2023 TENNESSEE INVITATION
We’re ready for some fun matchups on night three of the 2023 Tennessee Invitational with Virginia, Tennessee, Alabama, Arkansas and Kentucky.
Tennessee Junior Jordan Crooks will compete against his second-year teammate Gui Caribe in the men’s 100 m free. Tennessee senior Mona McSharryVirginia, fifth year Ella Nelsonand Virginia senior Alex Walsh will challenge in the women’s 200 breaststroke. And Virginia Jr Gretchen Walsh She is expected to swim the 100m free butterfly on Friday evening, just as she did this morning en route to the 8th seed in the prelims.
Stay tuned below for live updates:
WOMEN: 1650 YARD FREE – TIMED FINAL
- NCAA record: 15:03.31 – Katie Ledecky, Stanford (2017)
- 2024 NCAA “A” Standard: 15:52.41
- 2023 NCAA Invitational Time: 16:13.73
Top 8:
Virginia freshman Cavan Gormsen won the first race of the evening with a time of 16:08.99, about 11 seconds behind her personal best of 15:57.20 from last December.
Tennessee senior Aly Breslin was just a few seconds back at 16:11.65, about 20 seconds behind her personal best of 15:50.80 from March. As a Virginia fifth-grader, she was nearly 10 seconds ahead of the rest of the field Madelyn Donohoe 3rd place in 16:21.19.
MEN: 1650 YARD FREE – TIMED FINAL
- NCAA record: 14:12.08 – Bobby Finke, Florida (2020)
- 2024 NCAA “A” Standard: 14:37.31
- 2023 NCAA Invitational Time: 14:53.84
Top 8:
Tennessee senior Joey Tepper broke the 15-minute mark for the first time with a personal best of 14:56.76, beating his previous best of 15:00.33 from January 2022 by a few seconds.
Tepper enjoyed a 1-2-3 record with other Vols seniors Jake Narvid And Rafael Ponce De Leon. Narvid’s second-place finish of 14:58.90 was just one second behind his personal best of 14:57.85 set in February 2022. Ponce De Leon was further back at 15:11.56, about six seconds shy of his personal best of 15: 05.79 from February 2022.
Reigning SEC champion Levi Sandidge of Kentucky did not compete this week due to an undisclosed illness.
WOMEN’S 200 YARD BACKBACK – FINAL
- NCAA record: 1:47.24 – Beata Nelson, Wisconsin (2019)
- 2024 NCAA “A” Standard: 1:50.50
- 2023 NCAA Invited Time: 1:53.34
Top 8:
Virginia secured three of the top four spots in the women’s 200-meter dash as a junior Ella Bathurst (1:54.08) sneaked past his junior colleague Reilly Tiltman (1:54.13) with just 0.05 seconds ahead of the top spot.
Bathurst was up to 1:53.32 in March 2022, while Tiltmann set a personal best of 1:49.63 in March 2022.
Sophomore student in Kentucky Grace Frericks Prevented a UVA podium victory by defeating the freshman Tess Howley (1:54.92) for 3rd place with a time of 1:54.73. Frericks was a few seconds off her lifetime best, while Howley was only about a second off her best.
MEN’S 200 YARD BACKBACK – FINAL
- NCAA record: 1:35.73 – Ryan Murphy, Cal (2016)
- 2024 NCAA “A” Standard: 1:39.13
- 2023 NCAA Invited Time: 1:40.62
Top 8:
Alabama freshman Tommy Hagar shaved more than a second off his lifetime best and triumphed in the men’s 200m backstroke with a winning time of 1:43.09. His previous best was 1:43.09 from March.
Virginia freshman Will Thompson He also achieved a new personal best of 1:42.24 and took 2nd place. He was more than a second off his previous best of 1:43.57 from last December.
Tennessee senior Harrison Lierz (1:42.82) placed 3rd ahead of fifth-year Alabama Jake Marcum by almost a tenth of a second.
WOMEN’S 100 YARD FREE – FINAL
- NCAA record: 45.56 – Simone Manuel, Stanford (2017)
- 2024 NCAA “A” Standard: 47.18
- 2023 NCAA Invite Time: 48.37
Top 8:
Gretchen Walsh swam the fastest 100 meters ever with a time of 48.30, but is not considered an official record because she swam in the final of the 100 meters free. USA Swimming has a rule that states: “Regardless of the strokes used, times achieved in freestyle events may only be recorded as freestyle times.”
Kate Douglass Technically, he still holds the NCAA, American and US Open records from last season’s NCAA Championships at 48.46.
Walsh’s progress in the event has been notable this year, as she has lost more than a second in the last nine months. She scored 49.89 at last year’s Tennessee Invitational and 49.34 at the ACC Championships in February.
Tennessee freshman Camille Spink She put in a tremendous swim and won the event ahead of Walsh. She posted a time of 47.28, almost a second shy of her previous best of 48.12 from March. Walsh was flanked by two freshmen as an Alabama freshman Cadence Vincent took 3rd place with a personal best of 48.44, almost a full second faster than her previous best of 49.25 from March.
Virginia Sr Maxine Parker (48.91) beat Tennessee Junior Brooklyn Doughwright (48.93) by just two hundredths of a second in a close battle for 4th place.
MEN’S 100 YARD FREE – FINAL
- NCAA record: 39.90 – Caeleb Dressel, Florida (2018)
- 2024 NCAA “A” Standard: 41.50
- 2023 NCAA Invite Time: 42.32
Top 8:
Tennessee Junior Jordan Crooks posted a nation-leading time of 41.08, surpassing his Brazilian teammate Gui Caribe in a quick 100 free final. Crooks was just 0.16 seconds off his personal best of 40.92 from March, while Caribe was just a few tenths off his personal best of 41.43 from February.
Alabama Juniors Charlie Hawke And Kaique Alves continued their strong performance this week, finishing 3rd and 4th respectively. Hawke reached the wall in 42.31 seconds, beating his previous best time of 42.35 seconds by 0.04 seconds. Alves was right behind at 42.36, tied with Virginia Senior Matt Brownstead for the 4th
WOMEN’S 200 YARD BREAST – FINAL
- NCAA record: 2:01.29 – Kate DouglassVirginia (2023)
- 2024 NCAA “A” Standard: 2:05.73
- 2023 NCAA Invited Time: 2:09.68
Top 8:
Virginia Sr Alex Walsh put in a great swim and edged out his teammate in a heavyweight 200 breaststroke final Ella Nelson (2:06.10) and Tennessee Senior Mona McSharry (2:06.64).
Walsh was just one second off her personal best of 2:03.02 set in February 2022. Nelson and McSharry were both a few seconds off their best times of 2:04.33 and 2:04.59, respectively, both set in March .
Fifth year at Arkansas Alessia Ferraguti took 4th place with a time of 2:07.53, improving by more than a second from her previous best of 2:08.98 from March.
South African freestyle specialist Aimee Canny She turned heads with a time of 2:08.49 in the 200m B final, which would have placed her 6th just behind Alabama Junior in the A final tonight Avery Wiseman (2:08.24). Canny, a sophomore at Virginia, was more than four seconds off her previous best of 2:12.97 from a few weeks ago.
MEN’S 200 YARD BREAST – FINAL
- NCAA record: 1:46.91 – Leon Marchand, Arizona State (2023)
- 2024 NCAA “A” Standard: 1:51.09
- 2023 NCAA Invited Time: 1:52.94
Top 8:
Virginia Jr Scooter Iida (1:53.22) caused something of an upset in the 200 breaststroke against his experienced teammate Noah Nichols (1:54.20), only 0.04 seconds shy of his lifetime best (1:53.26) from February. Nichols was more than two seconds faster with a personal best of 1:51.97 from February.
Alabama senior Michael Deans took 3rd place with a time of 1:54.71, more than two seconds ahead of the rest of the field. Deans had a huge time loss, shaving more than a second off his previous best of 1:56.24 from December 2021.
Tennessee freshman Jed Garner With his 4th place finish in 1:57.16, he was only a few tenths shy of his personal best of 1:56.82.
WOMEN’S 200 YARD FLY – FINAL
- NCAA record: 1:49.51 – Ella Eastin, Stanford (2018)
- 2024 NCAA “A” Standard: 1:52.86
- 2023 NCAA Invited Time: 1:55.92
Top 8:
Virginia Sr Abby Harter posted a time of 1:54.71 to hold off the Arkansas sophomore Betsy Wizard (1:54.93) for the 200 fly win. Harter was as fast as 1:53.28 in March, while Wizard was six tenths of a second shy of her personal best (1:54.33) from last November.
Virginia freshman Maggie Schalow She put in an impressive performance in the swim en route to 3rd place, posting a personal best of 1:55.28 to beat her fellow UVA freshmen Tess Howley (1:55.52) and Lainey Mullins (1:56.49). Schalow shaved more than a second off her previous best time of 1:56.75 from last November. Howley pulled off a tough one-two after finishing 4th in the 200m earlier in the session.
MEN’S 200 YARD FLY – FINAL
- NCAA record: 1:37.35 – Jack Conger, Texas (2017)
- 2024 NCAA “A” Standard: 1:40.16
- 2023 NCAA Invitational Time: 1:42.57
Top 8:
Tennessee sophomore Martin Espernberger sailed to victory in the 200 fly with a time of 1:41.78, just half a second shy of his personal best of 1:41.39 at the 2023 NCAA Championships, where he placed 9th. This season his time ranks 4th in the NCAA.
Sophomore student in Kentucky Ryan Merani took 2nd place in 1:43.28, just under a tenth ahead of the Virginia sophomore Sebastien Sergile (1:43.41). Both were closing in on their best times as Merani achieved a time of 1:42.91 in February and Sergile’s lifetime best was 1:43.22 in February.
WOMEN’S 400 YARD FREE RELAY – FINAL
- NCAA record: 3:05.84 – Virginia (Douglass, A. Walsh, Parker, G. Walsh) – 2023
- 2024 NCAA “A” Standard: 3:14.10
- 2024 NCAA “B” Standard: 3:16.25
Top 8:
Virginia’s Quartet Jasmine Nocentini (46.75), Maxine Parker (48.33), Gretchen Walsh (45.18) and Alex Walsh (47.34), combined for a 400 free of 3:07.60 – just a few seconds over the Cavaliers’ NCAA record from last season.
Nocentini, an Italian transfer from Northwestern, fell more than a full second off her previous best of 100 free minutes (47.76). In the meantime, Gretchen Walsh managed the fastest 100 relay split ever, her 45.18 was slightly faster than Maggie MacNeil45.26 from the 2023 SEC Championships in February.
Tennessee’s team of Mona McSharry (48.78), Brooklyn Doughwright (49.11), Jasmine Rumley (49.14) and Camille Spink (46.61) prevailed over Alabama’s team Jada Scott (48.21), Cadence Vincent (48.28), Kailyn Winters (49.25) and Diana Petkova (48.21) for second place. The Vols reached the wall in 3:13.64, just a few tenths ahead of the Crimson Tide at 3:13.95.
Virginia, Tennessee and Alabama all finished under the 2024 NCAA A average of 3:14.10.
MEN’S 400 YARD FREE RELAY – FINAL
- NCAA record: 2:44.07 – Florida (Liendo, Chaney, Smith, McDuff) – 2023
- 2024 NCAA “A” Standard: 2:50.44
- 2024 NCAA “B” Standard: 2:51.86
Top 8:
After winning the individual 100-meter dash in 41.08, Tennessee junior Jordan Crooks He returned at the end of the session and posted a 41.03 lead to pull the Vols (2:47.61) past Alabama (2:47.95) by a few tenths. Both quartets achieved the 2024 NCAA A standard of 2:50.44.
Crooks joined in Gui Caribe (41.18), Nikoli Blackman (43.23) and Micah Chambers (42.17) over Tennessee’s winning team.
Alabama Juniors Kaique Alves (41.44 divided) and Charlie Hawke (41.45) led the Crimson Tide in the relay’s middle distances. Zarek Wilson led in 42.89 and Tim Korstanje anchored in 42.17.