Streamlined News: College Swimming Roundup; FINA World Cup Set to Start; Phelps on the Links


PHOENIX, Arizona, October 1. COLLEGE swimming was in full swing last weekend all over the country. Greg Meehan made his competition debut as the head coach of the Stanford women's team Friday with a win over San Jose State. This is Meehan's first gig as women's head coach since working with the combined teams at the University of the Pacific in 2008. Junior Maya DiRado was the top swimmer of the meet, winning the 200 free and 100 fly.

Across the country in Gainesville, Florida, was the All-Florida Invite, which featured Olympic medalist Elizabeth Beisel. The Florida junior won the 500 free, 200 IM and 200 back, as well as a second-place finish in the 100 back. Sebastien Rousseau, who swam for South Africa in the Olympics, won the 500 free, 400 IM and 200 fly on the men's side. Florida State had a strong showing in the sprint events, with senior Mark Weber winning the 50 free in 20.18 after swimming a 20.03 in prelims, and helping the Seminoles win the 200 free relay.

The Michigan men's and women's team combined into one unit earlier this year, and the first meet for the team took place last weekend, with the Wolverines beating Wisconsin on the men's and women's sides. Olympian Connor Jaeger, now a junior at Michigan, won the 500 and 1000 freestyles by more than 25 yards in each race. Zach Turk, who was a star at the Division III level for Kenyon, is now a fifth-year senior at Michigan, and made his Division I debut with a win in the 50 freestyle. Though Wisconsin was not able to beat Michigan on Saturday, they did start their season with a win over Michigan State on Friday.

You can find recaps from these and other college meets from last weekend on our college channel at swimmingworld.com.

In a matter of hours, the FINA World Cup will start with the first of eight meets in the Middle East, Europe and Asia. The series begins in Dubai, with the men's and women's defending champions, Chad Le Clos and Therese Alshammar, in attendance. South Africa will have a big presence in Dubai this week, including 2008 and 2009 World Cup champion Cameron van der Burgh, 50 free Olympic finalist Roland Schoeman and former short course 200 IM world record holder Darian Townsend. Anthony Ervin has announced that he plans to attend all eight meets, and will represent the United States in the sprint events. Not only is the overall prize of $100,000 on the line, but money for top-three finishes in each individual event. Also of interest to this year's World Cup is the addition of the 200-meter mixed relays. The World Cup has rarely had relays in the meets, and the inclusion could be a test of viability for events such as the world championships.

Just shortly after taking part in his first official golf competition that resulted in a win at the Ryder Cup Celebrity Scramble, Michael Phelps announced that he's off to Scotland to play in the Dunhill Links Celebrity golf tournament this week. As with the Ryder Cup event, the Dunhill Links will feature a few notable names in sport and entertainment, including runner Oscar Pistorius, singer Huey Lewis and actor Greg Kinnear. There's a total of $5 million in prizes available for winners.

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