This Will Be No Sophomore Slump for Louisville’s Mallory Comerford

We pay a lot of attention to the blue-chip recruits. Katie Ledecky, Ryan Hoffer, Abbey Weitzeil, Simone Manuel, Andrew Seliskar— the list goes on. They certainly deserve the attention; some of them are Olympic gold medalists!

Yet, there are always names that slip through the cracks during the recruiting frenzy. There are so many fast high school-aged talents being produced around the country every year, and some find their stride only after reaching the collegiate sphere. They spend years flying under the radar, which gives way to a breakout performance, and suddenly a new star is born.

Louisville’s Mallory Comerford is a prime example.

This past weekend at the SMU Classic, the Louisville Cardinals took on their first big-time meet without American record holder Kelsi Worrell at the helm. Despite facing staunch competition by NCAA juggernauts like USC and Michigan, the Cards swam incredibly well.

Comerford, meanwhile, had a monstrous meet, putting up some seriously fast swims every time she dove into the pool. Comerford has already broken out onto the national scene after nearly winning an NCAA title in the 200 free and being instrumental on elite relays last season, and she continues her push to the top with her triumphant start to this season. There seems to be little question that she isn’t going to be building off of her success as a freshman.

TIME BREAKDOWN

COMERFORD, 2015 SMU CLASSIC

• 50 free (relay lead-off) – 23.57
• 100 free – 50.18
• 200 free – 1:45.19
• 200 free (relay split, flying start) – 1:46.64
• 500 free – 4:46.22

COMERFORD, 2016 SMU CLASSIC

• 50 free (relay lead-off) – 22.32 (best time)
• 100 free – 47.89 (best time)
• 200 free – 1:43.13
• 200 free (relay lead-off) – 1:44.15
• 500 free – 4:37.64 (best time)

TIME DROPS

• 50 free – 1.25s (5.3%)
• 100 free – 2.29s (4.6%)
• 200 free (from individual race) – 2.06s (~2.0%)
• 500 free – 8.58s (3.1%)

SO, WHAT?

We can look at this from multiple angles. In terms of how fast each swim is relative to the rest of the country, Comerford ranks #1 in the 50 and 100 free this season, and #2 in the 200 and 500 free.* In terms of how salient each of her times would have been at the 2016 NCAA Championships, her best swim from the weekend was the 200 free– her 1:43.13 would have been fourth in the A final last season, with her own 1:42.54 being one of the three swims ahead of her. Comerford would have also made the 100 free and 500 free A finals last season with the times she went this past weekend.

*Rankings generated on USASwimming.com

(Photo Courtesy: Tim Binning/TheSwimPictures.com)

In terms of 2016-17 NCAA Championship Cuts, her 200 free was under the ‘A’ cut, which automatically qualifies her for the 2017 NCAA Champs in that race. She wasn’t far off of the 47.69 cut in the 100 free and the 4:36.30 mark in the 500, but her 200 free wins as her best race of the weekend with these parameters.

In terms of improvement, her sprints take the cake. She managed to take over a full second off of her flat-start 50 free and over two seconds off of her flat-start 100 in just one season. Her 200 free was actually the event she improved the least in, proportionally.

Overall, though, it’s simple. Comerford had a stellar meet. Not only has she found another gear in the sprints, but her mid-distance free seems to have become even more lethal over the summer. Considering that she was a high school recruit who had never broken 23 seconds in the 50 or 50 seconds in the 100, without a junior national cut in the 500 free, Comerford is well on her way to stardom. SwimSwam got a chance to ask her a few questions about last weekend, her time at Louisville, and to get to know a little bit more about her as a swimmer.

6 Q’S WITH MALLORY

SWIMSWAM (Karl Ortegon): You HAD to have been wearing a tech suit. Right?!

MC: Yes! We suit up every year for this meet just to see what we can do and where we are at! The meet is very unique and has a very different atmosphere than most beginning of the season meets. 

SWIMSWAM: What has training been like? Did the times you went surprise you, or were you expecting that?

MC: Training has been very intense. We just came off our first six week cycle that we started in August that consisted of extremely challenging drylands, hard lifting, long aerobic sets, and lots of pushing ourselves to the max. We are now in a new cycle that consists of more heavy lifting, power work, long, hard, high-focused sets, and pushing ourselves as always.  I was kind of surprised by my times this past weekend. I have set goals for this season and I am a little ahead of where I thought I would be, but going these times was just another step in the right direction. Also I love to race and there was some really good competition this weekend so that definitely pushed me even more. I am very excited for the rest of the season based off this meet. All of the girls we brought swam really well and I can’t wait to see how its going to translate in the spring [at ACC’s and NCAA’s]. 

SWIMSWAM: You’ve come a long way since high school. And it hasn’t been that long. At all. What has been the key to your improvements at Louisville?

MC: I have learned so much in the past year and a half, it’s crazy. I think that just having so much access to information that I was never really exposed to has helped me drastically. Things like my stroke count, tempo, distance per stroke, watching videos, and just being able to have access and taking advantage of so many opportunities has helped me grow. I have been surrounded with other amazing swimmers that have pushed me harder than I have ever been pushed. My coaches have helped me become a smarter swimmer and invested so much time into my success and training. I love the sport and always want to learn more about how to become a better swimmer.

Comerford edged out UVA distance star Leah Smith to win last year’s ACC title in the 200 free (Photo Courtesy: Tim Binning/TheSwimPictures.com)

SWIMSWAM: How are you feeling about the rest of your season after the kind of meet you had this past weekend?

MC: I am super excited for the rest of the season! Individually and as a team we have set some really awesome goals and I can’t wait to keep striving for them. 

SWIMSWAM: The 200 free is arguably your best event. Is that your favorite race, too?

MC: I would say the 200 for sure is my favorite, especially short course. I know the race really well and just think it is the perfect distance. I love racing it and love the way that it challenges me.

SWIMSWAM: Speaking of the 200. Some Stanford swimmers (three, to be exact) are expected to be racing for the NCAA title in that race. What are your thoughts about potentially getting the chance to race girls with Olympic experience like that?

MC: It is so amazing to me that I get to race girls with Olympic experience. If you were to tell me that I would be in this position five years ago, I would not have believed them. It is an honor to race beside some of the greatest swimmers in the world. 

AB