Matt Grevers: “I have more confidence in the water” (Video)

^{Reported by Lauren Neidigh.}

MEN’S 100 BACK:

1. GOLD: Ryan Murphy, 53.98
2. SILVER: Matt Grevers, 54.51
3. BRONZE: Mark Nikolaev, 54.77

Matt Grevers flipped in 26.52 to take a slight edge over Ryan Murphy, but Murphy pulled ahead on the back half to win it by half a second. After narrowly missing the Olympic team in 2016, Grevers came back to form to make the 2017 World Championship team, and says since medaling in Budapest last summer he has had a lot more confidence in the water.

Grand Canyon’s Mark Nikolaev, who made program history as their first NCAA scorer this season, edged out Jacob Pebley (54.88) for the bronze. Per the USA Swimming database, Nikolaev was just over a half second shy of his lifetime best.

From the B final, Louisville’s Nicolas Albiero was about a second shy of his best to dominate his heat. Albiero touched in 56.07, while his best stands at a 55.04 from 2017 World Juniors.v