2021 Illinois Swimming Winter Open
- March 18-21. 2021
- Hosted by FMC Aquatics
- FMC Natatorium, Westmont, IL
- Prelims – SCY (25y)
- Finals – LCM (50m)
- Live webcast
- Results on MeetMobile
Carly Novelline, 17-year-old from NASA Wildcats finished off her undefeated meet this past weekend by touching first in both the SCY and LCM women’s 50 freestyles. Novelline did so in lifetime best fashion, adding another 2 swims to the many best time performances she had at the meet. In the SCY 50 free in prelims, Novelline swam a 22.26, touching first by half a second. FMC’s McKenna Stone came in 2nd with a 22.74, just .13 seconds off her personal best.
Novelline went on to clock a huge 25.46 in the LCM 50 in finals. That swim was not only a lifetime best, she also picked an Olympic Trials cut in the event, blowing right through the Wave I cut of 25.99, and coming in under the Wave II cut of 25.65. Novelline now has Trials cuts in the 50 and 100 free, both of which are Wave II cuts. Stone was also 2nd in the LCM 50, touching in a new lifetime best of 25.74. It’s a best time for Stone, who already had the Trials cut, but she’s now inched closer to the Wave II cut. Novelline is a UVA recruit, while Stone is a Cal recruit.
Raunak Khosla, a Princeton swimmer, continued to show huge improvement in his breaststroke. Khosla took the men’s LCM 200 breast in finals with a 2:16.55, breaking the 2:20 mark for the first time. The swim marks an Olympic Trials Wave I cut for Khosla, who already has Wave II cuts in the 200 fly, 200 IM, and 400 IM, and picked up a Wave II cut in the 100 breast earlier in the meet. Khosla is also under the Wave I cut and just off the Wave II standard in the 100 fly, although he swum his best time of 53.53 outside of the qualifying period, so he’ll need to swim the cut again before Trials this summer to be eligible to swim the event.
Kaelyn Gridley, New Trier 16-year-old and Duke recruit, finished out her sweep of the women’s breast events. In prelims, Gridley swam a 2:14.39 SCY 200 breast, touching about a second off her personal best of 2:13.04. Gridley went on to swim a 2:33.43 LCM in finals, establishing a new personal best. The swim puts Gridley just ever so slightly off the Olympic Trials Wave I cut of 2:33.29. Gridley picked up a Wave II cut in the 100 breast earlier in the meet.
FMC’s Aayush Deshpande, a Harvard recruit, took both the men’s 200 IMs on the day. Deshpande clocked a 1:46.90 in the morning session, marking a new SCY personal best for the 19-year-old by 1.2 seconds. He went on to swim a 2:05.33 in finals, also posting a new LCM personal best.
FMC’s Connor Boyle took the men’s LCM 50 free with a new personal best of 22.83. The swim took about a tenth-0f-a-second off his personal best. Boyle is now .12 seconds off the Olympic Trials Wave II cut in the event. Danny Tucker, a 29-year-old former Purdue swimmer, swam a 22.97 for 2nd in the 50 free. The swim exactly matched Tucker’s 2019 best in the event, which is under the Wave I cut. Like Boyle, Tucker is just off the Wave II cut of 22.71. Tucker has a lifetime best of 22.39, which he swam in 2013. Tucker has been a U.S. Open champion, and also has a personal best of 49.10 in the LCM 100 free, although he hasn’t raced the event since 2016.
FMC continued to break LSC records in the men’s relays. Yet again, Trent Frandson, William Gallagher, Connor McCarthy, and Connor Boyle teamed up to swim a 3:14.59 in the 400 medley relay. Frandson led the squad off in 48.31, with Gallagher splitting 55.21 on breast, McCarthy 47.91 on fly, and Boyle 43.16 on the anchor leg. Frandson’s backstroke leg was a lifetime best.
What a meet for Novelline!