The splits for Liang and Newman were not made available.

Without their best swimming Grace Countie, UNC placed third, as Greer Pattison (48.55), Olivia Nel (48.40), Sophie Lindner (49.12), and Ellie Vannote (49.15) combined for a 3:15.22.

Men’s 400 Free Relay – Timed Finals

• NCAA ‘A’ Standard – 2:50.52
• NCAA ‘B’ Standard – 2:52.44

Top 3:

1. Tennessee ‘A’ Relay — 2:47.27
2. Virginia ‘A’ Relay — 2:49.88
3. Michigan ‘A’ Relay — 2:52.16

Tennessee made it a full men’s relay sweep when they won the 400 free relay, as Gui Caribe (41.55), Jordan Crooks (40.87), Bjoern Kammann (42.61), and Aleksey Tarasenko (42.24) combined for a time of 2:47.27 and crushed the NCAA ‘A’ cut.

Michigan and UVA were in a tight race for second, and the score between them in the dual meet was tied prior to the relay. Ultimatley, a Matt King anchor brought his team on top over the Wolverines, as Virginia’s Jack Aikins (43.12), Matt Brownstead (42.87), Tim Connery (42.98), and Matt King (40.98) finished in second and Michigan’s Gal Cohen Groumi (43.06), Bence Szabados (42.59), Nikola Acin (42.42), and Ethan Ben-Shitrit (44.09) placed third.

Final Team Scores:

Women:

• Virginia 242, Tennessee 145
• Virginia 244, Michigan 142
• Virginia 236, UNC 149
• Virginia 170, Carson-Newman 137
• Tennessee 198, UNC 190
• Tennessee 200, Michigan 189
• Tennessee 179, Carson-Newman 129
• UNC 196, Michigan 192
• UNC 123, Carson-Newman 123
• Michigan 186, Carson-Newman 123

Men:

• Tennessee 265, Virginia 122
• Tennessee 280, UNC 106
• Tennessee 269, Michigan 120
• Tennessee 188, Carson-Newman 105
• Virginia 192.5, Michigan 183.5
• Virginia 208, UNC 168
• Virginia 173, Carson-Newman 114
• Michigan 236, UNC 144
• Michigan 188, Carson-Newman 105
• UNC 188, Carson-Newman 105