2017 Men’s ACC Championships: Day 2 Prelims Live Recap

2017 MEN’S ACC SWIMMING & DIVING CHAMPIONSHIPS

• Monday, February 27th – Thursday, March 2nd
• Prelims 10AM/Finals 6PM (Eastern Time)
• McAuley Aquatic Center, Atlanta, GA
• Defending Champion: NC State (Full results)
• Psych Sheet
• Live results
• Streaming: watchESPN
• Championship Central

NC State went 2-for-2 in relays on the opening night of the swimming events at the 2017 Men’s ACC Championships, anchored by Ryan Held‘s monster 18.15 split on the 200 medley relay. Held enters today as the top seed in the 50 freestyle individual event, while teammates Anton Ipsen and Andreas Vazaios hold the top spots in the 500 freestyle and 200 IM, respectively.

But there is plenty of collegiate talent waiting to pull an upset, with Louisville’s Marcelo Acosta ready to make a move in the 500 free and teammate Carlos Claverie primed for the 200 IM. Although Held holds a comfortable cushion over his competitors as far as seed times go, anything can happen in the mad splash n’ dash.

MEN’S 500 FREESTYLE – PRELIMS

• NCAA ‘A’ cut – 4:13.22
• NCAA ‘B’ cut – 4:24.99
• Conference Record – Matt McLean, 2009 – 4:10.00
• Championship Record – Matt McLean, 2009 – 4:10.00

Top 8:

1. Henry Campbell, UNC – 4:14.20
2. Adam Linker, NC State – 4:14.52
3. Anton Ipsen – NC State – 4:14.83
4. Marcelo Acosta, Louisville – 4:14.83
5. Samuel Magnan, Virginia – 4:17.94
6. Zach Harting, Louisville – 4:18.28
7. Aaron Sett, Pitt – 4:18.29
8. Jorden Merrilees, UNC – 4:18.47

Four swimmers notched times in 4:14 territory, as UNC junior Henry Campbell threw down a huge personal best to snag the morning’s top seed in the men’s 500 freestyle.  Headed into the meet, Campbell’s best time rested at the 4:16.27 he earned as a freshman. But today, the Tarheel stopped the clock at 4:14.20 to claim the pole position for tonight’s final in a time faster than it took to win this event in 2016.

That sets Campbell up nicely to try to hold off a pair of Louisville Cardinals and NC State Wolfpack members ready to take the title. Last year’s ACC Champion, Anton Ipsen, lurks as the 3rd fastest swimmer of the morning, just over half a second behind in a mark of 4:14.83, with teammate Adam Linker as the 2nd seed in 4:14.52.

Louisville’s Marcelo Acosta and Zach ‘The Dark Knight’ Harting  are in the mix carrying morning times of 4:14.93 and 4:18.28, while Aaron Sett is the lone swimmer representing Pitt in the final with a new school record mark of 4:18.29.

MEN’S 200 IM – PRELIMS

• NCAA ‘A’ cut – 1:42.15
• NCAA ‘B’ cut – 1:49.09
• Conference Record – Pavel Sankovich, 2014 – 1:41.92
• Championship Record – Pavel Sankovich, 2014 – 1:41.92

Top 8:

1. Andreas Vazaios, NC State – 1:41.94
2. Soeren Dahl, NC State – 1:42.32
3. Brandon Fiala, Virginia Tech – 1:42.59
4. Justin Ress, NC State – 1:43.23
5. Michael Meyer, UNC – 1:43.88
6. Jason Coombs, FSU – 1:44.03
7. Robert Owen, Virginia Tech – 1:44.30
8. Norbert Szabo, Virginia Tech – 1:44.34.

NC State junior Andreas Vazaios knocked two seconds off his own personal best to score the morning’s top seed in the 200 IM, owning the race in the only sub-1:42-second outing of the prelims. His time of 1:41.94 not only checks in as a new school record, but it rests just .02 shy of the Conference and Championship Record of 1:41.92 set by Pavel Sankovich in 2014. Vazaios is just 1 of 5 NCAA men to notch a 1:41 time thus far this season.

Teammate Soeren Dahl is seeded right behind in 1:42.32, ready to avenge his DQ from the NCAA meet last year and is joined by another Wolfpack swimmer in the form of 4th seed Justin Ress.

However, defending ACC Champion Brandon Fiala of Virginia Tech is also ready to attack, firmly in the 3rd-seeded position with a time of 1:42.59, the 3rd-fastest mark of his career. Fiala is joined by VT teammates Robert Owen and Norbert Szabo, who claimed the 7th and 8th seeds, respectively.

Florida State earned its first A final slot with Jason Coombs raking in the 6th seed in 1:44.03. That’s significant for Coombs who ‘retired’ in May of 2016 only to return to FSU 3 months later with one more year of eligibility.

Louisville was shut out of an A-finalist in this event, with junior Carlos Claverie settling for 9th in 1:44.37.

MEN’S 50 FREESTYLE – PRELIMS

• NCAA ‘A’ cut – 19.09
• NCAA ‘B’ cut – 20.19
• Conference Record – Simonas Bilis, 2016 – 18.76
• Championship Record – Ryan Held, 2016 – 18.92

Top 8:

1. Ryan Held, NC State – 18.77 **MEET RECORD**
2. Andreas Schiellerup, NC State – 19.44
3. Daniel Speers, Notre Dame – 19.45
4. Chad Mylin, Florida State – 19.46
5. Justin Plaschka, Notre Dame – 19.54
6. Ian Ho, Virginia Tech – 19.58
7. Jason McCormick, Florida State – 19.59
8. Trevor Carroll, Louisville – 19.61

As expected, NC State’s Ryan Held easily notched the top seed in the splash n’ dash, stopping the clock in a speedy 18.77 for a new meet record. That sits just .01 off of his former teammate Simonas Bilis’ conference record of 18.76. so look for that to be eradicated during tonight’s final if all goes according to plan for Olympian Held. For perspective, Held’s morning mark checks in as the 3rd-fastest NCAA-wide, listed only behind Florida’s Caeleb Dressel (18.46) and Texas’ Joseph Schooling (18.76).

Behind him, it’s a toss-up between two Irish and two Seminoles, among others, with Notre Dame’s Daniel Speers and Justin Plaschka headed to the final as the 3rd and 5th seeds. Chad Mylin and Jason McCormick from Florida State are your 4th and 7th seeds, respectively, both having hit personal bests.

Virginia Tech’s lone representative is Ian Ho, who touched in 19.58 for the 2nd fastest mark in his program’s history. Louisville’s Trevor Carroll also sneaked into the final, posting a time of 19.61. That’s just .04 off of his career best, so he may push for a minor medal come the final.