{"id":466719,"date":"2021-03-25T16:29:42","date_gmt":"2021-03-25T23:29:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/?p=466719"},"modified":"2021-03-25T21:56:06","modified_gmt":"2021-03-26T04:56:06","slug":"ryan-hoffer-throws-down-18-3-to-defend-50-free-ncaa-title-leads-1-2-with-seeliger","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/ryan-hoffer-throws-down-18-3-to-defend-50-free-ncaa-title-leads-1-2-with-seeliger\/","title":{"rendered":"Ryan Hoffer Throws Down 18.3 to Defend 50 Free NCAA Title; Leads 1-2 With Seeliger"},"content":{"rendered":"

Cal senior\u00a0Ryan Hoffer\u00a0<\/strong>won his second straight NCAA title in the 50 freestyle with an 18.33, the fastest ever swim by someone not named\u00a0Caeleb Dressel\u00a0<\/strong>as Hoffer is the second fastest performer all-time, passing the Auburn duo\u00a0of\u00a0Cesar Cielo\u00a0<\/strong>and\u00a0Matt Targett<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Hoffer led a huge 1-2 for Cal as freshman Bjorn Seeliger\u00a0<\/strong>finished in second at 18.71, which puts him 12th all-time in this event, and gives Cal a 67 point lead over Florida heading in to diving. Seeliger also improved on his 18.72 from earlier in the night in the 200 free relay. This is also a similar finish to Hoffer’s<\/a> last NCAA title when he went 1-2 with\u00a0Pawel Sendyk<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>in 2019.<\/p>\n

“It is such an honor. I am just so stoked to be a part of this. I am happy to get up to this level and perform,” Ryan Hoffer said after the race. “It feel so good. We really wanted to get that 1-2. I knew we had it in us, ever since me and Pawel did it my sophomore year. Having him following in Pawel’s shoes is kind of fun. … (freshmen) grow up so fast …\u00a0 It was something we knew we could do.”<\/p>\n

The Gators had\u00a0Adam Chaney\u00a0<\/strong>in third place at 18.88 as he was one of three freshman in the A-Final, and seven total competing in individual events tonight, as Virginia Tech’s\u00a0Youssef Ramadan\u00a0<\/strong>was eighth at 19.45.<\/p>\n

Georgia’s\u00a0Dillon Downing\u00a0<\/strong>placed fourth at 18.94 ahead of Michigan senior\u00a0Gus Borges <\/strong>(19.02). Georgia is searching for its highest finish in school history since 1997 when the Bulldogs were third, and haven’t been top four since. Georgia is currently fifth in the team standings but have a lot of swimming left.<\/p>\n

Texas’\u00a0Daniel Krueger\u00a0<\/strong>placed sixth at 19.08 while Pittsburgh’s\u00a0Blaise Vera\u00a0<\/strong>was seventh at 19.39.<\/p>\n

Cal now has seven NCAA titles in the 50 free as Ryan Hoffer joins Matt Biondi<\/strong> (1986, 87),\u00a0Anthony Ervin\u00a0<\/strong>(2000),\u00a0Nathan Adrian\u00a0<\/strong>(2009, 2011) and himself (2019) as winners of the event for the Golden Bears.<\/p>\n

All-Time Rankings:<\/strong><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. 17.63,\u00a0Caeleb Dressel<\/strong>, Florida, 2018<\/li>\n
  2. 18.33, Ryan Hoffer<\/strong>, California, 2021<\/em><\/span><\/li>\n
  3. 18.47,\u00a0Cesar Cielo<\/strong>, Auburn, 2008<\/li>\n
  4. 18.52,\u00a0Matt Targett<\/strong>, Auburn, 2009<\/li>\n
  5. 18.56,\u00a0Ryan Held<\/strong>, NC State, 2018<\/li>\n
  6. 18.63,\u00a0Vladimir Morozov<\/strong>, Southern California, 2013<\/li>\n
  7. 18.64,\u00a0Kristian Gkolomeev<\/strong>, Alabama, 2015<\/li>\n
  8. 18.66,\u00a0Nathan Adrian<\/strong>, California, 2011<\/li>\n
  9. 18.66,\u00a0Pawel Sendyk<\/strong>, California, 2019<\/li>\n
  10. 18.67,\u00a0Fred Bousquet<\/strong>, Auburn, 2010<\/li>\n
  11. 18.69,\u00a0Bowe Becker<\/strong>, Minnesota, 2018<\/li>\n
  12. 18.71,\u00a0Bjorn Seeliger<\/strong>, California, 2021<\/em><\/span><\/li>\n
  13. 18.72,\u00a0Adam Brown<\/strong>, Auburn, 2011<\/li>\n
  14. 18.74,\u00a0Robert Howard<\/strong>, Alabama, 2019<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n