2018 Santa Clara Pro Swim Series: Swim Squad Starter Projections

2018 TYR PRO SWIM SERIES – SANTA CLARA

The four SwimSquads will go to battle this weekend in Santa Clara, the penultimate TYR Pro Swim Series stop on the circuit. After winning the Indianapolis stop, Team Krayzelburg leads the way by 30 points (358), with Coughlin (328) 2nd and Sandeno (291) 3rd. Team Lezak, who has dealt with backstroker issues the whole way through, is a distant 4th with 249 points.

Current Points

TOTAL AUSTIN ATLANTA MESA INDIANAPOLIS
KrayzelburgSquad 358 107 71 89 91
CoughlinSquad 328 88 72 82 86
SandenoSquad 291 76 79 71 65
LezakSquad 249 67 52 65 65

FULL ROSTERS

SCORING FORMAT

  • Prior to each meet, the captain will select 6 swimmers from their overall roster to score.
  • Each of the six athletes is designated for one specific category, and can score in up to two events from that category. The categories are:
    • Free (50 through 1500)
    • Back (50 through 200)
    • Breast (50 through 200)
    • Fly (50 through 200)
    • IM (200 and 400, not the mystery order 200 IM)
    • Flex (any two races)
  • An athlete must make the top 8 to score points:
    • 1st: 10
    • 2nd: 8
    • 3rd: 7
    • 4th: 5
    • 5th: 4
    • 6th: 3
    • 7th: 2
    • 8th: 1

SANTA CLARA OUTLOOK

The Santa Clara stop will arguably be the most stacked TYR Pro Series event yet, with the likes of Caeleb Dressel and Ryan Lochte making their debuts, and nearly all of the big names in action. This looks like the first time none of the teams will have a gaping hole in one spot, with Team Lezak in particular finally getting a reliable backstroker in the lineup in Regan Smith. We’ll also see a return of the stroke 50s to this stop, which benefits some more than others.

TEAM KRAYZELBURG

Swimming for: Never Ever Give Up: Jessie Rees Foundation

Most of Krayzelburg’s picks are basically locks. Katie Ledecky on freestyle, Chase Kalisz in IM and Kelsi Dahlia on fly are slam dunks, and Nic Fink is the only real option on breaststroke.

For backstroke, he can really go either way with Matt Grevers and Olivia Smoliga, and then simply slot the other into the flex position. The only other option to consider is Ryan Lochte, who is coming off an impressive showing at the Mel Zajac meet last week. However, despite the fact that 100 back world record holders Ryan Murphy and Kylie Masse are both in the field to compete with Grevers and Smoliga, they’re safe bets to place top-2 or 3 in the sprints while Lochte is a bit of a wild card in both performance and if he’ll scratch out of some (entered in 7).

TEAM KRAYZELBURG
Free
Katie Ledecky
400/800
Back
Olivia Smoliga
50/100
Breast
Nic Fink
100/200
Fly
Kelsi Dahlia
50/100
IM
Chase Kalisz
200/400
Flex
Matt Grevers
50/100 BK

TEAM COUGHLIN

Swimming for: DAM-Cancer Foundation

Team Coughlin is well taken care of with individual Olympic champions Simone ManuelRyan Murphy and Lilly King manning their free, back and breast spots. Tom Shields is the only real choice for fly, and Madisyn Cox is a strong IM selection (though Abrahm DeVine is an option), while Melanie Margalis has a wide array of abilities and is perfect in the flex spot.

Entered in the 200 free, 400 free, 100 breast and 200 IM, Margalis would have to be the favorite in the 200 IM and realistically will be fighting for 2nd in the others with Ledecky and King swimming. After scratching the 200 free final at the last stop in Indy, and facing off against a stacked field there, a runner-up finish in the 100 breast looks to be the best bet of the three.

Though Townley Haas makes an appearance, there’s really no spot for him with Manuel and Margalis on free and flex. He’s not known for being particularly fast in-season anyway.

TEAM COUGHLIN
Free
Simone Manuel
50/100
Back
Ryan Murphy
100/200
Breast
Lilly King
50/100
Fly
Tom Shields
50/100
IM
Madisyn Cox
200/400
Flex
Melanie Margalis
100 BR/ 200 IM

TEAM SANDENO

Swimming for: Never Ever Give Up: Jessie Rees Foundation

Team Sandeno has a lot of different options on the table with the emergence of Dressel, along with Leah Smith‘s wide range and Katie McLaughlin‘s recent impressive swims.

Ultimately, Zane Grothe has been dynamite so far in-season, so he’s a safe bet on freestyle. Jacob Pebley and Andrew Wilson are strong picks on back and breast, while fly could really go anywhere between Dressel, McLaughlin and Jack Conger.

We’ve opted to go with Conger,  while Dressel slides into the flex option and Ella Eastin into the IM. There are so many different combinations possible for Dressel, but the 50 fly looks like a safe win and the 50 free is probably his next best bet, though he could realistically win any of the events he’s entered in.

It seems a little crazy leaving out Smith, who was Sandeno’s first round pick, but this team is so stacked right now and she was only okay at the Indy stop.

TEAM SANDENO
Free
Zane Grothe
400/800
Back
Jacob Pebley
100/200
Breast
Andrew Wilson
100/200
Fly
Jack Conger
100/200
IM
Ella Eastin
200/400
Flex
Caeleb Dressel
50 FR / 50 FLY

TEAM LEZAK

Swimming for: USA Swimming Foundation

Regan Smith is a welcome addition to Team Lezak on the backstroke leg, with the 16-year-old seeded 2nd in the 200 and 3rd in the 100 after they struggled to get any points here early in the series.

Even with Dressel in action, Nathan Adrian is as close to a lock as you’ll get on freestyle, and we’re guessing Lezak won’t pass on both Kevin Cordes and Cody Miller for Ian Finnerty on breaststroke (like he did last time) after Finnerty put up zero points in Indianapolis. That breaststroke spot could realistically go to either of those guys or Josh Prenot, but Prenot is a pretty good option for the flex spot so the BR spots edges in Cordes’ favor.

Prenot goes into the flex for the 200 breast and 200 IM, and Jay Litherland is a solid pick for IM. For butterfly, Katie Drabot would’ve been a huge selection after her 2:08 200 in Indy, but she hasn’t entered it here and takes on difficult fields in the mid-distance frees and sprint flys. With that, Pace Clark slots in on fly, not a bad pick especially considering he’s seeded 2nd in the 200.

TEAM LEZAK
Free
Nathan Adrian
50/100
Back
Regan Smith
100/200
Breast
Kevin Cordes
50/100
Fly
Pace Clark
100/200
IM
Jay Litherland
200/400
Flex
Josh Prenot
200 BR / 200 IM

FULL PROJECTED ROSTERS

TEAM KRAYZELBURG TEAM COUGHLIN TEAM SANDENO TEAM LEZAK
Free
Katie Ledecky Simone Manuel Zane Grothe Nathan Adrian
400/800 50/100 400/800 50/100
Back
Olivia Smoliga Ryan Murphy Jacob Pebley Regan Smith
50/100 100/200 100/200 100/200
Breast
Nic Fink Lilly King Andrew Wilson Kevin Cordes
100/200 50/100 100/200 50/100
Fly
Kelsi Dahlia Tom Shields Jack Conger Pace Clark
50/100 50/100 100/200 100/200
IM
Chase Kalisz Madisyn Cox Ella Eastin Jay Litherland
200/400 200/400 200/400 200/400
Flex
Matt Grevers Melanie Margalis Caeleb Dressel Josh Prenot
50/100 BK 100 BR / 200 IM 50 FR / 50 FLY 200 BR / 200 IM

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KFED
6 years ago

According to USA swimming’s National Team roster, Lochte isn’t on the national team this year. How is he on one of the national team Swim Squads?

Reply to  KFED
6 years ago

2016 Olympians were also eligible to participate.

KFED
Reply to  Jared Anderson
6 years ago

Thank you!

Jim C
6 years ago

I have a suggestion. Why not have some kind of a contest next year in which people pick their own starters for each squad?

Bon Jovi
6 years ago

dressel should swim the mile

Rachel
6 years ago

I think this is the first stop where everyone’s roster worked out pretty well, with no gaping holes. It’s a stacked field though, so we’ll see how everyone performs.

About James Sutherland

James Sutherland

James swam five years at Laurentian University in Sudbury, Ontario, specializing in the 200 free, back and IM. He finished up his collegiate swimming career in 2018, graduating with a bachelor's degree in economics. In 2019 he completed his graduate degree in sports journalism. Prior to going to Laurentian, James swam …

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