Women’s 200 Fly
Canadian veteran Audrey Lacroix, still going strong at 30 years old, won the 200 fly easily in 2:09.63. She went out hard, and then held an even pace with American Becca Mann for the rest of the race. Mann had another great performance in this race with a 2:10.83 for the win. At just 15-years old, she doesn’t quite have the speed yet to push up on Lacroix from the get-go, but she has every bit of the endurance to do so.
Kim Vandenberg was 3rd in 2:14.99, followed by the Metro Aquatic Club’s Isabella Paez.
Brooke Bennett took 8th in 2:20.07, just a hair slower than her prelims swim.
Men’s 200 Fly
Tyler Clary is in new training grounds in Ann Arbor, but is still swimming strong; he pulled away on the back half of the 200 fly to top his training partner Wu Peng, a Chinese National, 1:59.42-2:00.80.
Canadian Alex Page, a teenager who swims out of Island Swimming in BC, was 3rd in 2:00.93.
Women’s 50 Free
Christine Magnuson is full-on turned into a sprinter; she didn’t swim the 100 fly on Thursday, the event that made her famous, but on Sunday she swam the 50 free in 25.33 for a $500 prize. She’s still developing that finishing touch that sprinters have, but at 27-years old she’s really turned over a new leaf.
Danish swimmer Jeanette Ottesen was just a fingernail behind in 25.36, and SwimMAC Carolina swimmer Madison Kennedy was 3rd in 25.46.
This was a tight 1-4 finish, and Missy Franklin was 4th in 25.65. That was really just a warmup, though, for the next women’s event for Franklin.
Men’s 50 Free
Redshirted West Virginia swimmer Tim Squires had a good prelims swim to lead the group into finals, but in that final, the big names came out and took control of the show. Anthony Ervin used his near-perfect stroke to win in 22.43. The powerful Josh Schneider took 2nd in 22.81, and former Auburn swimmer Adam Brown was 3rd in 23.01.
Ryan Murphy was 7th in 23.95 and Tyler McGill was 8th in 24.12: both swims quite a bit slower than they were in prelims. Murphy’s teammate Caeleb Dressel won the C-Final in 23.76.
Women’s 100 Backstroke
Missy Franklin is making the minute barrier in the 100 backstroke look easy. It wasn’t too long ago that Natalie Coughlin became the first woman ever to do so in long course, and now Missy has broken it for the 6th time in her career IN SEASON. Of those 6 times, this was the fastest in 59.34. That’s actually faster than she was in the first round of the Olympic Games. Added with her win in the 200 free, this is another great meet for her coming out of the high school season.
Olivia Smoliga, the National High School Record holder, was 2nd in 1:01.81; Canadian Hilary Caldwell was 3rd in 1:02.19.
Other notable finishes include a 1:02.75 from Texas-bound St. Andrew’s swimmer Tasija Karosas – her lifetime best by half-a-second. Mexico’s Fernanda Gonzalez-Ramirez won the B-Final in 1:02.51.
Men’s 100 Backstroke
Ryan Murphy always swims very well when racing against fellow Floridian Ryan Lochte. That held true again in this meet, where he was a 54.92.
He and Australian Bobby Hurley were nearly dead-even throughout this race, and it’s impressive with how often Hurley has been racing that Murphy still managed to get his fingertips to the wall first.
Lochte, meanwhile, took 3rd in 55.42, followed by another redshirted West Virginian Bryce Bohman in 55.58. That time, combined with his prelims swim, knocked a full second off of his best time from last year’s Olympic Trials.
Russian Arkady Vyatchanin won the B-Final in 56.57.
Women’s 400 Free
Becca Mann earned her second win of the meet with a 4:10.66 in this women’s 400 free. This race, sort of in an opposite of her 200 fly earlier in the meet, saw her go out and push the pace hard, and then hold her lead ahead of a group of Canadians.
The next three swimmers were all from north of the border; Alexa Komarnycky was 2nd in 4:11.49, and Barbara Jardin was 3rd in 4:12.42. Sam Cheverton was next, followed by finally another American, Ashley Steenvoorden, in 5th in 4:13.02.
There was then a big drop-off to 13-year old Courtney Harnish in 6th in 4:18.21.
Men’s 400 Free
Could this 400 free be Ryan Cochrane’s new focus headed toward the Rio Olympics in 2016? He hasn’t swum his best-known race, the 1500, since winning silver in London, but he did win this 400 free in 3:51.62.
Michael Klueh, another swimmer whose been trending toward shorter races, was 2nd in 3:53.71. Klueh finished the race very hard. He was in a pretty deep hole, but came home in 56.1, more than a second faster than Cochrane or anybody else.
Conor Dwyer was 3rd in 3:54.70, and Charlie Houchin was 4th in 3:55.03.
Women’s 200 Breaststroke
Canada’s Martha McCabe didn’t have her best meet, but in this longer 200, she was still a ways ahead of the rest of the field with a 2:29.58. SMU swimmer Raminta Dvariskyte, a Lithuanian swimmer, was 2nd in 2:31.15, and former NCAA Champion in the race Alia Atkinson took 3rd in 2:31.91,
The Davie Nadadores continue to rise in national prominence with a 4th-place finish from home-grown 16-year old Emily Kopas in 2:35.63. That was a 4th-place tie, in fact, with Germany’s Margarethe Hummel.
Men’s 200 Breaststroke
There were no real true 200 breaststrokers in this field, but in a matchup of the two best sprinters, Mike Alexandrov avenged his loss in the 100 with a 2:14.13 in this longer event. That topped Brazilian/Davie Nadadores swimmer Felipe Lima, who was 2nd in 2:14.16 – just .03 seconds behind.
There was a big dropoff to Davie swimmer Gabriel Souza in 2:17.40.
Murphy has got to be my favorite up and comer. Great demeanor and attitude (like most of Segio’s swimmers) to go with his incredible talent.
Also nice to see Houchin back in the pool.
No many legs. Almost all with the arms. I believe we can also say that about Brooke Bennett. I didn’t remember her swimming style.
Same with Manaudou in the freestyle.
Well done Missy! I expected a 59.50 from her and she has swum 59.34! Very very very impressive time in February. If she still improves her first 15 meters I’m sure she will swim under 58 this summer. I wanted a better adversity from Miss America, Olivia Smoliga, the reigning short course world champion, but unfortunately it didn’t happen.
Becca Mann is a machine. She really has a distance swimmer style. No many legs, Almost all with the arms.
Good win for Ryan Murphy unrested. I see him around 53 this summer and perhaps under 53. He will qualify for Barcelona with Matt Grevers in the 100 back. Already this summer he will play the world medals. And… Read more »