{"id":284147,"date":"2017-11-13T07:00:29","date_gmt":"2017-11-13T14:00:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/?p=284147"},"modified":"2017-11-12T21:11:02","modified_gmt":"2017-11-13T04:11:02","slug":"ncaa-swimming-notes-are-texas-men-in-trouble","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/ncaa-swimming-notes-are-texas-men-in-trouble\/","title":{"rendered":"NCAA Swimming Notes: Are Texas Men in Trouble?"},"content":{"rendered":"

By David Rieder.<\/em><\/p>\n

The Texas men, dominant winners of the last three NCAA swimming and diving titles, lost each of their first three meets this season. After falling to Florida and Indiana in a three-team tri-meet, the Longhorns lost meets at Texas A&M and then at NC State before finally knocking off North Carolina this past weekend. So what\u2019s wrong with Texas?<\/p>\n

Probably not as much as it seems. Some teams just don\u2019t swim very fast in October or November, and over the years,\u00a0Eddie Reese\u2019s<\/strong>\u00a0squads have often fit that mold. Just last season, the team had lost to Indiana and to NC State by the time Thanksgiving rolled around.<\/p>\n

How did that season turn out? Texas scored 542 points come March at the NCAA championships in Indianapolis, and the runner-up Cal Bears scored 349.<\/p>\n

This year? A\u00a0coach at a Power-Five university wrote in a text message that \u201cTexas could be the first team to start 0-4 and win a national championship.\u201d This is not college football, where a regular season loss or two kills a team\u2019s championship aspirations. What does matter is that Texas still has swimmers of very strong pedigree.<\/p>\n

Joseph Schooling<\/strong> did not swim against A&M but performed fine in the tri-meet and on the North Carolina road trip. Townley Haas<\/strong> has not been great, but he\u2019s still the fastest man ever in the 200 free and no one else in NCAA swimming has ever been under 4:09 in the 500 free. On top of those two, the Longhorns still have\u00a0John Shebat<\/strong>, a contender to win\u00a0NCAA titles in the backstrokes.<\/p>\n

\"townley-haas-usa-cupping-2017-world-champs\"

Townley Haas — Photo Courtesy: SIPA USA<\/p><\/div>\n

If Schooling, Haas and Shebat swim well in March\u2014expect that they will\u2014and the Longhorns get small contributions from the likes of Brett Ringgold<\/strong> and Jonathan<\/strong> Roberts<\/strong>, they\u2019re among a small handful of teams capable of challenging for a championship.<\/p>\n

But there\u2019s one key weakness the Longhorns still have to figure out.\u00a0Clark Smith<\/strong> graduates? Texas still has Haas. Jack Conger<\/strong> is gone? There\u2019s Schooling. Will Licon<\/strong>, though? His absence leaves a hole in breaststroke.<\/p>\n

Licon won the NCAA title in the 200 breast each of the last three years and added a 100 breast title his senior year while providing key legs on Texas\u2019 medley relays. So far this year, Texas\u2019 top breaststroker has been Ryan Harty<\/strong>, a redshirt sophomore who missed all of last season with injury.<\/p>\n

And on Texas\u2019 official roster, Harty\u2019s event is listed as \u201cbackstroke.\u201d<\/a>\u00a0Indeed, as a freshman in 2016, Harty finished seventh at the NCAA championships in the 200 back and made B-finals in both IM events.<\/p>\n

Against both NC State and UNC, Harty was out-split by a full second on the breaststroke leg of the 200 medley relay. Reese has tried inserting Schooling into that spot but typically needs the Olympic gold medalist on the butterfly leg instead.<\/p>\n

The Longhorns could probably live without individual breaststroke points at the NCAA championships, but for medley relay purposes, they need to find an answer here\u2014or risk getting stuck in B-finals. But even after Texas’ rough start to the season, that’s the only major long-term concern.<\/p>\n

Stacking Up the Aggies<\/strong><\/h3>\n

It\u2019s no secret that the Texas A&M women are a powerhouse\u2014third at NCAAs last year and a couple of individual medals at the World Championships\u2014but after the win over Texas, the Aggie men might also be worth watching come March.<\/p>\n

First, the women. Bethany<\/strong> Galat<\/strong> won a silver in the 200 breast in Budapest, and Sydney Pickrem<\/strong> took bronze in the 400 IM after having to withdraw during the 200 IM final earlier in the week.<\/p>\n

Even with Sarah Gibson<\/strong> and Ashley McGregor<\/strong> graduated, the Aggies are a well-rounded team\u2014outside of the 200 breast, where their presence is conspicuous.<\/p>\n

\"Sydney-Pickrem-April-17-NCAA\"

Sydney Pickrem — Photo Courtesy: Scott Grant\/Swimming Canada<\/p><\/div>\n

At the Texas dual meet\u2014when the A&M women lost a narrow 151.5-148.5 decision\u2014five Aggies were 2:12 or better in the 200 breast: Pickrem, Anna<\/strong> Belousova<\/strong>, Jorie Caneta<\/strong>, Galat and Esther<\/strong> Gonzalez<\/strong>. Yes, that\u2019s after graduating an NCAA A-finalist in McGregor.<\/p>\n

All five of those women rank in the top 11 in the country this year. Those faster include five women who put on tech suits for either the USA College Challenge or SMU Classic and Lilly King. Not bad.<\/p>\n

A&M also has a 16-year-old on its team: Jing Wen Quah<\/strong>, whose brother Zheng Wen Quah<\/strong> swims for Cal and was the runner-up in the 200 fly at NCAAs last year. Jing isn\u2019t too shabby either: despite being almost two years younger than anyone else on the team, she won the 100 fly against Texas.<\/p>\n

Now for the men, who\u00a0after beating Texas will have to contend with a deep SEC that saw four men\u2019s teams finished in the top ten at last year’s NCAA championships. After third-place Florida, Georgia took eighth, Missouri was ninth and Alabama 10th. Auburn just missed, finishing 12th.<\/p>\n

Texas A&M was well back of that, finishing 16th, but there\u2019s an opportunity to move up this season and maybe even crack the top ten. It won\u2019t hurt\u00a0that some of conference rivals lost some big names\u2014Chase Kalisz<\/strong> for Georgia, Michael Chadwick<\/strong> and Fabien Schwingenschlogl<\/strong> for Missouri\u2014that should lead to some drop-off.<\/p>\n

The Aggie men don’t have the deepest of rosters, but Mauro Castillo<\/strong> should be considered a favorite for the NCAA title in the 200 breast, and Jonathan Tybur<\/strong> should also score\u00a0some big breaststroke points. Brock Bonetti<\/strong> will need to deliver in the backstrokes, and more consistent relay scoring\u2014the team had just B-final relays last year\u2014would help, too.<\/p>\n

Watch Out For\u2026<\/strong><\/h3>\n

During his first two years at Alabama, Laurent Bams<\/strong> has twice been a B-finalist in the 100 free at the NCAA championships, and he\u2019s contributed key relay legs for a pair of top-ten-finishing Crimson Tide squads. He\u2019s versatile, too, and on Alabama\u2019s official roster<\/a>, his specialty is listed as \u201cfreestyle\/butterfly\/backstroke.\u201d<\/p>\n

Well, Bams is currently the No. 3-ranked 100 breaststroker in the country at 53.40, behind only Indiana\u2019s Ian Finnerty<\/strong> and Cal\u2019s Connor<\/strong> Hoppe<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Elsewhere in the SEC, Tennessee\u2019s Erika Brown<\/strong> was a relay-only swimmer at the NCAA championships as a freshman. She now ranks third in the country in the 100 fly, after recording a 52.61 in the event against Louisville.<\/p>\n

In the ACC, Notre Dame has put up an impressive start to the season, sweeping both Louisville and Georgia Tech before the Irish women got the better of Indiana this week. Sophomore Abbie Dolan<\/strong> has been the leading force for the women\u2019s success, with strong dual meet efforts throughout the sprint free and relay events.<\/p>\n

Dolan ranks seventh in the country in both the 100 and 200 so far this season, at 48.94 in the 100 and 1:45.94 in the 200. In the 200, only two swimmers have been quicker in a dual meet setting: reigning NCAA co-champions Katie Ledecky<\/strong> (1:44.51) and Mallory Comerford<\/strong> (1:45.20).<\/p>\n

Some others who did not score individually at NCAAs last year and their current top-five national rankings:<\/p>\n