SMU Invitational: Rafael Gu Sets Pool Records in Winning 100 Fly
Rafael Gu set a pair of pool records for the Stanford men, who are well out in front after the first full day of the SMU Invitational.
Arkansas leads the women’s competition in Dallas, each of which are six-team races.
Gu set the pool record in this meet last season at 45.33. He went 45.03 in prelims to lower it, then 44.83 in finals to pick up the win. Gu bested teammate Jonathan Tan, who was second in 46.16. Utah’s Finn Winkler went 46.50 for third place, a tenth up on teammate Evan VanBrocklin.
SMU Invitational Team Scores
Men - Team Rankings - Through Event 14 1. Stanford University 377 2. University of Utah 319 3. Southern Methodist University 286 4. Drury University 189 5. U.S. Air Force Academy (M) 165 6. University of Hawaii 123
Women - Team Rankings - Through Event 13 1. University of Arkansas 363.5 2. University of Hawaii 262 3. Southern Methodist University 256 4. University of Utah 238.5 5. Drury University 209 6. University of North Texas 105
Stanford opened the meet Wednesday with wins in the 200 medley relay and 800 free relay. Ethan Harrington, Zhier Fan, Gu and Tan went 1:23.83 to win in an NCAA provisional time. The 800 free quartet of Ethan Ekk, Andres Dupont Cabrera, Jason Zhao and Henry McFadden went 6:13.35. That’s an NCAA auto cut, and it set the pool record. That is a provisional NCAA time.
Stanford finished off Thursday’s session with a time of 1:16.31 in the 200 free relay via Ethan Harrington, Tan, Dupont Cabrera and Gu, Gu bringing it home in 18.61.
Ekk won the 400 individual medley on Thursday in 3:42.01. Utah’s Strahinja Maslo was second in 3:43.91. The next fastest times came from the B final, in Stanford’s Josh Zuchowski and Gibson Holmes. Zuchowski’s 3:46.01 is a NCAA cut. Third in the A final was Andy Baklanov of SMU.
McFadden was consistent in the 200 free, going 1:33.32 in prelims and 1:33.33 to win in the final. He was the first of four auto qualifiers for NCAAs in the 200 free, including Dupont Cabrera in third in 1:33.68.
Second place went to SMU’s Francis Brennan in 1:33.56. Utah’s Nick Chirafisi was fourth in 1:33.75.
Fan went the 100 breaststroke in 51.28, with teammate Daniel Li third in 52.11. Second in the race was SMU’s Kristaps Mikelsons in 51.96, and Tanner Wilson of Air Force was fourth in 52.51. The top four are under the A cut.
On the women’s side, Arkansas picked up the 800 free relay on Wednesday and the 200 free relay Thursday. The team of Sydney Craft, Harriet Rogers, Tammy Greenwood and Viola Petrini went 7:07.45, less than a second ahead of SMU. Rogers, Greenwood, Delaney Harrison and Petrini went 1:29.10 to win the shorter relay, .68 up on SMU.
Rogers posted a time of 52.45 to win the 100 fly, a time that snuck .07 under the NCAA standard. AnneMarie Vlaic of SMU finished second in 53.38, with Hawaii teammates Holly Nelson and Mia Blazevska Eminova third and fourth with 53s. (Harrison won the B final in 53.90.)
Rogers doubled up by winning the 200 free in 1:46.56, claiming a race in which the top our were separated y three tenths. Fourth was Petrini in 1:46.87, with Greenwood fifth. Utah’s Isabella Riso finished second in 1:46.67, and Maddy Parker of SMU was third in 1:46.82.
Holly Robinson won the 400 IM in 4:12.26 to secure an NCAA cut. She was two seconds up on Utah’s Ella Derby, who went 4:14.12. Carlotta Ingenerf of Hawaii led a trio of 4:18s in third place.
Hawaii interrupted the Arkansas blockade Thursday via Zofia Tyminska. She went 1:00.41 to get the win. Utah’s Erin Palmer and SMU’s Izzy Krantzcke tied for second in 1:00.95.
SMU had opened with a win in the 200 medley relay. Jimena Leal, Krantzcke, Parker and Summer Osborne went 1:38.25 to edge Hawaii by .06 seconds and Arkansas by three tenths. All three are outside the provisional standard.
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