Men’s NCAA Division I Preview: Freestyle

By John Lohn

MINNEAPOLIS, Minnesota, March 12. DURING the coming week, SwimmingWorldMagazine.com will preview the Men's NCAA Division I Championships to be held in Minneapolis, Minn., from March 15-17. First up, here's a look at the freestyle events.

Also, as a treat for our premium members, click here to find out how you can obtain an extensive resource package on the meet.

Sprint Freestyles
At the Southeastern Conference Championships, Auburn's Cesar Cielo nearly pulled off a feat accomplished only by Fred Bousquet – cracking the 19-second barrier. Cielo enters this weekend as the top seed and heavy favorite based on his effort of 19.03. Obviously, there's a strong chance we could soon see another 18-second performance.

Cielo, though, should have some serious competition, most notably in the presence of Stanford's Ben Wildman-Tobriner. The Pac-10 champ, BWT is also likely to scare the 19-second barrier while Garrett Weber-Gale (Texas) could be a factor, along with Northwestern's Bruno Barbic and Arizona's Albert Subirats, who flourished during his midseason taper.

As for the 100 free, Weber-Gale is the reigning champion and coach Eddie Reese will be sure to have his guy ready to defend. Weber-Gale is seeded fourth, with Cielo on top with a mark of 41.85. Wildman-Tobriner is the second seed and Auburn's Matt Targett is the third seed. Also look for Nathan Adrian, a Cal freshman, to make some noise.

200 Freestyle
In the middle freestyle event, there is no clear-cut favorite, although Cal's Dominik Meichtry is the No. 1 entry with a mark of 1:33.82. Adam Ritter (Arizona) and Matt McGinnis (Texas) are slotted second and third, with Stanford's Andy Grant in the fourth position. This event is one of the most wide open of the weekend.

Distance Freestyles
A pair of scintillating battles between Southern California's Larsen Jensen and Texas' Michael Klueh are brewing in the longer freestyles. Jensen is the top seed in both events, but Klueh is right there and could give the reigning Olympic silver medalist (1500 free) a major test. Shaun Phillips (Stanford) and Frenchman Sebastien Rouault (Georgia) should be factors.

Subscribe
Notify of
guest

Welcome to our community. We invite you to join our discussion. Our community guidelines are simple: be respectful and constructive, keep on topic, and support your fellow commenters. Commenting signifies that you agree to our Terms of Use

0 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
0
Would love your thoughts, please comment.x
()
x