College Swimming League Championship: Virginia Favored for Inaugural Title; Tennessee, N.C. State and Indiana Hunting (Live Recap)
By Brendan Oswald & Adam Denn
The inaugural season of the College Swimming League (CSL) has reached its conclusion, with Virginia, Tennessee, the North Carolina State and Indiana battling for the championship trophy on Friday night at the Indiana University Natatorium in Indianapolis. The title match is the eighth in what has been a highly successful campaign designed to bring together many of the top collegiate programs in the country, and to provide fans of the sport with an engaging and high-energy format.
Virginia (6-0) locked up the top seed for the final with an undefeated regular season and was joined as an automatic qualifier for the championship by Tennessee (5-1) and North Carolina State (5-1). Indiana secured the final spot in the championship by winning the wildcard match in dominant fashion on Thursday night. The Hoosiers overwhelmed Louisville, Stanford and Cal, and will try to maintain their momentum with the title on the line.
Here is an event-by-event recap of the action from the College Swimming League’s championship match:
- Match 1 Recap
- Match 2 Recap
- Match 3 Recap
- Match 4 Recap
- Match 5 Recap
- Match 6 Recap
- Wildcard Recap
- CSL Standings
- CSL Instagram
Women’s 200 Backstroke
Claire Curzan started this meet off with a bang. The defending NCAA champion swam to a time of 1:46.56. With Curzan’s first-place finish and Teagan O’Dell’s sixth-place finish, Virginia picked up 15 total points. The favourites in this final start the meet off with a commanding lead. Charlotte Crush from Tennessee finished second in a time of 1:48.79. She led the race at the 50-yard mark. Leah Shackley finished in third with a time of 1:48.98. N.C State picked up 11 points.
Men’s 200 Backstroke
Miroslav Knedla built on a strong performance in the CSL’s Wild Card Match, to earn yet another win in the 200 backstroke. The Hoosier finished in 1:37.80, a CSL record. Between Knedla and David Kovacs, Indiana claimed 14 total points. N.C State’s Daniel Diehl finished in second with a time of 1:39.40, and Virginia’s David King in third with a time of 1:40.64.
Women’s 200 Breaststroke
Eneli Jefimova of N.C State took this race out fast and did not fade. The sophomore led wire to wire, winning in a time of 2:05.70. Jefimova took home nine points, and her teammate Morgan Cope scored three points. This gives N.C State the lead in the meet. Mackenzie Siroky gave Jefimova her toughest challenge. She finished in second place with a time of 2:06.02. Sophia Umstead came on too late, taking third in a time of 2:06.47.
Men’s 200 Breaststroke
Despite the absence of Indiana star breaststroker Josh Bey, the Hoosiers still got it done. Junior Toby Barnett finished in 1:52.21, earning his team nine points. Tennessee were perhaps the biggest winners, though, earning 13 total points from Gabe Nunziata(1:53.03) and Drew Eubanks(1:53.50) taking second and third. The Volunteers sit in second place in the meet.
Women’s 500 Freestyle
The Virginia women came up big once again. Katie Grimes finished first in a time of 4:34.85, and her teammate Cavan Gormsen finished second in a time of 4:35.15. Virginia scored 16 points, putting them back into first place in the team rankings. Ella Jansen of Tennessee finished third in a time of 4:37.43. Noticeably the N.C State swimmers finished in seventh and eighth, dropping their team from first to third.
Men’s 500 Freestyle
N.C. State’s Max Carlsen earned a comfortable win, finishing first in 4:13.25. It was the battle for second that became a thriller, as Tennessee’s Koby Bujak-Upton(4:15,02), Indiana’s Gabriel Manteufel(4:15.53), and the Wolfpack’s Mikolaj Filipiak(4:15.68) finished in second, third, and fourth. The 14 points earned by the Wolfpack helped them keep pace with the field, after dropping to third.
Women’s 200 Freestyle Relay
The 200 freestyle relay is always a must-win in the CSL because the winner gets to pick the skins. The Virginia women started off strong with Sara Curtis leading off in a time of 21.06, but it was Tennessee who dominated in the end. The team of Jillian Crooks, Camille Spink, Leah Tigert, and Charlotte Crush took the win in a time of 1:24.76. Tennessee scored a total of 24 points and has chosen breaststroke in the skins. This now gives them a five-point lead over N.C State for first place. With Virginia’s second and fourth place finishes, they also scored 24 total points in this event.
Men’s 200 Freestyle Relay
The N.C State men scored a crucial victory in the 200 free relay, an event that has been a strength all CSL season. Kaii Winkler and Quintin McCarty went out with blazing speed, helping Jerry Fox and Wells Walker hold on to earn a win in 1:15.13. Virginia’s team of Maximus Williamson, Thomas Heilman, Spencer Nicholas, and David King took second(1:16.83). The Wolfpack earned 20 total points, and selected freestyle for the skins race.
Women’s 200 Butterfly
With Indiana sitting Alex Shackell, the women’s 200 fly was a wide-open race. Miranda Grana from Indiana took the race out fast, touching in a time of 53.4 at the halfway point. Ultimately, it was Emily Brown of Tennessee who won the race in a time of 1:52.18, out touching Grana by 0.05. Brown had an incredible last 50 to just get the touch in the end. Tess Howley of Virginia finished in third (1:52.59). Tennessee now leads by nine points over Virginia.
Men’s 200 Butterfly
Indiana’s Raekwon Noel pulled off one of the meet’s biggest upsets, defeating olympic butterflyer Thomas Heilman to win the 200 fly. The Hoosiers continue to swim strong, as Noel’s time of 1:40.29 earned their team the jackpot, and 14 total points after David Kovacs’ fifth-place finish. N.C State also gained 11 points, as Wolfpack swimmers Max Buff(1:43.71) and Alan Vergine(1:43.94) took third and fourth
Women’s 100 IM
The 100 IM is one of the most fun races in the CSL, and this one did not disappoint. The difference between first and eighth was only 1.5 seconds. Mizuki Hirai took the race out fast at the 50-yard mark, but it was Teagan O’Dell who took over on the breaststroke leg. O’Dell would hold on for the win in a time of 52.76. N.C State swimmers Erika Palez (52.94) and Lily Christianson (53.14) finished in second and third, respectively. With O’Dell’s win, Virginia now leads by three points.
Men’s 100 IM
N.C State’s Kaii Winkler didn’t disappoint in his first individual event, taking an exciting win. Winkler(46.37) earned the jackpot for his team, with a blazing-fast fly/back split of 20.6. Combined with Daniel Diehl, the Wolfpack earned 18 points. Indiana’s Miroslav Knedla continued his strong meet to take second for the Hoosiers in 46.53.
Women’s 100 Backstroke
After a second place in the 200 back, Charlotte Crush would not be denied in the 100 back. The Tennessee freshman won the race in a new CSL record time of 49.06. Crush dominated the field and took home 19 points for her team. Leah Shackley of N.C State finished second (50.39), and Madison Kryger of Tennessee finished third (51.22). Tennessee took a total of 25 points in this race. A huge event for the Volunteers.
Men’s 100 Backstroke
Tennessee swimmer Ulises Saravia continued the lightning-fast swims in the sprint events, finishing with a jackpot time of 44.99 and the win in the 100 back. With Saravia’s ten points and five from Ben Bricca, the Volunteers earned fifteen points and took the lead from the Wolfpack. N.C State’s Isaiah Aleksenko took second in 45.41, and Noel took third(46.02).
Women’s 100 Freestyle
Camille Spink of Tennessee took this race out in a blistering time of 22.1, 0.9 faster than anyone else. Spink would go wire-to-wire to dominate the race in a time of 46.36. Lily King of N.C State finished second (47.62), and Leah Tigert of Tennessee finished third (47.71). Spink would jackpot two swimmers, giving her team 12 points. Tennessee scored 18 points total in this event to extend their lead to 12.
Men’s 100 Freestyle
Virginia’s Maximus Williamson engineered yet another jaw-dropping comeback on the back half of the 100 freestyle, earning the win for the Cavaliers in 41.77. N.C. State’s Quintin McCarty finished second in 42.36, while Indiana’s Mikkel Lee took third in 43.99. At the break, the Volunteers still hold the lead.
Women’s Skins
Men’s Skins
Women’s 200 IM
Men’s 200 IM
Women’s 100 Breaststroke
Men’s 100 Breaststroke
Women’s 50 Freestyle
Men’s 50 Freestyle
Women’s 100 Butterfly
Men’s 100 Butterfly
Women’s 200 Freestyle
Men’s 200 Freestyle
Women’s Super Skins
Men’s Super Skins