Streamlined News: March 26, 2012

PHOENIX, Arizona, March 26. WHAT a great weekend of swimming, not only here in the United States but around the world. Several big headlines were made at the men's NCAA Division I college swimming and diving championships and the NCSA junior national championships, as well as across the Atlantic at a couple of meets in Europe.

On Saturday the California Golden Bears bucked all the odds and won their second straight men's NCAA team title. Many had expected the Bears to falter this year after losing such star performers as Nathan Adrian and Damir Dugonjic, but thanks to a strong crop of underclassmen, we've got the makings of a dynasty in Berkeley. California won two of the relays and four individual events, while second place Texas won two relays as well and celebrated Jimmy Feigen's wins in the 50 and 100 freestyles, and rallied on the third day to beat Stanford by 65 points.

Tom Shields won swimmer of the meet for what will be considered one of the great college championship performances. He became just the third person in men's NCAA history to win the tough 100 fly-100 back double, after Jay Mortensen and Albert Subirats. He also finished second in the 200 fly and was a big key leg on four of Cal's relays.

Arizona freshman Kevin Cordes was part of two American records. He swam a 51.32 in the 100 breast in prelims, and later that evening, swam the breaststroke leg on the Wildcats' winning 200 medley relay. Cordes won the 100 breast in finals and was second in the 200 breast in his first NCAA championships.

The University of Louisville had a breakout meet, finishing ninth overall. Carlos Ameida, a recent guest on the Morning Swim Show, won the Cardinals' first swimming national title in a close battle in the 200 breast where three swimmers went under 1:52, the first time that's happened in NCAA history.

If you missed any of the highlights from the NCAA Division I meet, just go to our college channel at swimmingworld.com to catch up.

After a nailbiter of a finish last year at the men's Division III championships last year in which Denison unseated 31-time champion Kenyon, this year's meet was not even close. Denison won again, 81 points ahead of Kenyon. On the women's side, Emory kept its streak alive with three in a row over Williams College by 186 points. Kenyon's Zachary Turk was the highlight of the meet, winning the 50 free in 19.52 and the 100 in 43.16. The 50 time would have put him fourth in the Division I meet and the 100 time would have been 13th. Turk also turned in the fastest 50 free relay split across all NCAA divisions with an 18.78.

The French Olympic Trials wrapped up with an upset in the men's 1500 freestyle. Sebastien Rouault, the national record holder, finished third in the race and will not be able to swim the mile at the Olympics. Anthony Pannier and Damien Joly got under the FINA A cut with the fourth and fifth fastest times in the world so far: 15:01.43 and 15:02.43. Rouault was well back in third with a 15:10.09, which was faster than the FINA A cut but not top two.

Over at the Danish Open, Mie Nielsen, only 15 years old, stole the show. She swam a 59.69 in the 100 back to become the first female in Nordic history under one minute and put herself in serious medal contention in that event at the Olympics. Only five swimmers have broken one minute so far this year.

Pal Joensen lives on the Faroe Islands, but it appears he will be representing Denmark at the Olympics. The tiny Faroe Islands does not have an official Olympic committee, so Joensen is affiliating with Denmark — just for Olympic purposes — and will have the Danish flag on his swim cap when he swims the 400 free and 1500 free in London. With the Danish Open doubling as an Olympic Trials for Denmark, Joensen put up some impressive times in his debut as a Danish swimmer. In the 400 free, Joensen swam a 3:46.84 and then a 15:04.39 two days later. And Denmark has a chance of swimming the 800 free relay with Joensen on their roster. Teaming with Mads Glaesner, Daniel Skaaning and Anders Lie, Joensen helped Denmark swim a 7:15.38, which should be good enough for a spot in that event. According to our research, Joensen could be the first athlete from the Faroe Islands to compete at the Olympics, though that country has sent people to the Paralympics on many occasions.

New Zealand is also holding its Olympic Trials, and that country's established stars are getting themselves on the Olympic roster as expected. Backstrokers Gareth Kean and Daniel Bell will provide a Kiwi 1-2 punch in the 100 backstroke, while Lauren Boyle, a former swimmer at UC-Berkeley, also made the cut in the middle distance freestyles. Glenn Snyders will also be headed to London in the 100 breaststroke with a quick 1:00.04 in the final.

Unheralded swimmer Matthew Stanley has been the star of the meet with two national records in the 200 and 400 freestyles. Both records were held by Olympic champion Danyon Loader in times that Loader swam to win gold in the Atlanta Games. First, Stanley swam a 3:47.67 in the 400 and a 1:47.57 in the 200. He's now ninth in the world in the 400.

Back here in the States, some of the best 18 and under swimmers were doing well at the NCSA junior nationals in Orlando, Florida. Rachel Bootsma surprised even herself with a 27.84 in the 50 backstroke on Saturday, which is now the fastest time in the world. Bootsma also swam a 1:00.02 in the 100 back earlier in the meet. This was Bootsma's final appearance at the junior nationals, and she's now looking ahead to Olympic Trials and her freshman year at UC-Berkeley.

Katie Ledecky, just 15 years old, continues to make a name for herself in distance freestyle. On Sunday she swam an 8:33 in the 800 free, a little slower than she's swum this year but a pretty good time at the end of a five-day meet in which she swam multiple races, including relays. And Jack Conger won all three backstroke events at juniors, including a 1:58.5 in the 200 back.

We'll bring you all the finals races from juniors on swimmingworld.tv in the coming days.

Late last week in the Orange County Register, news broke that Mission Viejo Nadadores coach Ad'm Dusenbury could face a lifetime coaching ban if the allegations are true that he had sex and a lengthy relationship with an underage swimmer in 2006. Dusenbury resigned from the Nadadores last October amid the allegations, and USA Swimming is still investigating the timeline of events. Orange County investigators have not pressed criminal charges, but the incident has created a rift in the Nadadores family, including the departure of several board members and other families. The Nadadores have a few swimmers who could contend for Olympic spots, including Chloe Sutton and Christine Jennings.

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