Tennessee Invite Day 2 Finals Live Recap

TENNESSEE INVITE

• November 18-20, 2021
• Knoxville, TN
• SCY
• Invite Format
• Psych Sheets
• Live Results
• Day 2 Prelims Recap

The Tennessee Invite continues tonight with timed finals of the 200 medley and 800 free relays, along with finals of the individual 100 fly, 400 IM, 200 free, 100 breast, 100 back, and women’s 3m diving. While there’s plenty of great storylines to follow in this meet, one of the most interesting has been the Alabama women’s assault on their own record book; after the Crimson Tide took down the 200 free relay and 400 medley relay team records last night, freshman Avery Wiseman got in on the record-breaking action this morning with a 57.87 in the 100 breast.

Women’s 200 Medley Relay – Timed Finals

1. Virginia – 1:34.16
2. Alabama – 1:35.01
3. Tennessee – 1:35.89

The Virginia women got the night going with a victory in the 200 medley relay. Alex Walsh led off in 24.10, Alexis Wenger split a very fast 26.27 on the breast leg, Lexi Cuomo went 22.90 on fly, and Kate Douglass threw down a speedy 20.89 anchor leg as the Cavaliers finished in 1:34.16. Alabama (1:35.01) and Tennessee (1:35.89) were also under the NCAA ‘A’ cut.

Of note, all three fliers from those relays split within 0.06s of each other, as Alabama’s Morgan Scott went 22.84, and Tennessee’s Ellen Walshe matched Cuomo’s 22.90.

Men’s 200 Medley Relay – Timed Finals

1. Alabama – 1:23.38
2. Tennessee – 1:24.69
3. UNLV – 1:25.31

This relay has been a speciality for the Alabama men in recent history, and tonight they clipped the NCAA ‘A’ cut with a 1:23.38 win. Matthew Menke led off in 20.65, Derek Maas split a strong 22.97 breast leg, Bernardo Bondra went 20.55 on fly, and Jonathan Berneburg anchored in 19.21.

Tennessee took 2nd in 1:24.69, under the NCAA ‘B’ cut, while UNLV finished 3rd in 1:25.31. UVA’s ‘A’ team was DQ’d after anchor Matt King took off early by 0.05s, recording an unofficial anchor leg of 18.63.

Women’s 100 Fly – Finals

1. Elle Walshe (Tennessee) – 50.24
2. Trude Rothrock (Tennessee) – 52.01
3. Mallory Beil (Tennessee) – 52.12

The Lady Volunteers swept the top three spots tonight, led by freshman Ellen Walshe‘s fast 50.24. Teammates Trude Rothrock (52.01) and Mallory Beil (52.12) finished 2nd and 3rd as part of a tight pack, as only 0.34s separated 2nd from 6th.

Men’s 100 Fly – Finals

1. Kayky Mota (Tennessee) – 46.19
2. Bernardo de Almeida (Alabama) – 46.49
3. Mateo Miceli (Alabama) – 46.53

The Tennessee men picked up a win here too, as Kayky Mota shaved exactly 0.30s off of his prelims time to win in 46.19, a tenth of a second under last season’s NCAA invite time.

Alabama swept the next two spots, as Bernardo de Almeida (46.49) and Mateo Miceli (46.53) finished within a fingernail of each other.

Women’s 400 IM – Finals

1. Alex Walsh (Virginia) – 4:01.40
2. Ella Nelson (Virginia) – 4:02.19
3. Emma Weyant (Virginia) – 4:03.69

The UVA women swept the podium, nearly grabbing three NCAA ‘A’ cuts in doing so. Olympic 200 IM medalist Alex Walsh won with a 4:01.40, setting a new meet record. Ella Nelson took 2nd in 4:02.19, also under the NCAA ‘A’ cut of 4:03.62, while 400 IM Olympic medalist Emma Weyant was just over that mark with a 4:03.69.

Walsh’s time tonight was actually faster than the 4:01.57 it took Brooke Forde to win this event at NCAAs in March, and it also appears to be an ACC conference record.

Tennessee’s Alexis Yager (4:05.50) and Summer Smith (4:12.86) were also under last season’s NCAA invite time of 4:13.19,

Men’s 400 IM – Finals

1. Nicholas Perera (Alabama) – 3:46.24
2. Dominik Bujak (UNLV) – 3:46.62
3. Gus Rothrock (Tennessee) – 3:48.33

The men’s race wasn’t nearly as fast, as no one was under last season’s NCAA invite time, but that doesn’t mean it lacked drama. Alabama’s Nicholas Perera went out fairly conservatively, but parlayed a 1:01 breaststroke split into a lead with the freestyle leg to go. UNLV freshman Dominik Bujak wound it up on the free leg, splitting back-to-back 25s, but Perera hung on to win 3:46.24 to 3:46.62. Tennessee freshman Gus Rothrock took 3rd in 3:48.33.

South Carolina freshman Patrick Groters won the B-final in 3:48.29, which would’ve placed him just ahead of Rothrock in the A-final. That’s similar to last night, where Groters won the 200 IM B-final with a time that would’ve put him 2nd in the A-final.

Women’s 200 Free – Finals

1. Julia Mrozinski (Tennessee) – 1:44.83
2. Morgan Scott (Alabama) – 1:45.95
3. Ella Bathurst (Virginia) – 1:46.12

Tennessee kept rolling with a 1:44.83 victory by freshman Julia Mrozinski, who took 2nd in the 500 free last night. Alabama’s Morgan Scott (1:45.95) and Virginia’s Ella Bathurst (1:46.12) were also under last season’s invite time of 1:46.25.

UVA’s Kate Douglass won the B-final with a 1:46.45.

Men’s 200 Free – Finals

1. Kaique Alves (Alabama) – 1:33.56
2. Phil Costin (South Carolina) – 1:35.21
3. Chris Mykkanen (UNLV) – 1:35.26

Alabama freshman Kaique Alves won big here, putting up a 1:33.56 that was the fastest time of the evening by over a second and a half. That time puts his nearly half a second under last year’s invite time of 1:34.01. Almost the entire rest of the field touched in 1:35-something, with South Carolina’s Phil Costin holding off UNLV’s Chris Mykkanen for 2nd, 1:35.21 to 1:35.26.

Women’s 100 Breast – Finals

1. Mona McSharry (Tennessee) – 57.46
2. Avery Wiseman (Alabama) – 57.79
3. Alexis Wenger (Virginia) – 58.32

This was a scorching fast heat, as you don’t see a pair of 57s too often, especially in a fall invite. But, Tennessee’s Mona McSharry and Alabama’s Avery Wiseman lit up the pool with times of 57.46 and 57.79 respectively. Each woman broke a school record she already owned, with McSharry downing he record of 57.80 from last season’s NCAAs, and Wiseman taking down the record of 57.87 she set this morning.

To provide a little additional context, only four women went under 58 in the A-final of the 2021 NCAA Championship. One was McSharry, and another was Virginia’s Alexis Wenger, who touched 3rd in 58.32 tonight, but went 57.67 at NCAAs.

Notably, Kate Douglass took 4th in 58.64.

Men’s 100 Breast – Finals

1. Derek Maas (Alabama) – 51.38
2. Jarel Dillard (Tennessee) 51.68
3. Michael Houlie (Tennessee) – 52.34

This was another fast duel between Alabama and Tennessee, but this time Alabama got the win. Derek Maas nabbed the Crimson Tide school record, shaving 0.01s off of the mark of 51.39 set by Liam Bell in 2020, and also earned the victory tonight, winning by three-tenths of a second.

Tennessee’s Jarel Dillard took 2nd in 51.68, ahead of teammate Michael Houlie (52.34). Maas picked a NCAA ‘A’ cut, and all top three men were under last season’s NCCA invite time of 52.40.

Women’s 100 Back – Finals

1. Rhyan White (Alabama) – 50.31
2. Andrea Sansores (Arkansas) – 51.87
3. Josephine Fuller (Tennessee) – 52.15

Alabama swimmer and US Olympian Rhyan White broke her meet record in this event, winning in 50.31 after going 50.45 last year. That time easily clears the NCAA ‘A’ mark of 50.93.

Andrea Sansores of Arkansas improved her prelims time by well over a second to touch 2nd in 51.87. Tennessee’ freshman Josephine Fuller took 3rd in 52.15, followed by Virginia’s Reilly Tiltmann, who was also under last year’s NCAA invite time of 53.01.

Men’s 100 Back – Finals

1. Matthew Menke (Alabama) – 45.81
2. Panos Bolanos (UNLV) – 46.85
3. Eric Stelmar (Alabama) – 46.87

Matthew Menke made it three in a row for the Crimson Tide by winning the men’s 100 back by over a second, with a time of 45.81, setting a new meet record.

UNLV’s Panos Bolanos prevented a 1-2 Alabama sweep by moving past Eric Stelmar on the final 25, and touching 2nd, 46.85 to 46.87,

Women’s 3m Diving – Finals

1. Sophie Verzyl (South Carolina) – 345.70
2. Grace Cable (Tennessee) – 323.25
3. Halia Bower (Alabama) – 318.75

Women’s 800 Free Relay – Timed Finals

1. Alabama ‘A’ – 7:04.06
2. Tennessee ‘A’ – 7:07.02
3. Tennessee ‘B’ – 7:09.31

After swimming the 100 fly individually and finishing 4th, Alabama’s Cora Dupre led off the Crimson Tide with a 1:43.93, a time which was fast enough to win the individual event. Morgan Scott (1:46.91), Ashley Voelkerding (1:46.91), and Kalia Antoniou (1:46.37) all split 1:46s as Alabama won with a 7:04.06, the only time of the evening under the NCAA ‘B’ mark.

UVA has regularly opted not to swim this event at mid-season invites the last few years, and Tennessee’s A and B squads put up the next two fastest times, at 7:07.02 and 7:09.31.

Men’s 800 Free Relay – Timed Finals

1. Alabama ‘A’ – 6:22.54
2. Tennessee ‘A’ – 6:26.25
3. Alabama ‘B’ – 6:27.37

No teams finished under either NCAA standard. Alabama’s ‘A’ squad got a 1:34.39 leadoff from individual 200 free champion, which proved to be the fastest split in the entire field, even including relay starts. The Crimson Tide’s overall time of 6:22.54 was 1.32s over the NCAA ‘B’ mark, although they had the potential to get that time: freshman Charlie Hawke led off the ‘B’ relay in 1:34.68, and if he had been ‘Bama’s ‘A’ relay, that relay could’ve hypothetically been a couple seconds faster. As it stands, all of these schools will have to get their NCAA cuts later in the season.

Scores Through Day 2

Women

1. University of Tennessee 851.5
2. University of Alabama 605.5
3. Virginia, University of 533
4. South Carolina, University of, 274
5. University of Arkansas 271
6. Carson-Newman University 113
7. University of Nevada, Las Vega 34

Men

1. University of Tennessee 706
2. University of Alabama 688
3. Virginia, University of 442
4. University of Nevada, Las Vega 352
5. South Carolina, University of, 303
6. Carson-Newman University 133
7. Emory University 30