Tennessee Transfer Kevin Houseman Hits His NCAA Championship Time at Last Chance Meet

2025 NCAA Division I Last Chance Meets – February 28th

While the Big Ten and Big 12, along with several mid major programs, are wrapping up conference championship meets this weekend, there are several Last Chance meets going on around the country, where swimmers are looking for last-ditch qualifying standards to earn a trip to Federal Way in March.

There were a handful of possible-to-probable qualifying results from Friday, with most coming from three meets in the southeastern part of the country at Tennessee, Louisville, and Auburn.

Remember that the men’s meet usually invites around 30 swimmers per event and the women’s meet usually invites between 36 and 40 per event, though we won’t know the exact cutline until after the conclusion of this week’s conference meets and next week’s Last Chance meets.

Tennessee Highlights

• The North Carolina Tar Heels finished 4th at ACCs, in a big breakthrough meet, and that momentum continued on Friday when freshman PJ Foy locked up a probable NCAA Championship invite in the 100 fly. He had been stuck on 45.26, swimming that time both mid-season and at ACCs, and seemed stuck again when he went 45.25 in the morning on Friday. But on Friday evening, he got over the hump and swam 44.91. It took 45.37 to be invited last year, but Foy now ranks tied-for-21st – which should put him on the right side of the bubble. Virginia Tech’s Will Haylon swam 45.12 in finals, which ranks him around 30th in the NCAA this season, which means squarely on the bubble.
• Tennessee’s Brooklyn Douthwright didn’t swim the 100 fly at the SEC Championships, though her 1:42.62 in the 200 free should comfortably qualify her for NCAAs. She might have another option for day 3, though, after working her time in the 100 fly down to a 51.69 in finals on Friday: her third attempt of the day. That swim would have earned her an invite on its own merit, if she weren’t already in.
• Tennessee freshman Lexi Stephens swam 1:53.57 in the 200 backstroke, which is a tenth of a second improvement on her C-Final winning time at SECs. That would have been into NCAAs by half-a-second last season, but as the meet has gotten faster in all corners this year, it has especially done so in the women’s backstrokes, and so that time leaves her ranked 50th nationally and probably out of NCAAs. Maren Conze of UNC swam 1:53.29 in finals, which gives her a better chance by shaving .01 seconds off her ACC Championship time. She ranks 42nd this season, which after event choices gives her a slim hope of an invite.
• While there was a lot of disappointment in that 200 back, UNC’s Sophia Frei broke through with a 1:52.64 in finals, which ranks her 31st in the country with just the Big 12 final and a few last chance meets to go. That will likely earn her an invite to the meet with at least one likely scratch (Virginia’s Gretchen Walsh) ahead of her in those rankings. Frei’s previous best was a 1:53.03 from ACCs that might have been enough, but the drop moved her up five spots in the rankings and erased the doubt.
• Tennessee newcomer and former US National Team member Kevin Houseman swam 51.48 in the 100 breaststroke. That improves four-tenths of a second, and about 13 spots in the national rankings, from his SEC Championship time. With no guys from Big 12s, and only one new swimmer from Big Tens, jumping him, that leaves him 20th nationally and should add individual events to his presumed relay entries.

Louisville Highlights

• Kentucky freshman Adomas Gatulia swam the 100 breaststroke three times on Friday, finishing with a 51.71 in a post-finals time trial. That sets a new Kentucky school record in the event, and jumps him from 52nd in the national rankings to about 26th. That puts him right on the bubble for an NCAA invite, but a bubble with some optimism.
• Louisville’s Summer Cardwell split 1:44.22 in the 200 free on the opening split of a 500 free, which knocks three-tenths of a second off her best time and moves her up to 37th in the national rankings. In a free relay event with several probable scratches ahead of her, that should put her on the right side of the bubble for an NCAA invite, though it’s far from a sure thing.

Auburn Highlights

• Auburn’s Henry Bethelswam 51.62 in the 100 breast finals on Friday to move from 52nd in the NCAA rankings  – 51.62 100 breast in finals to somewhere around 25th or 26th. That gives him a decent chance at a return trip to NCAAs individually as a senior. His best time remains a 51.51 done last year.
• Lisa Klevanovich of Auburn worked her way to a 48.00 in the women’s 100 free, which knocks .29 seconds off her time from SECs. She previously ranked 53rd nationally, and with the Big 12 yet to swim this event at their championship meet, now ranks 36th. Like Cardwell, her fate might fall to how many of the swimmers ahead of her (Claire Curzan?) don’t swim this event individually at NCAAs.