2019 Tennessee Invite: Day 3 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
• Complete Meet Results (PDF)

As the final night of the 2019 Tennessee Invite begins, the Georgia Men and the Tennessee Women leading on the scoreboard.

We have seen some phenomenal swimming from Virginia’s Kate Douglass and Tennessee’s Erika Brown. Senior Paige Madden is seeded 1st in finals tonight in the 200 backstroke with a 1:51.28 while Brown looks earn a lifetime best in the 100 freestyle. Douglass had the fastest time of the morning in the 200 breaststroke with a 2:06.19, good for a NCAA “A” cut.

On the men’s side, the top 2 spots in the 200 backstroke went to Georgia’s Harry Homans (1:42.62) and Ian Grum (1:42.86). Homans is also seeded 1st in the 200 butterfly with a 1:43.40, almost 1 second ahead of 2nd place. In the world of sprints, Tennessee’s go-to sprinter, Alec Connolly earned the top seed of 42.76 in the 100 free with Indiana’s Bruno Blasovic in 2nd with a 42.97.

Women’s 1650 Freestyle

• NCAA “A” Cut – 15:52.41
• NCAA “B” Cut – 16:30.59
• 2019 Invite Time – 16:14.21

1. Paige Madden – Virginia – 15:58.25
2. Olivia Anderson – Georgia – 16:00.84
3. Maddie Donohoe – Virginia – 16:11.73

Virginia’s Paige Madden placed 1st in the 1650, with a time that moves her into 3rd-place all-time at Virginia with a 15:58.25. That’s her 3rd win of the meet after earlier topping the 200 free (1:43.52) and 500 free (4:34.64). Georgia’s Olivia Anderson finished 2nd in 16:00.94, which ranks her her 10th all-time at Georgia.

Men’s 1650 Freestyle

• NCAA “A” Cut – 14:37.31
• NCAA “B” Cut – 15:26.19
• 2019 Invite Time – 14:54.05

1. Mikey Calvillo – Indiana – 14:46.25
2. Will Gallant – Indiana – 14:49.00
3. Greg Reed – Georgia – 14:51.77

Indiana’s Mikey Calvillo won the men’s mile in 14:46.25, which is almost 15 seconds better than he was mid-season last year. He eventually went on to place 10th in this event at last year’s NCAA Championship meet.

His teammate and training partner Will Gallant took 2nd in 14:49.00, which is a new lifetime best for him and jumps him up to 4th place in school history in this event.

Women’s 200 Backstroke

• NCAA “A” Cut – 1:50.50
• NCAA “B” Cut – 1:57.11
• 2019 Invite Time – 1:54.01

1. Meghan Small – Tennessee – 1:52.20
2. Emma Seiberlich – Virginia – 1:52.81
3. Kaitlin Harty – Tennessee – 1:53.67

Meghan Small earned a 1 st place finish in the 200 backstroke with a 1:52.20, a drop of almost 3 seconds from prelims and her previous fastest time this season. Small won the B final at last year’s NCAA Championship meet in this event.

Virginia’s Emma Seiberlich finished 2nd, but actually led Small by .65 seconds going into the last 50 yards. Small split her race 26.99-28.90-28.81-27.50, with that monster closing split standing as more-than-enough to run down Seiberlich. That closing speed isn’t unusual for Small: at NCAAs last season, only Beata Nelson was faster than Small over the last 50 yards in the final, and Nelson did so while breaking the U.S. Open Record in this event.

Kaitlin Harty of Tennessee took 3rd in 1:53.67, which now ranks as the 4th best time in Tennessee school history.

Men’s 200 Backstroke

• NCAA “A” Cut – 1:39.16
• NCAA “B” Cut – 1:45.04
• 2019 Invite Time – 1:41.31

1. Mohamed Samy – Indiana – 1:41.03
2. Matthew Garcia – Tennessee – 1:41.42
3. Jacob Steele – Indiana – 1:41.82

Indiana’s Mohamed Samy jumped 4 places from his prelims swim to win the 200 backstroke after dropping almost 3 seconds. This was another come-from-behind win, after Samy trailed Tennessee’s Matthew Garcia headed into the final 50. Garcia eventually grabbed 2nd with a 1:41.42, while junior Jacob Steele of Indiana ctouched 3rd with a time of 1:41.82.

For Samy, this was a 3rd individual win of the meet after topping the 200 free on Friday (1:33.65) and the 200 IM on Thursday (1:44.00). He was also 6th in the 100 back (46.80).

Women’s 100 Freestyle

• NCAA “A” Cut – 47.18
• NCAA “B” Cut – 49.51
• 2019 Invite Time – 48.56

1. Erika Brown – Tennessee – 46.15
2. Morgan Hill – Virginia – 47.74
3. Veronica Burchill – Georgia – 47.75

Erika Brown set yet another personal best this weekend, roaring her way to a 46.15. With that time, Brown has now overtaken Abbey Weitzeil, Olivia Smoliga, and Mallory Comerford, rising to #2 on the all-time performers list, behind only Simone Manuel (45.56).

• Read more about Brown’s swim here.

There was a tight race behind Brown, with Indiana’s Morgan Hill getting her hand on the wall for 2nd .01 seconds before Georgia’s Veronica Burchill. Both swimmers were a few tenths behind their school records.

IU freshman Cora Dupre took almost a full second off her lifetime best of 48.96 to finish 4th in 47.97. Later in the session, she swam a 47.84 in a relay leadoff, with both times breaking the old Indiana Record of 48.54 that was set in 2014 by Kait Flederbach. Dupre also broke the 50 free school record earlier in the meet.

• NCAA “A” Cut – 41.71
• NCAA “B” Cut – 43.80
• 2019 Invite Time – 42.53

1. Bruno Blasovic – Indiana – 42.44
2. Alec Connolly – Tennessee – 43.28
3. Seth Bailey – Tennessee – 43.41

Indiana’s Bruno Blakovic swam away with the race, speeding to a 42.44. Blaskovic used his speed on the front half, turning in 20.26, and coming home in a 22.18  – he had the fastest split on every 25 of the race.

Tennessee’s sprint squad continued to impress, taking 2nd and 3rd tonight. Alec Connolly was off his prelims time of 42.76, but still managed to get his hand on the wall 2nd with his 2nd-fastest time of the season of 43.28. Seth Bailey improved on his morning time, clocking in at 43.41, while Vols teammate Josh Walsh came in 5th with a 43.66.

Women’s 200 Breaststroke

• NCAA “A” Cut – 2:06.84
• NCAA “B” Cut – 2:13.97
• 2019 Invite Time – 2:09.77

1. Kate Douglass – Virginia – 2:06.70
2. Zoie Hartman– Georgia – 2:07.43
3. Alexis Yager – Tennessee – 2:08.22

Virginia freshman Kate Douglass took another win, this time in the 200 breaststroke with a 2:06.70, adding to her earlier victory in the 200 IM. Her prelims time of 2:06.19 earned her a NCAA “A” cut. She was slower in finals, but was again under the NCAA Automatic Qualifying Time. That swim is a new Virginia school record in this event, breaking the old record in prelims that was done by Laura Simon in 2014.

Georgia freshman Zoie Hartman claimed 2nd with a new best time of 2:07.43, good enough for 3rd place all-time in Gerogia history. Tennessee’s Alexis Yager earned another personal best in the 200 breaststroke, which ranks her 3rd all-time in Tennessee history with a 2:08.22.

Men’s 200 Breaststroke

• NCAA “A” Cut – 1:52.61
• NCAA “B” Cut – 1:58.43
• 2019 Invite Time – 1:54.04

1. Matthew Dunphy – Tennessee Aquatics – 1:55.60
2. Michael Houlie – Tennessee – 1:55.95
3. Casey Storch – Virginia – 1:56.08

Tennessee post-grad Matthew Dunphy was victorious in the men’s 200 breaststroke, out touching Tennessee undergrad Michael Houlie for 1st by just .30. Ironically, Houlie, who is famous for his front-half speed, chased Dunphy down on the back half of this 200 yard race. Dunphy split 1:00.24 while Houlie clocked a 59.76 over the last 100 yards of this race.

Casey Storch of Virginia snagged 3rd, with a 1:56.08 just ahead of Jack Dalmolin’s 1:56.11. Dalmolin had the fastest time in the prelims session.

Women’s 200 Butterfly

• NCAA “A” Cut – 1:53.20
• NCAA “B” Cut – 1:59.23
• 2019 Invite Time – 1:56.18

1. Dakota Luther – Georgia – 1:53.22
2. Courtney Harnish – Georgia – 1:54.39
3. Abby Richter – Virginia – 1:55.32

US National Team swimmer Dakota Luther of Georgia finished 1st with a 1:53.22, earning the 2nd best time in Georgia history and just missing the NCAA “A” cut. Teammate Courtney Harish also swam her way into Georgia history, clocking the 4th fastest time in program history to place 2nd in 1:54.39.

Virginia’s Abby Richter just out touched Tennessee’s Tess Cieplucha for 3rd with a 1:55.32, good for a personal best time.

Men’s 200 Butterfly

• NCAA “A” Cut – 1:40.76
• NCAA “B” Cut – 1:46.69
• 2019 Invite Time – 1:42.35

1. Brendan Burns – Indiana – 1:41.45
2. Camden Murphy – Georgia – 1:42.49
3. Ted Schubert – Virginia – 1:43.01

Indiana freshman Brendan Burns earned 1st by over a second in the men’s 200 butterfly, clocking a personal best time of 1:41.45 in the process. That should lock up Burns’ first NCAA qualification.

Georgia’s Camden Murphy swam to 2nd place and landed 4th on Georgia’s Top 10 times list with a 1:42.49. Virginia senior Ted Schubert came in 3rd with a 1:43.01, just .30 seconds ahead of Georgia’s Harry Homans in 4th.

Women’s 400 Freestyle Relay

• NCAA “A” Cut – 3:14.61
• NCAA “B” Cut – 3:16.35
• 2019 Invite Time – 3:16.81

1. Tennessee – 3:11.27
2. Virginia – 3:12.30
3. Georgia – 3:15.09

Tennessee won the 400 freestyle relay in 3:11.27, good for a NCAA “A” cut with swims from Bailey Grinter (49.00), Stanzi Moseley (47.89), Tjasa Pintar (48.46), and Erika Brown (45.92). This time would have placed 6th at the 2019 NCAA Championships and earned this squad a new school record.

Virginia finished 2nd in 3:12.30, also an NCAA Automatic qualifying time in the event, including a 47.18 anchor split from Morgan Hill and a flat-start 47.85 leadoff from Douglass.

Georgia took 3rd in 3:15.09, while Indiana was 4th in 3:16.59. The Hoosiers got a new school record swim of 47.84 on the leadoff leg from freshman Cora Dupre, which broke her own time of 47.97 from earlier in the session. That’s the 2nd-best time in Indiana history in this event, and is their fastest time ever at a mid-season invite.

Men’s 400 Freestyle Relay

• NCAA “A” Cut – 2:51.11
• NCAA “B” Cut – 2:52.46
• 2019 Invite Time – 2:52.66

1. Indiana – 2:50.11
2. Virginia – 2:50.83
3. Tennessee – 2:52.84

Indiana won by a narrow margin in the 400 free relay with swims from Samy (42.74), Blasovic (41.93), Burns (42.61), and Jack Franzman (42.83). Indiana (2:50.11) and Virginia (2:50.83) both earned NCAA “A” cuts while Tennessee was just shy of the NCAA “B” cut.

The best splits in the relay were a rolling start time of 41.93 from individual 100 free winner Bruno Blasovic of Indiana, and a 42.26 anchor from Alec Connolly on Tennessee’s relay.

The Georgia men placed 4th in 2:53.87. While that time won’t earn an invite to NCAAs, a 42.65 anchor split from Zach Hils is an encouraging number for a Bulldog team that has struggled in the men’s sprints over the last few seasons.

Final Team Scores:

Women’s

1. Tennessee – 1068.5
2. Georgia – 984.5
3. Virginia – 778
4. Indiana – 656
5. Carson-Newman – 138
6. Tennessee Aquatics – 34
7. UNC Asheville – 11

Men’s

1. Georgia – 961
2. Indiana – 942
3. Tennessee – 839.5
4. Virginia – 524.5
5. Carson-Newman – 180
6. Tennessee Aquatics – 60