SwimSwam Pulse is a recurring feature tracking and analyzing the results of our periodic A3 Performance Polls. You can cast your vote in our newest poll on the SwimSwam homepage, about halfway down the page on the right side, or you can find the poll embedded at the bottom of this post.
Our most recent poll asked SwimSwam readers
RESULTS
Question: Which week 2 major conference meet are you most excited for?
- Big Ten Men – 36.6%
- ACC Men – 27.4%
- Pac-12 Women – 27.4%
- Big 12 Men & Women – 8.7%
36% of voters were most excited for men’s Big Tens this week, with the ACC men and Pac-12 women tying for second in our poll.
The men’s Big Ten meet should be one of the highlights. Indiana is one of the top 4 teams in the country on the men’s side, but Michigan has a chance to press them at the conference level, the way IU did to the Wolverine women. (IU won the women’s Big Ten, though Michigan is still considered the better NCAA contender). The meet also features returning NCAA record-breaker Ian Finnerty in the breaststrokes, plus top-tier transfer Zach Apple in the sprint freestyles.
The ACC men and Pac-12 women tied exactly in our poll. The Stanford women are the NCAA champ favorites at this point, but the Pac-12 can be hit-or-miss in terms of how much teams rest or prepare. The ACC is a polar opposite, with a storied history of programs going after conference titles, records and huge relay swims during the conference rounds.
The Big 12 finished a distant fourth in our poll, and that’s no surprise. With just 3 men’s teams and 5 women’s programs, the Big 12 is essentially a Texas intrasquad meet without the allure of tight team battles that highlight most major conferences. The Texas men and women are top-5 NCAA programs, though, and the star power alone on their two rosters add at least some level of excitement to this week’s conference meet.
Below, vote in our new A3 Performance Poll, which asks voters which conference they feel is the toughest overall, between men and women:
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ABOUT A3 PERFORMANCE
The A3 Performance Poll is courtesy of A3 Performance, a SwimSwam partner