U.S. Open: Day One Prelims Recap

INDIANAPOLIS, Indiana, August 7. THE 2012 U.S. Open started competition this morning at the famed IU Natatorium at IUPUI with qualifying heats in the women's and men's 200 butterfly and 100 freestyle.

The women's 200-meter butterfly kicked off the first session at the U.S. Open Swimming Championships. Standout performances came from Jasmine Tosky of Palo Alto Stanford Aquatics, qualifying first for tonight's finals at a 2:10.23. Kelsey Floyd of University of Tennessee added more than a second and a half from her seed time (2:09.02), but clocked a 2:10.71, qualifying her second. Olympic bronze medalist Kimberly Vandenberg of the New York Athletic Club qualified third with a time of 2:11.27.

In the men's 200 butterfly prelims, Kyler Van Swol of Minnesota Aquatics posted the fastest 50 split this morning, turning at a 25.95. He is seeded fifth for finals at a 2:00.63. The top qualifier tonight is Thomas Luchsinger of Three Village Swim, at a 1:59.61. Luchsinger added two and a half seconds from his morning seed time of 1:57.01. Iain Macmillan of Stockport ITC is seeded second for finals, and may be big competition for the win. Macmillian's last 50 split (30.74), about a second ahead of Luchsinger's 31.61, indicating back-half endurance.

In the women's 100 freestyle, Erika Erndl, a 34-year-old from T2 Aquatics in Florida posted a 54.86 in the prelims, only a few hundredths off her seed time of 54.81. Second was Megan Romano of the Athens Bulldogs. She was seeded at a 54.16 in the morning, but swam a 55.62 in prelims. Chelsea Chenault from the Terrapins dropped nearly a second to qualify third in finals (55.77 down from a 56.68 seed time).

In the men's 100 freestyle, the top three qualifiers are international. Kenneth To from Australia shaved several tenths off his seed time (49.40) this morning to take the top spot in finals tonight at a 48.88. Second went to his Australian teammate, Matt Abood with a 49.33. Abood was a member of the Australian 400 free relay that won last summer's world title, but finished one place outside of Olympic team qualifying in March in seventh place. Medhy Metella of France is seeded third in finals, clocking a 50.01.

The session ended with a swim-off for ninth place in the women's 100 freestyle between Rachael Acker of PASA and Stephanie North of Boise YMCA. Both hit the wall this morning at a 56.31. Acker took the win during the swim-off with a 56.01. North clocked a 56.45.

Be sure to check out Real-Time results of the U.S. Open Swimming Championships at the following link:

U.S. Open Results

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