SwimSwam Pulse is a recurring feature tracking and analyzing the results of our periodic A3 Performance Polls. You can cast your vote in our newest poll on the SwimSwam homepage, about halfway down the page on the right side.
Our most recent polls asked SwimSwam readers which event excites them the most at the Men’s NCAA Championships:
Question: Which men’s NCAA showdown are you most looking forward to?
RESULTS
- 50/100 free – Crooks, Liendo, Alexy etc. – 43.8%
- 100 fly – Liendo, Urlando, Kharun, Minakov – 20.3%
- 100/200 back – Marshall, Kos, Lasco, McDonald etc. – 12.0%
- 200 fly – Urlando, Kharun, Chmielewski, Minakov – 9.8%
- 200 free – Hobson, Crooks, Guiliano etc. – 8.8%
- 100 breast – Smith, Brooks, Germonprez etc. – 3.5%
- Other – 1.8%
From the incredible sprint swims we saw at SECs, to the revamped Texas Longhorns under Bob Bowman to the return of Luca Urlando, there’s no shortage of excitement and intrigue for next week’s Men’s NCAA Championships in Federal Way.
In our latest poll, we asked SwimSwam readers which pending battles at the men’s meet they’re looking forward to the most, and coming out on top with 43.8% of votes was the 50 and 100 free.
After Jordan Crooks (50 free) and Josh Liendo (100 free) traded wins in the two events in 2023, Liendo swept the sprints last year, producing some of the fastest swims in history as he clocked 18.07 in the 50 free to rank #3 all-time and 40.20 in the 100 free to sit #2 all-time.
Crooks, the only swimmer besides Caeleb Dressel to have broken 18 seconds in the 50, is coming off a standout performance at SECs, highlighted by adding two more sub-18 swims to his resume in the 50, leading off Tennessee’s 200 free relay in 17.96 and winning the individual event in a blazing 17.85.
In the 100 free at SECs, Crooks and Liendo finished in a deadlock, tying for the title in 40.45, which sets us up for a tantalizing showdown next week.
Crooks has the edge on Liendo in the 50, at least on paper, but the 100 is anyone’s game. Liendo has proven he can deliver in the event at NCAAs, though Crooks is coming off producing the fastest relay split in history at SECs (39.52), giving him some momentum.
Cal’s Jack Alexy was also named in the 50/100 free showdown option in the poll, and while he might be a step below Crooks and Liendo in short course yards, he’s a big-meet swimmer and has been 40-point five times in his career in the 100 free, all coming at NCAA Championship meets.
Receiving just over 20% of votes in the poll was the 100 fly, where Liendo comes in as the defending champion after firing off a time of 43.07 at the 2024 NCAAs, another event where he ranks #2 all-time behind Dressel.
Liendo is the fastest swimmer in the nation this season at 43.23, a time he produced last month at SECs, and he’s joined on the psych sheets by two other swimmers who have broken 44 seconds this season, Luca Urlando (43.62) and Ilya Kharun (43.85). On top of those three, the event also features 2022 NCAA champion Andrei Minakov and 2023 NCAA champion Youssef Ramadan, and two more men who have been under 44 in their careers, Tomer Frankel and Luke Miller.
The backstroke events were the other option earning more than 10% of votes, coming in at 12% as a loaded field featuring three-time defending champion and U.S. Open Record holder Destin Lasco and former U.S. Open Record holder and reigning Olympic champion Hubert Kos headlines the 200 back, while the 100 features Lasco, Kos, the only two swimmers sub-44 this season in Jonny Marshall and Will Modglin, and Indiana’s Owen McDonald will also be a factor in both races.
The 200 fly matchup between Kharun and Urlando picked up 9.8% of votes, while the 200 free battle between Texas teammates Luke Hobson and Chris Guiliano, plus Crooks and a number of others, earned 8.8%.
Below, vote in our new A3 Performance Poll, which asks: What was the biggest surprise of the first two days of Women’s NCAAs?
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The A3 Performance Poll is courtesy of A3 Performance, a SwimSwam partner.
I don’t think the Chmielewski twins are real contenders to take the 200 Fly, although they’re both monsters in the 200 LCM. Espernberger is more likely to pull an upset in that event than either of them in my opinion (faster seed time, no?)