2021 NCAA Men’s Championships: Taking Top Seed in 100 Free, Ryan Hoffer in Position for Sprint Double

Ryan Hoffer; Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick

The University’s of California’s Ryan Hoffer applied his stamp to the sprint field at the NCAA Men’s Championships in winning the 50 freestyle. That swim, a dominant 18.33 in a 1-2 with teammate Bjorn Seeliger, left no doubt as to his sprint chops. Saturday morning’s swim in the 100 free reinforced them.

• Live Results
• Live Stream
• Meet coverage

NCAA Men’s Championships: 100 Freestyle

Could we see a second rupture of the hallowed 40-second barrier Saturday night? Only Caeleb Dressel, with his legendary 2018 swim that went 39.90, got past that barrier, the NCAA Men’s Championships record. Seven swimmers Saturday morning went out sub-20 seconds, making it a possibility, though Seeliger’s 19.63 was the fastest first-50 split.

Hoffer set the pace in the next-to-last heat, clocking in at 40.90 seconds. He’s after his third crown of the week to add to the 50 free and 100 butterfly championship won Friday night. Hoffer’s morning swim downs the Greensboro Aquatic Center pool record set in 2014 by fellow Golden Bear Nathan Adrian at 41.31.

Cal placed two in the top four of the A final, with Seeliger fourth. But in between are a pair of Texas swimmers. Drew Kibler is the second seed in 41.45, .03 ahead of teammate Daniel Kruger.

Outside of the title contenders, the 100 free final will include some out-of-the-way schools tonight. Brooks Curry of LSU is the fifth seed. Alabama freshman Matt King is eighth. And in seventh is Purdue’s Nikola Acin.

Event 17  Men 100 Yard Freestyle
==================================================================
         NCAA: N 39.90  3/24/2018 Caeleb Dressel, Florida
         Meet: M 39.90  3/24/2018 Caeleb Dressel, Florida
     American: A 39.90  3/24/2018 Caeleb Dressel, Florida
   U. S. Open: O 39.90  3/24/2018 Caeleb Dressel, Florida
         Pool: P 41.31  12/6/2014 Nathan Adrian, California
    Name                 Year School               Seed    Prelims        
==================================================================
                      === Preliminaries ===                       
 
  1 Hoffer, Ryan           SR California          41.57      40.90P 
    r:+0.63  19.64        40.90 (21.26)
  2 Kibler, Drew           JR Texas               41.92      41.45  
    r:+0.61  19.79        41.45 (21.66)
  3 Krueger, Daniel        JR Texas               41.33      41.48  
    r:+0.74  19.76        41.48 (21.72)
  4 Seeliger, Bjorn        FR California          43.02      41.65  
    r:+0.65  19.63        41.65 (22.02)
  5 Curry, Brooks          SO LSU                 41.80      41.77  
    r:+0.62  19.88        41.77 (21.89)
  6 Smith, Kieran          JR Florida             41.94      41.79  
    r:+0.72  20.19        41.79 (21.60)
  7 Acin, Nikola           JR Purdue              42.27      41.81  
    r:+0.68  20.08        41.81 (21.73)
  8 King, Matt             FR Alabama             41.66      41.83  
    r:+0.66  19.96        41.83 (21.87)

Name*

Email*

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