Michigan Men Post Two A Cuts, Michael Phelps Pool Record Falls At Michigan Open

ANN ARBOR, Michigan, November 23. MICHIGAN posted two A cuts in the men’s 200 medley relay and 800 free relay, while Louisville’s Joao De Lucca broke Michael Phelps’ pool record in the 200 free en route to an A cut of his own during the second night of finals at the Michigan Open.

Michigan continued its dominance in the relay events, opening up the second night of racing with a win in the women’s 200 medley relay. Alexandra DeLoof, Angela Chokran, Zoe Mattingly and Julia Salem posted a time of 1:38.83 to just out-touched Louisville’s A team, which finished in 1:39.04. Both times are just outside the B standard in the event, which is 1:38.81.

After finishing second in the 500 free last night, Louisville’s Abigail Chin earned her first win of the meet in the women’s 400 IM, leading wire-to-wire and posting a B cut time of 4:15.83. Michigan’s Courtney Beidler took second in 4:17.74, while Louisville’s Carly Munchel rounded out the top three in 4:20.93.

This morning, Michigan’s Devon Bibault posted the fastest qualifying time in the 100 fly by more than a second. Tonight, Bibault was able to duplicate that effort, stopping the clock in 54.50 to outdistance teammate Mary Mittel by 1.17. Michigan’s Elizabeth Harty came in third at 55.84.

Abigail Houck, last night’s winner of the 500 free, grabbed the shorter freestyle distance as well with a 1:47.88 in the 200. Houck posted the exact same time in prelims and finals, both of which clear the NCAA B cut of 1:47.99. Devon Bibault, fresh out of the 100 fly, took second in 1:49.70, followed by Louisville’s Tanja Kylliainen (1:49.87).

Louisville then swept the top three spots in the women’s 100 breast and 100 back. In the 100 breast, freshman Andrea Cottrell posted a 1:01.17, well under the B cut and well ahead of teammate Gisselle Kohoyda’s 1:02.86. Lucy Kramer hit the touchpads in 1:03.69 for third. In the 100 back, Kristina Brandenberg flipped first at the 50, but it was Mackenzie Buss who had enough left to get the win, as she hit the pads in 54.10 to outpace Brandenberg’s 54.34. Erica Belcher took third in 56.70.

The Louisville women capped the evening with a win in the 800 free relay behind strong swims from Abigail Houck, Kelsi Worrell, Tanja Kylliainen and Andrea Kneppers. The quartet posted a 7:16.17 to beat the Cardinal B team (7:27.41) and Michigan (7:29.30).

After just missing the NCAA A cut in the men’s 400 medley relay last night, Michigan’s John Wojciechowski, Richard Funk, Peter Brumm and Bruno Ortiz had plenty of firepower in the shorter distance, cruising to an automatic qualifying time of 1:25.40 in the 200 medley relay. Louisville’s A and B relays battled for second and third, with the B team finishing in 1:27.56 and the A team in 1:27.79.

In the 400 IM, Michigan’s Kyle Whitaker and Dylan Bosch pushed each other the entire way en route to a 1-2 finish, with Whitaker touching in 3:50.51 and Bosch in 3:51.81. Ryan Massey of Louisville rounded out the top three in 3:52.74.

A few swimmers took full advantage of the meet’s open format allowing non-collegiate athletes to compete. Club Wolverine’s Sean Fletcher was one of them, as he took down Louisville’s Aaron Young to win the 100 fly in a tight battle, 46.64 to 46.76. Pedro Coutinho of Louisville placed third in 47.52.

Louisville then delivered a 1-2 punch of their own in the men’s 200 free, with Ruben Izarra (1:37.73) and Trevor Carroll (1:38.08) leading the way in a tightly bunched heat. Dylan Bosch of Michigan snuck in for third with a 1:38.38.

Eight swimmers finished within less than two seconds of each other in the 100 breast, led by Kameron Chastain of Louisville. Chastain swam a 54.31 to outpace 25-year-old Zachary Hayden, last night’s winner of the 50 free. Hayden swam a 54.96, while Louisville’s Addison Bray took third place honors in 55.00.

Sean Fletcher posted a quick double shortly after getting out of the 100 fly, taking the 100 back in 47.55. Louisville’s Nicholas Hasemann (48.03) and Club Wolverine’s Jacob Hanson (48.24) rounded out the top three finishers.

The Wolverines finished the second night of competition with a bang, recording their second A cut of the evening in the men’s 800 free relay. Anders Neilsen, Michael Wynalda, Kyle Whitaker and Dylan Bosch were well under the A cut of 6:24.19 with a 6:22.87. Louisville took second in 6:25.82, receiving a tremendous leadoff leg from Joao De Lucca. De Lucca, the 2013 NCAA champ in the 200 free, swam a 1:33.34 to give the Cardinals a huge lead that they ultimately could not hold onto. That time broke Michael Phelps’ pool record in the event and was just under the A cut of 1:33.58. De Lucca swam a 1:31.51 to win NCAAs last year.

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