USA Swimming Grand Prix, Charlotte: Michael Phelps, Dagny Knutson Double On Second Night

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CHARLOTTE, North Carolina, May 15. THE second night of long course meter finals came to a close at the Charlotte UltraSwim. The UltraSwim is part of the USA Swimming Grand Prix circuit.

While the stars aligned for Michael Phelps' return with the sport's best ever taking two victories after serving a three-month code of conduct ban, Minot's Dagny Knutson had another coming out party as she matched Phelps' double triumph.

Women's 200 free
Minot's Dagny Knutson dropped the hammer with a strong final split en route to capturing the title with a 1:58.63. The effort came up just short of Katie Hoff's meet-record time of 1:58.24, and was the lone sub-2:00 time of the evening.

Grand Prix points leader Mary DeScenza of Athens Bulldog grabbed silver-medal points with a 2:00.49 as she overtook Hoff down the stretch. Hoff claimed third in 2:00.63 representing North Baltimore.

"I was really nervous out there," Knutson said after the swim. "I just came here to swim well, and I'm very pleased with the finish. [Katie Hoff and Mary DeScenza] are like the best in the world and in the nation. Competing against them is a really good experience."

(Click here to watch Dagny Knutson on The Morning Swim Show.)

Men's 200 free
Michael Phelps proved that he still has it. Swimming with the North Baltimore cap on, Phelps smashed the meet record with a 1:46.02. The effort eclipsed his previous record of 1:48.88 set back in 2006.

With a hard-charging Peter Vanderkaay of Club Wolverine, a former training partner, beginning to track down Phelps, the Baltimore Bullet changed over to his new straight-arm recovery down the stretch to put away the victory. Vanderkaay also cleared the former record with a second-place 1:46.71, while Tennessee's Davis Tarwater completed the podium in 1:47.35.

Notably, Aaron Peirsol finished fourth for Longhorn in 1:49.84, while Ryan Lochte won the B final with a 1:50.58 for Daytona Beach.

Women's 100 breast
Canadian youngster Amanda Reason, 15, claimed the event title from lane 7 with a time of 1:08.80. She utilized a much stronger back half than the rest of the field with a 36.63 final split. Jessica Hardy's meet record of 1:08.07 held up to the attempt.

"I was just giving it my all," Reason said about her personal-best effort. "I can't believe my time. That is just fantastic. This is my first time swimmer here, and seeing all of the university swimmers is a little overwhelming."

Suburban's Corrie Clark touched out Abby Macgregor for second, 1:09.63 to 1:09.64, while Swim Wales' Lowri Tynan finished fourth in 1:10.14.

Men's 100 breast
SwimMAC's Mark Gangloff took off like a rocket and needed every bit of the lead heading down final 15 meters. Gangloff clocked a 28.05 at the turn with Longhorn's Eric Shanteau touching third in 29.10. Gangloff finished the swim with a 32.13 back half for a personal-best time of 1:00.18. That swim wiped out Gangloff's meet record of 1:01.73 from 2007. Shanteau, meanwhile, placed second in 1:00.63 after coming off testicular cancer in his Olympic run last summer.

"I feel pretty happy about that swim," Gangloff said. "Having that time during the first meet of the year for me is pretty awesome. The hometown crowd has treated me so well."

Brazil's Thiago Pereira, who turned second in 28.98 at the wall, placed third overall in 1:02.46.

Additionally, U.S. Masters Swimming's Executive Director Rob Butcher, 36, wound up 15th in the event with a 1:06.41 in the consolation heat. He qualified to swim at night with a 1:05.98.

Women's 100 fly
Tennessee's Christine Magnuson posted a meet-record time of 58.35 to walk away with the record bounty cash prize. The performance clipped Mary DeScenza's 2008 mark of 58.54.

"I need to work a bit on my starts and turns," Magnuson said about some improvements she could make. "I need to set that tempo right, because I know I can bring it home. I am swimming relaxed here, and am having fun."

DeScenza kept on piling up the points with a silver-medal time of 58.53 as she nearly caught Magnuson on the backhalf. North Baltimore's Felicia Lee finished third in 59.41 as the other sub-1:00 performer.

Men's 100 fly
Coming directly from the warmdown pool, Michael Phelps used an amazing turn to scorch the pool with a 51.72. That time demolished his 2006 meet record of 52.90, and gave swimming's Superman a double in his first day back in action since Beijing.

Phelps turned third with a 24.66, while Tyler McGill finished second with a 52.76 with a 50-meter split of 24.57. Corney Swanepoel, who turned first in 24.32, took third in 53.22.

"I was a little surprised tonight," Phelps said. "I was pretty happy with my 200 free, then coming back felt good. We are in okay shape for day one. I gave a little preview of the [new] stroke [in the 200 free]. I figured I'd use it the last 15 meters."

Women's 400 IM
Dagny Knutson continued her march towards stardom in the sport as she completed a difficult double gold performance. Knutson took a serious chunk out of the meet record with a sterling time of 4:41.47. That swim erased the 4:44.20 set by Christina Teuscher back in 2000.

The victory came over Olympian Elizabeth Beisel, swimming for Bluefish. Beisel also cleared the former record with a second-place 4:42.61. Beisel charged after Knutson, who looked to have the swim salted away with a nearly two-second lead at the breaststroke to freestyle change. But, Beisel's 31.36 and 31.09 freestyle splits weren't enough compared to Knutson's 31.69 and 31.21.

"Considering how much work I've been putting in back at home, this is a good confidence booster for me," Knutson said of her second triumph. "I am working on swimming [events] right even when I'm tired."

While Knutson, 17, and Beisel, 16, easily took top honors as youngsters, another name blasted onto the scene as North Baltimore's Willa Wang, 14, was all smiles with a 4:51.50 for third place.

(Click here to watch Elizabeth Beisel on The Morning Swim Show.)

Men's 400 IM
Brazil's Thiago Pereira used an incredible breaststroke leg to crush the competition in the men's distance medley event. He posted a 4:16.19 to shoot down Ryan Lochte's 2008 meet record of 4:16.56.

"I am feeling good," Pereira said. "I just came back to practice after breaking my arm five weeks ago. I am training for the World Championships in July."

Club Wolverine's Tyler Clary led at the halfway point with a 2:02.27, but Pereira's 1:11.63 breaststroke split was too much to handle. Clary wound up holding off teammate Alex Vanderkaay, 4:20.40 to 4:20.62, for second-place honors.

(Click here to watch Tyler Clary on The Morning Swim Show.)

Women's 400 free relay
Club Natation's Victoria Poon, Barbara Jardin, Genevieve Saumur and Stephanie Horner wound up with national bragging rights over Team Ontario's Hilary Bell, Paige Schultz, Hayley Nell and Amanda Reason in the relay competition. Natation grabbed the title in 3:48.75, while Ontario placed second in 3:49.91.

Club Wolverine's Margaret Kelly, Caitlin Dauw, Leigh Cole and Kristyne Cole completed the podium with a third-place 3:52.00.

Men's 400 free relay
Club Wolverine dominated the men's relays with a 1-2 finish. The Ann Arbor-based club's B team of Bobby Savulich, Alex Vanderkaay, Matt Patton and Peter Vanderkaay upended the A team of Dan Madwed, Chris Brady, Evan Ryser and Tyler Clary, 3:21.03 to 3:23.62. Both performances cleared Circle C's 2001 meet-record time of 3:24.26.

Team Ontario's Joe Bartoch, Andrew Ford, Brandon Kingston and Matthew Swanston claimed third-place honors in 3:29.28.

Dagny Knutson swims at the 2009 Charlotte UltraSwim.

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