Well, that's a wrap on the conference warm-up for the Bears. As noted by many, very fast times recorded by the Bears, with beards and 'staches clearly indicating minimal rest for the stars.
Prior to the conference meet Hugo Gonzalez had only competed in the USC meet, missed the final duel with Stanford and had not posted a top 25 time in any event. Obviously, he showed that he is ready for NCAAs by winning both IMs and posting competitive times in the 200 Back and Breast as well.

The freshmen class, ranked only 4th by SwimSwam, really showed up. Destin Lasco and Bjorn Seeliger are stars' and Dare Rose looks to be a potential NCAA point scorer in the 200 Fly. Forrest Frazier swam personal bests in the 100 and 200 Breast and is on the NCAA bubble. as is Tyler Kopp who dropped 10 seconds for a PB in the 1650.

These are the guys heading to NCAAs, with my guesses as to event line-up:

Hoffer: 50 Free, 100 fly, 100 Free
Lasco: 200 IM or 200 Free, 100 Back, 200 Back
Yeadon: 500 Free, 200 Free, 1650 Free
Grieshop: 500 Free, 400 IM, 1650 Free
Carr: 200 IM, 100 Back, 200 Back
Julian: 500 Free, 400 IM or 200 Free, 200 Fly
B. Mefford: 200 IM, 100 Back , 200 Back
Whitley: 200 IM, 100 Breast, 200 Breast
Seeliger: 50 Free, 200 Free 100 Free
Rose: 500 Free, 200 Free, 200 Fly
Gonzalez: 200 IM, 400 IM, 200 Breast or 200 Back
C. Mefford: 500 Free, 200 free, 200 back
Sebastian Somerset: 100/200 Back

On the Bubble:

Jhong: 200/400 IM
Kopp 500, 1650
Frazier 200 IM, 100/200 Breast

The biggest miss is Jason Louser who looked like a sure point scorer last year in the 400IM. He did not participate at Pac 12s and does not have a top 25 time in any event this year.

Texas has impressive depth with @ 24-25 guys with qualifying times and up to 4 divers, but I believe our men will outswim the Horns, But I do not know if, as in 2019, we can overcome the diving point advantage that the Horns enjoy. Should be quite a show.

swan said:

---

Well, that's a wrap on the conference warm-up for the Bears. As noted by many, very fast times recorded by the Bears, with beards and 'staches clearly indicating minimal rest for the stars.
Prior to the conference meet Hugo Gonzalez had only competed in the USC meet, missed the final duel with Stanford and had not posted a top 25 time in any event. Obviously, he showed that he is ready for NCAAs by winning both IMs and posting competitive times in the 200 Back and Breast as well.

The freshmen class, ranked only 4th by SwimSwam, really showed up. Destin Lasco and Bjorn Seeliger are stars' and Dare Rose looks to be a potential NCAA point scorer in the 200 Fly. Forrest Frazier swam personal bests in the 100 and 200 Breast and is on the NCAA bubble. as is Tyler Kopp who dropped 10 seconds for a PB in the 1650.

These are the guys heading to NCAAs, with my guesses as to event line-up:

Hoffer: 50 Free, 100 fly, 100 Free
Lasco: 200 IM or 200 Free, 100 Back, 200 Back
Yeadon: 500 Free, 200 Free, 1650 Free
Grieshop: 500 Free, 400 IM, 1650 Free
Carr: 200 IM, 100 Back, 200 Back
Julian: 500 Free, 400 IM or 200 Free, 200 Fly
B. Mefford: 200 IM, 100 Back , 200 Back
Whitley: 200 IM, 100 Breast, 200 Breast
Seeliger: 50 Free, 200 Free 100 Free
Rose: 500 Free, 200 Free, 200 Fly
Gonzalez: 200 IM, 400 IM, 200 Breast or 200 Back
C. Mefford: 500 Free, 200 free, 200 back
Sebastian Somerset: 100/200 Back

On the Bubble:

Jhong: 200/400 IM
Kopp 500, 1650
Frazier 200 IM, 100/200 Breast

The biggest miss is Jason Louser who looked like a sure point scorer last year in the 400IM. He did not participate at Pac 12s and does not have a top 25 time in any event this year.

Texas has impressive depth with @ 24-25 guys with qualifying times and up to 4 divers, but I believe our men will outswim the Horns, But I do not know if, as in 2019, we can overcome the diving point advantage that the Horns enjoy. Should be quite a show.

---

Is Nate Biondi out for sure ..possibly as a relay swimmer?

"Is Nate Biondi out for sure ..possibly as a relay swimmer?"

Nate will likely travel as a relay swimmer, but unless he is top 28 or so in an individual event (he is currently @ mid-30's in the 50 Free) thereby earning an individual invitation, he cannot swim in an individual event.
If the three bubble swimmers hold on or a diver gets an invite, Cal may use its 16 NCAA slots without regard to Nate. However, Kopp is likely to fall out of the top 30 in the 1650 once the Big Ten conference meet concludes.

swan said:

---

Well, that's a wrap on the conference warm-up for the Bears. As noted by many, very fast times recorded by the Bears, with beards and 'staches clearly indicating minimal rest for the stars.
Prior to the conference meet Hugo Gonzalez had only competed in the USC meet, missed the final duel with Stanford and had not posted a top 25 time in any event. Obviously, he showed that he is ready for NCAAs by winning both IMs and posting competitive times in the 200 Back and Breast as well.

The freshmen class, ranked only 4th by SwimSwam, really showed up. Destin Lasco and Bjorn Seeliger are stars' and Dare Rose looks to be a potential NCAA point scorer in the 200 Fly. Forrest Frazier swam personal bests in the 100 and 200 Breast and is on the NCAA bubble. as is Tyler Kopp who dropped 10 seconds for a PB in the 1650.

These are the guys heading to NCAAs, with my guesses as to event line-up:

Hoffer: 50 Free, 100 fly, 100 Free
Lasco: 200 IM or 200 Free, 100 Back, 200 Back
Yeadon: 500 Free, 200 Free, 1650 Free
Grieshop: 500 Free, 400 IM, 1650 Free
Carr: 200 IM, 100 Back, 200 Back
Julian: 500 Free, 400 IM or 200 Free, 200 Fly
B. Mefford: 200 IM, 100 Back , 200 Back
Whitley: 200 IM, 100 Breast, 200 Breast
Seeliger: 50 Free, 200 Free 100 Free
Rose: 500 Free, 200 Free, 200 Fly
Gonzalez: 200 IM, 400 IM, 200 Breast or 200 Back
C. Mefford: 500 Free, 200 free, 200 back
Sebastian Somerset: 100/200 Back

On the Bubble:

Jhong: 200/400 IM
Kopp 500, 1650
Frazier 200 IM, 100/200 Breast

The biggest miss is Jason Louser who looked like a sure point scorer last year in the 400IM. He did not participate at Pac 12s and does not have a top 25 time in any event this year.

Texas has impressive depth with @ 24-25 guys with qualifying times and up to 4 divers, but I believe our men will outswim the Horns, But I do not know if, as in 2019, we can overcome the diving point advantage that the Horns enjoy. Should be quite a show.

---

PROJECTING THE CUTLINE 2021 NCAA MEN'S DIVISION I CHAMPIONSHIPS

NCAA Pre-Selection Psych Sheets: link

15 Bears headed to Greensboro - all 13 guaranteed above plus Jhong (400 IM) and Kopp (1650). Forrest Frazier on the wrong side of the cutline (alternates list) by a good amount, but Texas will need to scratch at least 9 swimmers (26 qualified!) to meet entry limitations + room for their divers. Unconfirmed words on SwimSwam was that Louser was out of Pac-12s due to Covid protocol.

Quick scan of the Pre-Selection sheets has Lasco swimming 200 IM with both backstrokes, Hugo swimming both IMs and 200 breast, Dare Rose swimming 500 free with both flys, and Julian swimming 500/200 Free and 200 fly.

SCORING OUT THE PSYCH SHEET FOR THE 2021 NCAA MEN'S SWIMMING CHAMPIONSHIPS

Note: these projections do not include diving, where athletes will be selected via NCAA Zone meets later this month.

PSYCH SHEET SCORING INDIVIDUAL & RELAY SWIMMING EVENTS ONLY

PLACEMENT | TEAM | PROJECTED SCORE
1 | California | 448.5
2 | Texas | 428.5
3 | Florida | 323.5
4 | Georgia | 300.5
5 | Louisville | 252.5
6 | Ohio State | 191.5
7 | Texas A&M | 191
8 | Indiana | 188
9 | Michigan | 182
10 | NC State | 154.5

For reference and a starting point for getting nervous and excited, as I am wont to do, here are the numbers from 2019.

2019
Swim only Psych points: Cal 402, Texas 311
Final total actual points: Cal 560, Texas 475 including
84 dive points

PalyBear said:

---

For reference and a starting point for getting nervous and excited, as I am wont to do, here are the numbers from 2019.

2019
Swim only Psych points: Cal 402, Texas 311
Final total actual points: Cal 560, Texas 475 including
84 dive points

---

I remembered the meet. Texas really under performed in the meet and Cal was hot from the start. I believe (praying I am correct) it was also on Texas home turf too which made it that much sweeter!

https://cdn.swimswam.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/21-3-10_m_invited-swimmers-by-team-updated.pdf

No invite for Frazier (100 BR), unfortunately, but glad to see that Kopp and Jhong made it in.

HBear said:

---

https://cdn.swimswam.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/21-3-10_m_invited-swimmers-by-team-updated.pdf

No invite for Frazier (100 BR), unfortunately, but glad to see that Kopp and Jhong made it in.

---

What is the max that can be invited? Thought it was 18 including divers but Texas has 18 without divers. Guessing at least 4 Texas swimmers will be left behind if 18 is max.

I think a diver counts as 1/2

Which is more than they should!

bearchamp said:

---

Which is more than they should!

---

Though I believe your comment was made in jest, let me disagree. Counting divers as taking only half of a roster spot greatly favors a diving power like Texas. If divers counted wholly against the 18 invite limit, Texas would have to keep more swimmers home instead of taking 4 divers, all of whom project to score, as well as 16 swimmers.

---------

2021 MEN'S NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS: OFFICIAL SWIMSWAM PREVIEW INDEX

• When: Wednesday, March 24 Saturday, March 27, 2021
• Where: Greensboro Aquatic Center / Greensboro, NC (Eastern Time Zone)
• Prelims 10 AM/ Finals 6 PM (Local Time)
• Short course yards (SCY) format
• Defending champion: Cal (1x) 2019 results
• Streaming:
• Championship Central
• Psych Sheets
• Live Results

---------

In other news, thoughts & wishes go out from all of us to a legend for his speedy recovery:

FORMER CAL MEN'S HEAD COACH NORT THORTON HOSPITALIZED WITH HEART ISSUES



Cal swimming & diving Head Coach Emeritus Nort Thornton has been hospitalized in a California intensive care unit due to complications with his heart.

The 87-year old Thornton retired as head coach of the Cal men's swimming program in July 2007 after 33 years. During that tenure, Cal athletes won 48 individual and relay NCAA Championships and 108 Pac-10 individual and relay championships. He led the Cal men to back-to-back Pac 10 titles in 1980 and 1981 and back-to-back NCAA titles in 1979 and 1980.

A Facebook group has been started where family, friends, and former athletes can leave memories of Thornton.

Cal finished the season ranked in the top 10 in national polls in 28 of the 33 years where he was the program's head coach. He was twice named National Coach of the Year and four times named Pac 10 Coach of the Year.

...

---------

UrsusArctosCalifornicus said:

---

2021 MEN'S NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS: OFFICIAL SWIMSWAM PREVIEW INDEX

• When: Wednesday, March 24 Saturday, March 27, 2021
• Where: Greensboro Aquatic Center / Greensboro, NC (Eastern Time Zone)
• Prelims 10 AM/ Finals 6 PM (Local Time)
• Short course yards (SCY) format
• Defending champion: Cal (1x) 2019 results
• Streaming:
• Championship Central
• Psych Sheets
• Live Results

---

2021 NCAA MEN'S DIVING PREVIEW: TEXAS & OHIO STATE COULD SCORE 60+ POINTS EACH

Texas and Ohio State qualified four divers apiece for the men's NCAA Swimming & Diving Championships, with scoring potential that could shift the team battle.

MEGA-DOMINATORS (BALLPARK 50+ POINTS):
The men's diving points look more centralized than the women's, so much so that we had to add a new category here for the teams that projected much higher even than our highest-projected women's dive groups.

Texas: Senior Jordan Windle has never finished outside the top 8 in any diving event across his NCAA career and he competes on all three boards. He's a title contender in all three. Freshman Noah Duperre looks like a potential A-finalist coming in the door. Two more depth guys could sneak in to score in an event or two and Texas could legitimately get 60 or more diving points with even a decent showing.

DIVERS & ENTRIES BY TEAM
TEAM | DIVERS | TOTAL EVENTS
Texas | 4 | 12
Cal | 0 | 0

NCAA MEN'S TEAMS RANKED BY AVERAGE CHANGE FROM SEEDED POINTS

In anticipation of the 2021 Men's NCAA Swimming & Diving Championships, we've scored out the psych sheets. But exactly how much does that tell us?

In an effort to see how teams typically perform relative to their seeded points, we've gone back over the past several years to come up with team-by-team averages of points gained or lost from seed.

• The numbers are swimming points only we've factored out diving, where no good version of a psych sheet exists.

NCAA Change From Seed (Historic) : Men's NCAA Points Gained/Lost

Team | Average | 2019 | 2018 | 2017
Texas | 105.33 | 80 | 46 | 190
California | 97.67 | 158 | 97 | 38
Georgia | 53.67 | 19.5 | 79.5 | 62
Stanford | 53.17 | 22 | 75.5 | 62
USC | 48.67 | 11 | 74 | 61
...

2020-2021 NCAA MEN'S SWIMMING & DIVING POWER RANKS: FINAL EDITION

#10: MICHIGAN WOLVERINES (-1)

#9: NC STATE WOLFPACK (-3)

#8: TEXAS A&M AGGIES (-3)

#7: INDIANA HOOSIERS (+1)

#6: OHIO STATE BUCKEYES (+5)

#5: LOUISVILLE CARDINALS (+2)
The Cardinals were firing on all cylinders en route to their first-ever ACC Championship. Of 12 NCAA qualifiers, only 4 are currently seeded to score. That seems to be a bit of a double-edged sword, as they have a lot of room to improve on seed, but also a lot of room to slip if any of the four scorers are off their game. Louisville has generally proven an ability to swim fast as both ACCs and NCAAs over the last few years.

#4: GEORGIA BULLDOGS (-1)
Georgia sits 4th in psych sheet points and that's with star freshman Luca Urlando sitting just 7th in both butterflys. There's no guarantee he moves up from there, but it seems very possible. Fellow rookie Jake Magahey had an incredible SEC meet and has a shot for several top-3 finishes in distance free.

#3: FLORIDA GATORS (+1)
Internally, we've have a bit of debate about just how much improvement to expect from Florida, especially when guys like Kieran Smith were apparently shaved and pretty much fully tapered for SECs. But, you can have the same debate about any other team that's close to them, putting the Gators in the driver's seat for a 3rd-place finish. And yes, clearly Adam Chaney was ready to step up and take over that medley relay anchor, and much more

#2: CAL GOLDEN BEARS (-)
On paper, the Golden Bears should outswim the Longhorns by a decent margin. A key returner will be senior Sean Grieshop, who made three A-finals in 2019, but is only seeded to score nine points. It looks like Daniel Carr will end on the medley relays, and Cal should be in the running for both medley relay titles. Heck, they could be top two in all five relays.

#1: TEXAS LONGHORNS (-)
Even after cutting a couple of scoring swimmers, Texas is only seeded to score about 30 points less than Cal. That should be enough of a margin for their divers to make up, and there's some room for a good chunk of the roster to move up. And no, we're still not sure if Drew Kibler will swim the 200 free relay or not.

UrsusArctosCalifornicus said:

---

NCAA MEN'S TEAMS RANKED BY AVERAGE CHANGE FROM SEEDED POINTS

In anticipation of the 2021 Men's NCAA Swimming & Diving Championships, we've scored out the psych sheets. But exactly how much does that tell us?

In an effort to see how teams typically perform relative to their seeded points, we've gone back over the past several years to come up with team-by-team averages of points gained or lost from seed.

• The numbers are swimming points only we've factored out diving, where no good version of a psych sheet exists.

NCAA Change From Seed (Historic) : Men's NCAA Points Gained/Lost

Team | Average | 2019 | 2018 | 2017
Texas | 105.33 | 80 | 46 | 190
California | 97.67 | 158 | 97 | 38
Georgia | 53.67 | 19.5 | 79.5 | 62
Stanford | 53.17 | 22 | 75.5 | 62
USC | 48.67 | 11 | 74 | 61
...

---

Pretty crazy to see exactly how much the top teams gain from seed on average, especially when you think that Texas, Cal, et al. tend to already have high seeds going into NCs.

Hoping the men have a great meet this week. Go Bears!

NCAA MEN'S SWIMMING & DIVING CHAMPIONSHIPS: SCORING CHEAT SHEET



In this year of unknowns and uncertainty, we can't say for sure if the men will react to the double-taper-after-training-interruptions the same way as the women will.

below are two versions of the 2021 Men's NCAA Swimming & Diving Championships "scorecards," or "cheatsheets" if you will.

They show, based only on swimming scoring, how many points each team is expected to score. Diving will impact this. So will tapers (or lack thereof).





Consider this scoring to be a baseline more than it will be predictive.

• In the event-by-event, you'll see a moment where Cal will go from trailing Texas to leading, a lead that, based on swimming, they wouldn't give up. In real life, we know that Texas has lots of diving points due, and Cal doesn't have very many. Cal needs this inflection to happen about as pictured to have a chance. That event is specifically the 200 back, where Cal has 3 of the top 4 seeds. That makes Texas' Austin Katz, seeded just 15th but on paper a national title contender, a crucial swim there for the Longhorns.

----------

EVENT-BY-EVENT BREAKDOWNS & PREDICTIONS FOR THE 2021 MEN'S NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS

Five Storylines for the Men's NCAA Swimming Champs: Texas-Cal Again, Record Chase and More



Two teams displayed utter dominance over men's NCAA swimming in the 2010s: Texas and California. In nine of those 10 years, the Longhorns and Golden Bears occupied the top two spots at the national championships meet in some order. The only exception came in 2013, when Michigan won the meet - with Cal finishing second and Texas third. Along the way, the programs have produced scores of swimmers who have gone on to international acclaim and comprised the backbone of U.S. national teams, but as those swimmers have graduated, more have emerged to sustain the pace of these two programs.

Before the NCAA championships were canceled in 2020, the psych sheet projections showed that Texas would win the meet, reclaiming the title that Cal had snatched away the year before, and Cal would finish second. So of all the storylines to watch heading into this year's meet, the most significant is

1. Cal vs. Texas, Again

This year's psych sheet projections show Cal scoring 449 points and Texas at 428. That doesn't include diving, where the Longhorns typically get a boost, so you can expect another nail-biter between the two stalwarts. The third-seeded team, Florida, is projected more than 100 points behind.

This year's Texas team has the most individual qualifiers for the meet (18), and the team will rely on junior freestyler Drew Kibler and versatile freshman star Carson Foster to lead the way, with Foster's older brother Jake, sprinter Daniel Krueger and butterflyer Alvin Jiang among the others who could score big points.

Cal, as is typically the case, has a loaded sprint crew led by Ryan Hoffer and Bjorn Seeliger, along with breaststroke star Reece Whitley, a trio of impressive backstrokers and IMer Hugo Gonzalez.

Cal coach Dave Durden, also the head men's coach for the U.S. Olympic team, is in his 14th season with the Bears, meaning that he hasn't finished below second place since his second year on the job.

Plenty of swimmers add from their seed times at NCAAs, but Cal and Texas are consistently among the biggest improvers of the meet. On the biggest stage of college swimming, the Bears and Longhorns always come through with big efforts. So once again, these two programs will square off for a national crown.

3. Best Race of the Men's NCAA Swimming Championships? 200 Fly

The last individual race of the meet could be the best, with five men seeded under 1:40, and all of them are among the 15 fastest performers in history. The favorite is Cal's Trenton Julian, who swam a 1:38.53 at the Pac-12 championships, making him the third-fastest performer ever behind the Texas Olympic gold medalist duo of Jack Conger and Joseph Schooling. The 22-year-old finished sixth in the event at NCAAs two years ago, but he has knocked a whopping two seconds off his lifetime best this season.

4. Records? Watch Out for Shaine Casas and Others

In the 200 breast, meanwhile, Whitley improved to second all-time earlier this season, with a 1:48.53, behind only Will Licon (1:47.91) and ahead of former American record-holder Cordes. Whitley holds the Cal school record, which is particularly significant when you remember that the previous record-holders were Olympian Josh Prenot and 2019 NCAA champion Seliskar. Whitley has a strong chance to make a record run in Greensboro.

5. Who From NCAAs Could Impact the Olympic Team?

Can someone like Foster or Whitley match up with veteran professionals in their respective events to make a mark at Trials?

2021 MEN'S NCAAS NIGHT 1 PREVIEW: TEXAS FAVORED, BUT MOMENTUM MATTERS

• When: Wednesday, March 24 Saturday, March 27, 2021
• Where: Greensboro Aquatic Center / Greensboro, NC (Eastern Time Zone)
• Prelims 10 AM/ Finals 6 PM (U.S. Eastern Time)
• Short course yards (SCY) format
• Defending champion: Cal (1x) 2019 results
• Streaming: ESPN3
• Championship Central
• Psych Sheets
• Live Results

DAY 1 TIMED FINALS HEAT SHEET

Tonight we will be treated to the first NCAA Swimming & Diving Championships race since racing wrapped up at the 2019 edition of the meet on March 30, 2019. Night 1 of the meet will only feature one event in the form of the 800 freestyle relay timed final.

This one race will tell us a lot about expectations for the rest of the meet.

For Texas, the top seed by a wide margin, a win is a must.

For Cal, a runner-up finish would give them some boost of confidence as this is arguably the Golden Bears' weakest relay on paper. Pay attention to the splits and the time margin here. If Trenton Julian can go 1:31 low, if Destin Lasco can mirror his Pac-12 1:33-low leadoff leg, if Daniel Carr can get under 1:34, if Zach Yeadon can get under 1:33 again, those are all good signs for the Bears.

We don't know yet exactly who Texas is going to use on this relay. They have enough of a gap, on paper, over the rest of the country to not be at their best and still win, but the signs Texas will be something south of the 6:07.34 they swam at the Texas Hall of Fame Invitational.

Texas will be joined in the fastest heat of tonight's final by Cal, Florida, and Texas A&M, who were the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th pick, respectively on our top 8 picks earlier this week

Bears take 2nd in the 800 FR (6:08.68). Julian (1:31.41), Carr (1:33.14), Lasco (1:32.13), and B. Mefford (1:32.00) with a great anchor leg to move the Bears from 4th in the heat at the last exchange to 2nd. New PB for Julian leading off.

swimmer19 said:

---

Bears take 2nd in the 800 FR (6:08.68). Julian (1:31.41), Carr (1:33.14), Lasco (1:32.13), and B. Mefford (1:32.00) with a great anchor leg to move the Bears from 4th in the heat at the last exchange to 2nd. New PB for Julian leading off.

---

Echoed my thoughts exactly - glad to see Julian with another PB, and good on Mefford for bringing home silver for the Bears. Sizable drop of almost a second, considering Julian just set his 1:32.29 PB when he took second at PAC-12s. Pretty good splits all around, drops for all four men from conferences a few weeks ago.

Didn't realize there's nobody in the 1:31 range on the all-time top 10 list. Seli holds the 1:30.14 school record, and Julian held second with his 1:32.29 time, but with his drop tonight, he occupies the sole 1:31 time (still 2nd) in history. Good start, hope the men keep it going!

Bears go 2/1 for finals tonight. Grieshop (4:11.12) and Julian (4:11.60) are seeded 4th and 6th, but Yeadon misses and is 12th (4:12.96).

Freshmen Kopp (43rd, 4:20.99) and Rose (47th, 4:21.53) had good swims in the early heat, but I think they were likely tapered at Pacs to make NCs.

Texas with 1/2 in finals. They also have 3 of the first 5 swimmers out of finals.

swimmer19 said:

---

Bears go 2/1 for finals tonight. Grieshop (4:11.12) and Julian (4:11.60) are seeded 4th and 6th, but Yeadon misses and is 12th (4:12.96).

Freshmen Kopp (43rd, 4:20.99) and Rose (47th, 4:21.53) had good swims in the early heat, but I think they were likely tapered at Pacs to make NCs.

Texas with 1/2 in finals. They also have 3 of the first 5 swimmers out of finals.

---

Just got on to check results, really psyched!!!

Crikey, Lasco completely shattering his old best of 1:44.59 from March 2018 with a massive 1:40.61 to claim the top seed for the 200 IM!!!

Hoffer making a beary dominant statement with his 18.43 pool record in the 50 Free (now the 2nd fastest in this event after Dressel?)

The whole team earning scoring berths in tonight's finals across the board, brill!

Go Bears!!!!

Didn't catch the swim live, but huge 5-second drop from seed/previous PB for freshman Lasco (heat 2) to take top going into tonight. 1:40.61, as reported on here as well:

DESTIN LASCO BECOMES FASTEST FRESHMAN IN HISTORY AFTER MONSTER 200 IM DROP

200 IM: Cal 2/3 to Texas 1/3
A-final: Lasco and Gonzalez (currently seeds 1/3) vs. C Foster (4). Casas from A&M will make a big push tonight.
B-final: Mefford, Carr, Whitley (seeds 9/11/15) vs. J Foster, Corbeau, and Vines

RYAN HOFFER MOVES TO #2 ALL-TIME WITH 18.43 IN NCAA 50 FREE PRELIMS

50 free: Cal 2/0 to Texas 1/0
A-final: Hoffer becomes second-fastest all time, 18.43, to take top seed by 0.45s. Seeliger seeded 3rd in 18.91. Texas gets Krueger in for a night swim (19.13, seeded 7th).

Cal is 6/3 and Texas is 3/5.
Day 2 Prelim Report

Overall we end up at Cal 6/4 and Texas 5/6. Cal projects to score something like 20 more points than Texas tonight including diving (but not relays). So should be a slim lead going into tomorrow. Rough miss for Mefford in the 200 IM, though still an encouraging swim for his backstrokes. Carr and Yeadon somewhat concerning, hopefully they come back big tonight.

For tomorrow I predict:
4IM: Cal 2/1, Texas 2/1
100 fly: Cal 1/0, Texas 1/0
200 free: Cal 1/0, Texas 1/1
100 breast: Cal 1/0, Texas 1/0
100 back: Cal 3/0, Texas 2/1
3M dive: Cal 0/0, Texas 2/1

Total: Cal 8/1, Texas 10/3

I think Cal probably looks better for relays, so probably a slight deficit heading into the final day. I think day 2 is Texas's best day and the Bears will come back with the 200s of stroke, but I don't know if it'll be enough. I'd guess last day is something like Cal 10/1, Texas 8/4.

Texas has two divers in the A-Final tonight in 3rd and 4th. Their third scoring diver placed 16th so scoring 1 point.

Won't be around for the rest of the night, but Rowdy just tweeted out relay lineups for the 200 FR. Bjorn leading off, Hoff, Carr, and Biondi anchoring.

Bears take home gold in the 200 FR-R over Florida. Happy to see Biondi get a gold! Great swims from the four; splits of 18.72 (Bjrn), 18.06 (Hoff), 18.51 (Carr), and 19.07 (Biondi) 1:14.36.

500 free: Yeadon moves up from seed to win the B-final in 4:11.37.

Julian goes out in a blistering 46.2 and 1:36.45 (at the 100 and 200, respectively) to lead the field for most of the race before Magahey, Smith, and Fail close on him. Ends up taking 4th in 4:09.78 while Grieshop takes 7th in 4:11.82.

200 IM:
Mefford (1:41.86), Carr, Whitley go 1-5-6 in the B-final.

Hugo and Lasco go 2-3 in the A-final. Best times for both, with Hugo sneaking under 1:40 (1:39.99) and Lasco just over (1:40.01). Foster takes 4th for Texas, and Casas wins (1:39.53). Hugo and Destin also close the fastest (24.01 and 23.80) of all swimmers in the heat. Go Bears!

Bears go 1-2 in the 50 free for the second championship in a row (2019 and 2021). 18.33 for a new PB and school record for Hoffner, 18.71 for Seeliger. Fantastic!

HBear said:

---

Bears go 1-2 in the 50 free for the second championship in a row (2019 and 2021). 18.33 for a new PB and school record for Hoffner, 18.71 for Seeliger. Fantastic!

---

Damn..Bears on fire!! Go Bears!

Texas swings back hard at the end of the night, with 3 scoring divers in the 1 meter. Horns take a 1-2 finish for big points, then grab first in the 400 MR by 0.5s over Cal (3:00.23 to 3:00.73).

That being said, Lasco, Whitley, Hoffer, and Seeliger lower the school record, so a pretty solid swim. Just a dose of reality, if you will, that this will be a barn-burner for the remaining two days. Go Bears, keep the momentum up!