200 Freestyle Relay
Florida grabbed the lead after the first leg thanks to a 18.97 lead-off from Bradley Deborde with Arizona and Texas closing fast. Texas jumped up into the lead on leg two followed by Cal and Florida. The Longhorns continued to lead heading into the final leg with Cal and Auburn right behind them. Thanks to a 18.48 split from Seth Stubblefield, Cal (1:15.27) caught Texas (1:15.53) for the title followed by Auburn (1:15.92) and Arizona (1:16.67). Texas A&M, who had finished sixth, was disqualified due to the third exchange.
Consolation Final
Alabama (1:16.57) took the lead from the get go and never looked back, topping Louisville who was second all the way through. There was a different team in third place after each 50 with the eventual third-place team becoming Tennessee (1:17.59). Penn State was fourth (1:17.89). Bama was led by B.J. Hornikel's 19.32 opener while Louisville got a solid first leg from Joao De Lucca (19.38). Alabama (third exchange), Penn State (third exchange), and USC (second exchange) were all disqualified.
California- 200 Yard Freestyle Relay
Tyler Messerschmidt
On his mindset during the race: To be honest with you, we just kind of put our heads down and just said, ‘you know what, we’re not supposed to be here. We’re not supposed to be in the final.’ And we’re just like ‘you know what, let’s go win it’ and we just wanted to go swim our race and just let everybody else catch up.
On how it feels to be NCAA Champions: It feels great, especially winning this event my freshman year with the same school and then obviously leaving and coming back. This is just phenomenal. I’m speechless.
With the win, Cal take the early lead over Texas, 40-34. Michigan, currently in seventh, gets a bump with the A&M DQ -- one made even better as the Wolverines appeared to be not loading that relay up with some of their bigger stars.
500 Freestyle
USC's Cristian Quintero leads at the 100 in 47.49 followed by Texas freshman Jack Conger (47.84). Quintero continues to lead at the 200 (1:37.88) but Jaeger is starting to move up (1:38.76) with Conger third. At the 300 it's Quintero (2:29.08) and Jeager (2:29.99). Quinetro opening up a big lead over Jaeger but it's not over. Jeager looks to be too far behind and Dan Wallace of Florida is charging. Quintero wins it in a pool record of 4:10.02, breaking Michael Klueh old mark of 4:11.41. Wallace (4:!1.62) takes second over Jaeger (4:12.67) with Matias Koski of Georgia fourth (4:13.97). Conger (4:14.34), Mitch D'Arrigo of Florida (4:15.75), Thomas Duvall of Navy (4:16.85) and Michigan's Anders Nielsen (4:16.88) round out the top eight.
Consolation Final
Reed Malone of USC (47.95) and Sam Lewis of Texas (48.38) jump out to an early lead. Lewis has the lead at the 200 (1:39.39) with Malone now in second (1:39.68). Jeremy Bagshaw of Cal starting to reel the two leaders in at the 300. Bagshaw takes the lead at the 350. Matt Barber of Arizona now comes up to tie Malone for second heading into the final 100. Bagshaw (4:13.40) grabs the win over Barber (4:15.08) followed by Auburn senior Zane Grothe (4:16.10) and Lewis (4:16.39).
USC's Christian Quintero
On his race: I feel awesome. Since the beginning I felt really strong. I knew I had this. I had this all the time. I’m really proud of this. I’m really glad with my last performance. It was my last 500 free. I really wanted to make a good performance and I did.
On the amount of preparation he did to prepare for NCAAs: It was a lot of work. We welcome it. The whole season we’ve been working and I’m really happy with the results.
My predicted top four teams are already forming after only two events. Florida now leads Michigan by a slim 58-57 margin with Texas third (53) and Cal fourth (49).
200 Individual Medley
Florida's Marcin Cieslak (1:40.58) made it known early and often whose race this was, winning in the fourth fastest time in NCAA history and breaking Ryan Lochte's former pool record of 1:40.97. Georgia sophomore Chase Kalisz (1:41.19) moved into second following the breast leg and held on to finish in that spot ahead of hard-charging defending champion David Nolan of Stanford (1:41.38). Michigan senior Kyle Whitaker (1:41.51) placed fourth ahead of Cal's Josh Prenot (1:41.97), Michigan's Dylan Bosch (1:42.05), Georgia's Nic Fink (1:43.76) and Cal's Ryan Murphy (1:43.91).
Consolation Final
Florida's Eduardo Solaeche-Gomez (1:42.67) had the lead after three of the four legs, including the final one, winning comfortably over Indiana's Cody Miller and Steve Schmuhl who swam the exact same time of 1:43.12.
Marcin Cieslak (Florida), 200 IM champion
On what he did to win: I was second two years ago and last year so I’ve had enough of getting second. That was extra motivating. Every time I had a tough practice or a tough moment I remembered how bad it felt getting second to push me through it. There was a lot of things I focused on this year that maybe I wasn’t as good at in the previous years. Definitely underwater, that was a big thing for me this year. I worked on some freestyle, that helped too.
On if holding the lead the whole race was his strategy: Yeah, I felt very good from the very beginning. Butterfly is my strongest stroke so I was in the lead and backstroke is a little weaker so I was trying to hide underwater as long as I could. Then breaststroke and then push it as hard as I could in freestyle. I saw myself being first and that pushed me to go even faster.
Despite Cal making up one-quarter of the two finals, Florida still maintains an 87-85 lead over Michigan while Cal is right behind with 80. Texas is fourth with 56.
50 Freestyle
It was kissing-your-sister time in the 50 free as Arizona's Brad Tandy and Alabama's Kristian Gkolomeev puckered up to the tune of 18.95 to tie for the top spot while Florida's Bradley Deborde was thisclose behind them in third (18.98). Minnesota's Derek Toomey (19.05) and Cal's Seth Stubblefield (19.09) both managed time under 19.10 in taking fourth and fifth. John Murray of Texas (19.11), Florida State's Paul Murray (19.14) and Matthew Ellis of Texas (19.20) rounded out the top eight.
Consolation Final
N.C. State's Simonas Bilis (19.21) holds off Auburn's Marcelo (19.22) and Tony Cox of Cal (19.28).
Brad Tandy, Arizona
On the race ending in a tie: Obviously I wish I would have won it, but I’d rather take a win than second place so that’s fine.
On if the race went as planned: Not at all. I’ve been trying to work on my second 25 (yards) and I didn't quite hit it but I was able to hold the speed I had from the first.
Kristian Gkolomeev, Alabama
On being an NCAA champion: I feel great. I don’t know what to say. I didn't expect that. I’m a freshman and that’s awesome.
On winning a national title as a freshman: Oh my God, it’s great. I have three more years. This is the best.
With two swimmers in the B and one in the A, Cal takes a 105-103 lead over Florida who had only Deborde in scoring position. Michigan leads Texas 85-80 heading into the three-meter diving final.
One-Meter Diving
Round 1
Samuel Dorman of The U (77.50) takes the early lead over Stanford's Kristian Ipsen (76.50). Cory Bowersox of Texas sits third (69.75) with teammate Michael Hixon fourth (64.50). Missouri's David Bonuchi is fifth (63) followed by Arizona State's Riley McCormick and Duke's Nick McCrory (62.40) and Arizona's Rafael Quintero (61.10)Round 2
Dorman (142) continues to lead with Bonuchi (141) having moved up from fifth to second. Hixon (139.50) has moved up a spot to third while McCrory (138.90) jumps from sixth to fourth. Ipsen (133.95) slips from second to fifth while Quintero (133.10) jumps from eighth to sixth. McCormick (120.90) and Bowersox (119.25) round out the top eight.
Round 3
Hixon (220.50) nails a huge dive in this round to take the lead while defending champ Ipsen (210.35) moves from fifth to second. Bonuchi (207) slides a spot to third while McCrory (206.40) holds firm in fourth. Dorman (202) dips from first to fifth while Quintero (201.90) remains in sixth. Bowersox (195.15) moves up a spot to seventh while McCormick (174.90) moves down to eighth.
Round 4
Round 4
Hixon (302.10) continues to throw out big dives to increase his lead over the field. McCrory (278.40) has moved into second with Ipsen (273.35) down one spot into third. Quintero (266.40) jumps from sixth to fourth while Bowersox (261.18) climbs from seventh to fifth. Bonuchi (259.50) falls from third to sixth while Dorman (250) slides two more spots into seventh. McCormick continues to remain in eighth (241.55).
Round 5
Hixon (363.60) has his lead cut by Ipsen (350.15) while McCrory (339.30) slips a spot to third. Bonuchi (332.35) jumps from sixth to fourth while Bowersox (327.15) stays at fifth. Quintero (323.40) falls from fourth to sixth while Dorman (307) and McCormick (300.05) remain seventh and eighth.
Round 6
Freshman Michael Hixon of Texas (443.50) win his first NCAA championship by defeating defending champion Kristian Ipsen of Stanford (436.55). Duke Nick McCrory (412.15) places third followed by Missouri's David Bonuchi (405.95) and Longhorn Cory Bowersox (403.95). Rafael Quintero of Arizona (393.15), Samuel Dorman of Miami (379), and Riley McCormick of Arizona State (364.55) round out the top eight finishers.
Texas diving coach Matt Scoggin
On Texas’ diving performance: They’ve worked so hard all year long. With our strength program, we backed off the weights just at the right time. They feel really good right now. Both of them (Michael Hixon and Cory Bowersox) are young and they’re just hungry. They want it bad. They knew it was a possibility and they went for it.
On Michael Hixon only being a freshman: It’s awesome to see young men have the guts to know how great they’re going to do before they even do it.
On Michael Hixon’s work ethic: It’s infectious. He shows up early, stays late. Sometimes I have to tell him, ‘look, you’re done. You need to get out of here.’ The whole team has latched on to that work ethic and it’s the hardest working team we’ve ever had.
On the depth of the team: We feel very fortunate. We’re going to try to keep the momentum going for day two tomorrow.
On the advantage of swimming at home: It’s a big advantage. We’re used to the lighting. We’re used to the fans. We’re used to the boards. It’s a huge advantage.
Michael Hixon, one-meter diving champion
On winning as a freshman: It’s unbelievable. To have it here at home is so special. The whole swim team around the pool. I cannot describe it.
On if there is a home pool advantage: That crowd has our back right now. That’s pushing us and that’s great. There are a lot of great teams here, so it’s not that much of an advantage.
On Texas diving: We have a goal to be the best diving team in the country. It’s going pretty well right now, I think. We still have three-meter and tower so we’re going to keep proving ourselves. I think it’s a testament to how good coach Matt Scoggin is in this sport.
Consolation Final
Round 1
Utah's Josiah Purss (66.30) takes the early lead over Tennessee's Mauricio Robles-Rodriguez (62.40). Auburn's Fraser McKean (58.50) sits third just ahead of Indiana's Emad Abdelatif (57.20). Missouri's Clark Thomas (55.90) begins in fifth followed by Auburn's John Santeiu and Virginia Tech's Ryan Hawkins (54.60). Stanford's Bradley Christensen (50.70) starts the competition in the No. 8 slot.
Round 2
Purss (130.80) maintains his lead with Abdelatif (123.30) climbing from fourth to second. Christensen (118.20) shoots up the charts from eighth to third while Hawkins (115.05) also climbs, from sixth to fourth. Santeiu (113.10) is also a riser, going from sixth to fifth while Thomas (112.90) slides a spot from fifth to sixth. Robles-Rodriguez (108.60) tumbles from second to seventh while McKean (100.50) falls from third to eighth.
Round 3
Purss (192.30) continues to lead Abdelatif (184) while Hawkins (178.05) climbs a spot to third. Santeiu (173.10) climbs another spot this round while Thomas (163.90) climbs a spot to fifth. McKean (154.50) rebounds from eighth to sixth while Robles-Rodriguez (149.10) remains in seventh. Christensen (134.70) freefalls to eighth after a rough third round.
Round 4
Purss (243.30) has led all four rounds but Hawkins (242.55) is hot on his tail with Abdelatif (241) not far behind. Thomas (226.90) has climbed another spot this round to move into fourth, trading spots with Santeiu (225.60). Robles-Rodriguez (219.60) has also climbed a spot, switching spots with McKean (217.50) while Christensen (185.70) is entrenched in eighth
Round 5
Purss (315.30) is a perfect five-for-five heading into the final round, extending his lead over Hawkins (306.35). Robles-Rodriguez (286.80) crushes his fifth round dive to jump from sixth to third. Santeiu (284.10) moves back into fourth, switch spots with Thomas (279.70) again. McKean (277.50) climbs one position to sixth as Abdelatif (269.50) tumbles from third to seventh. Christensen (252.90) remains eighth heading into the final round.
Round 6
Utah's Josiah Purss (368) completes a wire-to-wire win in consols besting Virginia Tech's Ryan Hawkins (363.35). Tennessee's Mauricio Robles-Rodriguez (358.20) is third thanks to a big fifth round dive. Auburn's Fraser McKean (351.90) uses a solid final round effort to climb from sixth to fourth, just ahead of Auburn's John Santeiu (349.20). Missouri's Clark Thomas (338.60), Stanford's Bradley Christensen (319.20) and Indiana's Emad Abdelatif (317.55) round out the scoring divers in the consolation final.
With the first and fifth-place finishes, Texas moves into first with 114 points followed by Cal (105), Florida (103), and Michigan (85).
400 Medley Relay
Ryan Murphy brings Cal through the 100 in 44.91 with Texas and USC third. Cal (1:35.37) is killing it heading into the fly leg followed by Georgia and Texas. Cal (2:20.80) still way out in front with 100 to go. Texas is second with Georgia third. Cal wins it in a pool record time of 3:02.66 while Florida (3:04.77) sneaks past Texas (3:04.79) for second. Georgia (3:05.50) is fourth followed by
Consolation Final
Penn State leads at the 100 (45.98) followed immediately by Indiana (45.99) and Missouri (46.16). Missouri takes the lead following the breaststroke with Indiana still second and Louisville third. It's still Mizzou and Indiana 1-2 while Ohio State has moved up to third. Joao De Lucca gets the Cards the top spot in 3:07.12 followed by N.C. State (3:07.38). Ohio State was initially thought to have gotten third in 3:07.86 but was disqualified for a 15-meter violation on the backstroke leg. Indiana ended up third in 3:08.02.
Ryan Murphy (California), 400 medley relay champion
On his first day: Before this meet people tell you that it’s a lot different than any other meet you’ve been to. Those expectations helped a lot because it is a lot different. It’s a lot more intense. It’s all guys so there’s a lot of testosterone going around. It’s very exciting and emotionally draining. Overall it’s a lot of fun.
On if emotion got the better of him in the 200 IM: Swimming the IM was kind of even more of a mental thing for me. I had a really good swim this morning. I was really excited to get into that top heat and tonight I just wasn’t really feeling it in the 200 IM, honestly. I think maybe getting so high after that 200 free relay did affect me a little bit in the 200 IM but I don't want to use that as an excuse.
On how he turned it around for the medley relay: Being on relays it’s really easy to get that emotional high, like I was talking about. It was easy to get up for 400 medley and obviously we did pretty good on that.
Seth Stubblefield (California), 400 medley relay champion
On his emotions today: Like Ryan (Murphy) said, we got to that high point, especially just walking out in prelims. Looking to your left and seeing all of the parents and fans and some of them dressed as (Cal) Bears up in the stands and then looking to your right and seeing all of these guys, my brothers, who I swim with, train with, live with, hang out with every single day. You can’t help but swim fast in that kind of environment. We’ve been talking about this all year…just not really worrying about what everyone else is doing and not worrying about outside factors but just kind of doing what we do every day.
On swimming in Austin (as a Texas native): This is the first time I’ve swam in a meet in Austin since high school state. It just brings back a lot of familiar memories. Walking around deck you see some of the guys you swam with at the state (championship) meet and then it’s kind of like you’re bringing your new brotherhood along with you. It’s really special. Just looking in the stands and seeing mom and dad and my sister and then a few other family members, it’s really close to home. I think familiarity is good and it definitely feels good to be back.
Texas takes a 146-145 lead to the hotel over California after day one. Florida is close by with 137 followed by Michigan (109), Georgia (74) and Arizona (68.5). We are shaping up for quite an intense team race the next two days!