Thanks to Kevin Gell and Patrick Chai for sharing this preview of the Eastern Collegiate Club Championships.
Live meet results will be available here.
ATLANTA, Georgia – On the heel of the record shattering NCAA Swimming & Diving championships in Austin and Minneapolis, collegiate club swimmers and divers from around the country descend upon Atlanta for their turn in the spotlight. Georgia Tech Aquatic Center, site of the 1996 Summer Olympic Games will host 67 teams and over 1,400 athletes at the 2014 East Coast Collegiate Swim & Dive Club National Championships.
Club swim powerhouses Colorado, Florida, and Missouri are all returning to Atlanta to try to add to their extensive championship trophy collection. Colorado is attempting to win an unprecedented fourth consecutive combined team national championship, while Florida is trying to take over the top spot after finishing second each of the past three years. Expect the Buffalos to take advantage of their depth and seize an early lead after Day 1’s distance events. The Gators hope to keep themselves in the hunt with their strong relays and several top seeded individuals.
In the following days, securing finals spots will be the highest priority for both teams as they race for the title. Look for Florida, led by Jeff Reardon and Stephen Lichtner, to assert their dominance in the sprint events on Days 2 and 3. It is here that their challenge to Colorado’s early lead will be made and where the center of their attempt to unseat the defending champions lies.
While Florida and Colorado will be butting heads for a team title, they will also face plenty of individual competition from the other schools at the 2014 ECC Championships. On the women’s side, Mackenzie Robinson of NC State looks to start the meet with ECC records in the 400 individual medley and 200 backstroke. Other potentially-record setting seeds belong to Illinois’ Melissa Andruzzi in the 100, 200 and 500 freestyle, Meredith Rawls of Appalachian State in the 200 individual medley, and Indiana’s Taylor Johnson in the 100 butterfly. Appalachian State also holds the top seed in the 4×100 Medley Relay ahead of strong Florida and Colorado teams.
Swimmers to watch in the men’s events also include Kristof Keresz of Florida, who is seeded ahead of the ECC record in the 200 butterfly; South Carolina’s Bobby Bittner in the 50 butterfly, 100 backstroke, and 100 butterfly; and Indiana’s Yousuf Alyousuf, two time ECC most valuable male swimmer, in the 100 and 200 individual medley and 100 breaststroke. Also watch out for Matthew Knapik, a freestyle and backstroke specialist representing Northeastern who is a top 10 seed in each of his five individual events, and is looking for at least one top 3 finish during the meet.
Meet Information:
Friday Evening Timed Final: 6:30PM
Saturday Prelim: 10:00AM
Saturday Final: 6:30PM
Sunday Prelim: 9:00Am
Sunday Final: 2 Hours after the conclusion of Prelim Session
For additional information, psych sheets, and full results, please visit http://www.gtswimclub.com/ecc.
The above is a press release submitted by the ECC Championships.
Also in addition to Kristof Kertesz, watch out for Jeff Reardon from Florida to make a serious statement in the all the backstrokes and 100 IM
This meet is growing tremendously year after year. Can’t wait to see what goes down this time around.
Anthony Soto swims for Florida State though….