2017 Men’s ACC Championships: Day 3 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
• Live Streaming
• Championship Central

NC State star Ryan Held is listed on the psychs as pulling double duty today, but dropped the 200 freestyle in favor of only swimming the 100 butterfly. He’s coming off of a speedy first couple of days in Atlanta, where just last night he notched the NCAA’s 2nd fastest 50 freestyle time this season to score an individual ACC Championship title.

But Louisville sees two of its major weapons take to the pool again today, with Venezuelan junior Carlos Claverie and Russian senior Grigory Tarasevich entering the meet as the top seeds in the 100 breaststroke and 100 backstroke, respectively. Claverie is on the hunt for his first A-final, having missed out yesterday in the 200 IM with a 9th place finish after prelims. As for Tarasevich, he set the Championship Record with his title-winning time of 45.28 and enters this year’s meet as the only sub-46-second backstroker.

Virginia Tech’s Brandon Fiala lurks in the men’s breaststroke race today, as does Florida State’s Jason Coombs. Both men saw action last night individually in the 200 IM, where they finished 2nd and 8th overall.

MEN’S 400 IM – PRELIMS

• NCAA ‘A’ cut – 3:40.76
• NCAA ‘B’ cut – 3:54.49
• Conference Record – Gal Nevo, 2009 – 3:38.00
• Championship Record – Gal Nevo, 2009 – 3:39.33

Top 8:

1. Henry Campbell, UNC – 3:42.25
2. Robert Owen, Virginia Tech – 3:43.22
3. Etay Gurevich, Louisville – 3:43.93
4. Michael Meyer, UNC – 3:44.24
5. Anton Ipsen, NC State – 3:44.97
6. Keegan Foulke, Louisville – 3:46.54
7. Adam Linker, NC State – 3:46.55
8. Zachary Switzer, Virginia Tech – 3:47.03

Henry Campbell of UNC rocked a personal best time of 3:42.25 to snatch up the top seed in the men’s 400 IM this morning. He was the only swimmer to dip into sub-3:43 territory to lead his teammate, Michael Meyer, who also made the A-final. Meyer’s mark was 3:44.24 to earn the 4th seed.

A pair of Louisville freshmen paved their way to potential big points for the Cardinals, led by Israeli Etay Gurevich and his mark of 3:43.93. That’s just .03 off of the 3:43.96 he posted at the Louisville Invite back in November, so look for him to turn on the heat this evening. Keegan Foulke will also try to inflict some damage, carrying a time of 3:46.54, a personal best by almost 3 seconds, for the 6th seed.

Virginia Tech also carries a dynamic duo into the final, with Robert Owen having earned the 2nd seed in 3:43.22 and teammate Zachary Switzer sneaking into 8th in 3:47.03. Owen’s mark sits within 2 seconds of VT’s school record, so look for that to bite the dust come finals.

MEN’S 100 BUTTERFLY – PRELIMS

• NCAA ‘A’ cut – 45.73
• NCAA ‘B’ cut – 48.29
• Conference Record – Pavel Sankovich, 2014 – 45.00
• Championship Record – Pavel Sankovich, 2014 – 45.12

Top 8:

1. Ryan Held, NC State – 45.61
2. Josh Quallen, Louisville – 45.81
3. Andreas Vazaios, NC State – 45.99
4. Justin Plaschka, Notre Dame – 46.05
5. Zach Harting, Louisville – 45.62
6. Bryce Keblish, Virginia – 46.58
7. David Boland, Louisville – 46.62
8. Coleman Stewart, NC State – 46.80

Powerhouse NC State brings 3 swimmers into tonight’s finals, spearheaded by 2016 Olympian and 2017 50 freestyle ACC Champion Ryan Held. Held touched in 45.61 to knock just under a half of a second off of his season-best of 46.06 to establish himself as the man to beat. Even with that speedy out, on the larger scale, Held will need to knock major time of that mark to contend with the likes of Texas standouts Joseph Schooling and Jack Conger.

Louisville’s Josh Quallen is right behind Held with one of the other 2 45-second outings (45.81), along with Wolfpack member Andreas Vazaios‘ 45.99. Vazaios already rocked an NCAA-leading 200 IM time last night, so he’s red-hot coming into his 2nd individual swim.

Coleman Stewart is the 3rd NC State swimmer making the A-Final in a time of 46.80, right behind Louisville’s David Boland in 46.62. Bryce Keblish represents Virginia’s lone A-qualifier, as does Notre Dame’s Justin Plaschka, who was the ACC Conference runner-up last year. Plaschka’s time of 46.05 already established a new Irish school record.

MEN’S 200 FREESTYLE – PRELIMS

• NCAA ‘A’ cut – 1:32.97
• NCAA ‘B’ cut – 1:37.99
• Conference Record – Simonas Bilis, 2016 – 1:32.02
• Championship Record – Scot Robson, 2010 – 1:32.45

Top 8:

1. Soeren Dahl, NC State – 1:32.94
2. Justin Ress, NC State – 1:33.48
3. Trevor Carroll, Louisville – 1:33.84
4. Rodrigo Correia, Georgia Tech – 1:34.18
5. Jorden Merrilees, UNC – 1:34.40
6. Matthias Lindenbauer, Louisville – 1:34.59
7. Norbert Szabo, Virginia Tech – 1:34.86
8. Reed Fujan, Notre Dame – 1:34.95

Wolfpack senior Soeren Dahl finished as the top seed this morning, touching in a time just off his own personal best. 1:32.94 is what it took Dahl to reach the top of the prelims, representing the only swimmer to notch a 1:32-effort. Dahl will try to carry on the 200 freestyle Wolfpack title tradition, with last year’s winner, Simonas Bilis, having graduated. Bilis holds the ACC Conference Record in 1:32.02, therefore, Dahl is less than a second away and under the NCAA ‘A’ standard.

Right behind is sophomore NC State teammate Justin Ress, who claimed the 2nd seed in 1:33.48, followed by Louisville’s Trevor Carroll in 1:33.84. Carroll finished 4th at last year’s ACC’s so look for him to make a move tonight, considering his morning effort was less than a second off of his personal best. Matthias Lindenbauer is the other Cardinals team member in the mix, holding the 6th seed in 1;34.59.

Georgia Tech nabbed an A-final slot in the form of Rodrigo Correia, the Brazilian sophomore who also scored a career-best time this morning. Notre Dame’s Reed Fujan is representing the 8th seed in 1:34.95.

MEN’S 100 BREASTSTROKE- PRELIMS

• NCAA ‘A’ cut – 51.93
• NCAA ‘B’ cut – 55.39
• Conference Record – Thomas Dahlia, 2015 – 51.83
• Championship Record – Brandon Fiala, 2016 – 51.86

Top 8:

1. Peter Kropp, Duke – 51.46
2. Brandon Fiala, Virginia Tech – 51.50
3. Trent Jackson, Notre Dame – 52.44
4. Carlos Claverie, Louisville – 52.47
5. Dylan Payne, Duke – 52.69
6. Craig Emslie, UNC – 52.73
7. Derek Hren, NC State – 52.77
8. Moises Loschi, Georgia Tech – 52.96

Last year’s ACC Final saw 3 swimmers notch a 53-second time, yet this year’s prelims top 8 are all under that mark. Duke’s Peter Kropp and Virginia Tech’s Brandon Fiala set the stage for an intense duel tonight, as they both nabbed morning times under the ACC Conference Record. Kropp touched in 51.46, with Fiala in 51.50, both falling beneath former Louisville Cardinals swimmer Thomas Dahlia’s ACC mark of 51.83 from 2015.

Last year it took just 52.27 to win, so we’ll see if both Kropp and Fiala have enough left to snag even lower standards tonight. Regardless, the men now check in as the 4th and 5th fastest swimmers in the NCAA to date.

Louisville’s Carlos Claverie and NC State’s Derek Hren are both lurking in the top 8, with the former situated as the 4th seed in 52.47 and the latter sitting at 7th in 52.77. Hren was last year’s ACC title winner, claiming victory in 52.27, a time that still sits as the senior’s personal best.

MEN’S 100 BACKSTROKE – PRELIMS

• NCAA ‘A’ cut – 45.37
• NCAA ‘B’ cut – 48.49
• Conference Record – Grigory Tarasevich, 2016 – 44.92
• Championship Record – Grigory Tarasevich, 2016 – 45.28

Top 8:

1. Grigory Tarasevich, Louisville – 45.52
2. Joseph Clark, Virginia – 45.86
3. Andreas Schiellerup, NC State – 45.98
4. Coleman Stewart, NC State – 46.18
5. Hennessey Stuart, NC State – 46.21
6. Robert Whiacre, Notre Dame – 46.53
7. Henrique Machado, Pitt – 46.58
8. Connor Kalisz, Florida State – 46.76

Last year’s ACC Conference title winner, Grigory Tarasevich of Louisville, easily landed on top of the field this morning in a time of 45.52. That ranks within the NCAA’s top ten men headed into tonight’s final. He’s closely matched with Virginia’s Joseph Clark and NC State’s Andreas Schiellerup, who also scored sub-46-second times in 45.86 and 45.98, respectively.

NC State’s other two backstrokers headed to tonight’s race are freshman Coleman Stewart and Hennessey Stuart. Stewart swam a 45.60 in an ACC time trial on Tuesday afternoon, which pushed him up to 9th nationally. He was off that mark today, clocking a 46.18, but it may be a preview of what he has in store for the PM swim. Stuart earned 3rd place in this event at last year’s ACC meet, scoring a mark of 45.92. This morning he notched 46.21 for the 5th seed.

Florida State nabbed its first A-final of the morning in the form of Connor Kalisz‘s 8th seed time of 46.76. That marks the first time Kalisz has dipped into 46-second territory.