NCAA Division I Men’s Championships: Tom Shields Overcomes Eric Ress for 100 Back Crown

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MINNEAPOLIS, Minnesota, March 25. WITH a superior backhalf, California's Tom Shields tracked down Indiana's Eric Ress for the 100-yard backstroke title at the NCAA Division I Men's Championships.

Shields clocked in at 45.02 for the win, moving him into a seventh-place tie with Aaron Peirsol on the all time list in the event. The win is California's first ever in the event's history. Indiana's Eric Ress led most of the way, but fell to Shields down the stretch, 11.34 to 11.87, to settle for a second-place 45.14. Ress has been faster with a 45.11 at the Big Ten Championships last month.

Texas' Cole Cragin (45.56), Auburn's Kyle Owens (45.63), Florida's Marco Loughran (46.06), Arizona's Cory Chitwood (46.10), Auburn's Tony Cox (46.30) and Arizona's Mitchell Friedemann (46.32) made up the rest of the championship field.

Georgia's Matthew Bartlett led the way in the B final with a 46.90. California's Guy Barnea (46.95), Stanford's Matthew Swanston (47.02), Louisville's Brendon Andrews (47.07), Tennessee's Richard Henahan (47.26), Tennessee's Sam Rairden (47.39), California's Mathias Gydesen (47.44) and Arizona's Ivan Tolic (47.80) also scored in the B final.

California became the first team to break 300 points with a 324 for first. Texas jumped back into second with 255.5 points, while Stanford (248.5), Arizona (192) and Florida (173) are battling for the other top five spots.

Top 10 Average Scoring Running Projections Heading into 800 Free Relay*:
California (324), Texas (271.25), Stanford (248.5), Arizona (192), Auburn (178.5), Florida (173), USC (1165.75), Virginia (111), Michigan (105), Ohio State (85)

* Average Scoring Projections based on the average points allotted to an A finalist (14.75) and a B finalist (4.625). Double points for relays.

Swimming World's NCAA Division I Men's Championships Notes Package Sponsored by NISCA

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