College Action was Sizzling Over the Weekend

By John Lohn

CRANBURY, New Jersey, November 20. PLENTY of invitational action dotted the collegiate radar over the weekend, a scenario that provided the first quality glimpse of what we can expect from the NCAA ranks leading to March. Here's a look at some of the weekend's highlights from the East Coast to the West Coast.

**As expected, the TYR Invitational at Northwestern University produced a number of A-list performances, largely due to the presence of Matt Grevers. During the final night of action, Northwestern's Grevers won the 200 backstroke in a Big Ten Conference record of 1:40.66 and went 43.13 on the leadoff leg of the 400 freestyle relay that went 2:54.79. Grevers was joined by Bruno Barbic, Kyle Bubolz and Eric Nilsson.

The 21-year-old Grevers also won the 50 free in 20.02, took the 100 fly in a superb time of 46.96 and won the 100 back in 47.37. For good measure, he split 1:33.93 for the 200 free as part of the 800 free relay. Mike Alexandrov went a splendid 1:55.58 to take top honors in the 200 breaststroke.

**At the Terrapin Cup, West Virginia University's Nick Delic was the premier performer, most notably through his effort in the 100-yard breaststroke. By clocking in at 53.17, good for a school record, Delic instantly distinguished himself as an NCAA title contender. Meanwhile, he added a sensational showing of 43.40 en route to a win in the 100 free and anchored West Virginia to first place in the 400 free relay with a split of 42.64. The Mountaineers checked in with a time of 2:56.00.

Representing Yale University, Alex Righi finished second to Delic in the 100 freestyle with a mark of 44.02, but managed to claim a pair of victories. Aside from besting the competition in the 100 backstroke (47.75), the Ivy League athlete went 19.90 in the 50 free.

**Stanford's Hongzhe Sun led the way for the Cardinal at the Speedo Cup, thanks to a swim of 1:46.55 in the 200 individual medley. Victories for Stanford, always capable of claiming an NCAA title, also included a triumph from Ben Wildman-Tobriner in the 50 freestyle (19.97) and a win from Shaun Phillips in the 1,650 free (14:58.61).

Southern California's Mihaly Flaskay was strong in the 100 breaststroke as his 54.32 performance was quick enough to fend off the 54.47 of Stanford's Paul Kornfeld. Meanwhile, Olympic champion and former world-record holder Lenny Krayzelburg, on the comeback trail, was the winner of the 100 backstroke in 48.37 for the Trojan Swim Club.

**In action at the Minnesota Invitational, Wisconsin's Yi Ting Siow uncorked a meet-record swim in the 400 individual medley. Slashing more than two seconds off the standard set by Notre Dame's Katie Carroll last year, Siow touched the wall in 4:13.13, which bettered the 4:14.99 managed by Carroll. Both times met the A-qualifying standard for the NCAA Championships.

**The Art Adamson Invitational at Texas A&M featured a handful of top-flight performances on the female side, including a 100 butterfly effort of 53. 24 from A&M's Triin Aljand. The University of Michigan's Justine Mueller added to the quality with a 4:15.15 swim in the 400 I.M. A&M also received a 1:46.36 win in the 200 freestyle from Christine Marshall. Among the men, Southern Methodist's Alex Hetland blasted through the 100 breaststroke in 53.24 to add his name to the ever-lengthening list of NCAA title challengers.

**In the Nike Cup, Kentucky's Jenny Bradford sizzled through the 50 freestyle and posted a mark of 22.09 for the all-out sprint. Bradford also popped times of 53.74 in the 100 butterfly and 49.12 in the 100 free, both A-qualifying standards. For the men, North Carolina's Chip Peterson cruised to a win in the 1,650 free with a time of 15:05.28.

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