400 IM

NCAA Record: 3:56.54 (Katinka Hosszu - USC, 2012)
Meet Record: 3:56.54 (Katinka Hosszu - USC, 2012)
American Record: 3:57.68 (Katie Ledecky - Stanford, 2017)
US Open Record: 3:56.54 (Katinka Hosszu - USC, 2012)

​As expected, the defending NCAA champion in this event, ​Ella Eastin​, takes the top seed this morning with a 4:03.47. Eastin was neck and neck with her Stanford teammate ​Allie Szekely ​​​at the 200, but made her move on the breaststroke leg to take command of the race and secure the number one spot. No surprise in the second through fourth spots as ​Sydney Pickrem​ (4:03.63), ​Madisyn Cox​ (4:04.03), and ​Bethany Galat ​(4:04.65) all placed in the top five in last night's 200 IM. Eastin is certainly the favorite as she is the defending champion, but the three girls behind her will be in striking distance and have a shot to take the title. We could certainly see multiple people under the 4:00 barrier.

​1.)​ Ella Eastin (Stanford): 4:03.47
2.) Sydney Pickrem (Texas A&M): 4:03.63
3.) Madisyn Cox (Texas): 4:04.03
4.) Bethany Galat (Texas A&M): 4:04.65
5.) Bailey Andison (Denver): 4:04.84
6.) Lindsey Clary (Ohio State): 4:05.58
7.) Reka Gyorgy (Virginia Tech): 4:05.87
8.) Sharli Brady (Mizzou): 4:06.00
16.) Kathryn Painter (Kentucky): 4:07.88

100 BUTTERFLY

NCAA Record: 49.43 (Kelsi Worrell - Louisville, 2016)
Meet Record: 49.43 (Kelsi Worrell - Louisville, 2016)
American Record: 49.43 (Kelsi Worrell - Louisville, 2016)
US Open Record: 49.43 (Kelsi Worrell - Louisville, 2016)

Talk about close... The top four seeds this morning are separated by only six one hundredths of a second -- 50.71 to 50.77. What's even scarier is that every lady in this final has been 50 point this season. ​Noemie Thomas​ of Cal leads the way with a 50.71 with ​Louise Hansson​ of Souther Cal in second with a 50.74 and ​Hellen Moffit​ (UNC) and ​Farida Osman​ (Cal) tied for third with a 50.77. You can't count out ​Sarah Gibson​, last year's runner-up from Texas A&M, who is tied for fifth with ​Janet Hu​ (Cal) in 51.09. Speaking of Hu, she holds the fastest time in the country this season with a 50.38 from Pac-12's. Shew... tonight's final is completely unpredictable, but certain to be a great race. Every single swimmer has a legitimate chance of winning.​
​
For those who don't like uncertainty, take faith in that nobody will touch ​Kelsi Worrell's​ record of 49.43.

​1.) Noemie Thomas (California): 50.71​
2.) Lousie Hansson (USC): 50.74
3.) Hellen Moffitt (UNC): 50.77
3.) Farida Osman (California): 50.77
5.) Janet Hu (Stanford): 51.09
5.) Sarah Gibson (Texas A&M): 51.09
7.) Gia D'alessandro (Indiana): 51.27
8.) Liz Li (Ohio State): 51.45
16.) Tayla Lovemore (Florida): 52.12

200 FREESTYLE

NCAA Record: 1:39.10 (Missy Franklin - Cal, 2015)
Meet Record: 1:39.19 (Missy Franklin - Cal, 2015)
American Record: 1:39.10 (Missy Franklin - Cal, 2015)
US Open Record: 1:39.10 (Missy Franklin - Cal, 2015)

All eyes will be on the middle of the pool tonight with ​Simone Manuel​ and ​Katie Ledecky.​​ The two Stanford teammates took the top seed this morning with a 1:41.81 and 1:42.02, respectively. This will be a battle of race strategy as Manuel will take it out fast to the 100 and Ledecky will look to close. At Pac-12's, Manuel took it out 48.2 to go 1:40.27 and Ledecky was out 1.2 seconds slower in 49.4 to go 1:40.50. The key for Ledecky will be to keep Manuel in her sight so she has enough room to close. ​Mallory Comerford​ of Louisville will certainly be a contender as well. She was last year's runner-up in this event and had the fastest split (1:40.21) in the 800 freestyle relay Wednesday night -- a field that included Manuel and Ledecky.

​​​1.)​ Simone Manuel (Stanford): 1:41.81
2.) Katie Ledecky (Stanford): 1:42.02
3.) Leah Smith (Virginia): 1:42.86
4.) Mallory Comerford (Louisville): 1:42.99
5.) Siobhan Haughey (Michigan): 1:43.03
6.) Jacqueline Keire (Cincinnati): 1:43.27
7.) Gabrielle Deloof (Michigan): 1:43.50
8.) Claire Rasmus (Texas A&M): 1:43.73
16.) Nicole Stafford (Stanford): 1:44.96

100 BREASTSTROKE

NCAA Record: 56.30 (Lilly King - Indiana, 2017)
Meet Record: 56.85 (Lilly King - Indiana, 2016)
American Record: 56.30 (Lilly King - Indiana, 2017)
US Open Record: 56.30 (Lilly King - Indiana, 2017)

​Lilly King​ of Indiana is the top seed in this morning's 100 breaststroke with a 57.38. Are we surprised? Of course not. Lilly is the King... err Queen?... of sprint breaststroke as she is the fastest performer of all time by a significant margin. Last night after the 400 medley relay King noted, "I am going to be racing myself tomorrow." One thing is for sure, she has never been afraid to speak the truth and is very confident in her speed. Could we see a 55 tonight? I might throw up, but I sure hope so.

Putting up a good fight with King in their prelims heat was ​Lindsey Horejsi​ of Minnesota who secured the second seed with a 58.23. ​Natalie Pierce ​of Florida State snagged the third spot with a 58.38. Barring anything extreme, King will take the victory tonight. However, second through sixth is bunched very tightly with a lot of 58's. The interesting thing about this race is that it will feature swimmers from schools who aren't fighting in the top five of the team race.

1.) Lilly King (Indiana): 57.38
2.) Lindsey Horejsi (Minnesota): 58.23
3.) Natalie Pierce (Florida State): 58.38
4.) Kayla Brumbaum (NC State): 58.54
5.) Laura Simon (Virginia): 58.58
6.) Andrea Cottrell (Louisville): 58.65
7.) Katharine Ross (Missouri): 59.00
8.) Emma Sougstad (Iowa): 59.06
16.) Riley Scott (USC): 59.81

100 BACKSTROKE

NCAA Record: 49.69 (Ally Howe - Stanford, 2017)
Meet Record: 49.80 (Kathleen Baker - Cal, 2017)
American Record: 49.69 (Ally Howe - Stanford, 2017)
US Open Record: 49.69 (Ally Howe - Stanford, 2017)

Seven girls under 51? First through seventh separated by only six tenths of a second? Tonight's final is going to be one hell of a race. ​Olivia Smoliga ​of Georgia took the top seed with a 50.31, but don't expect her to take this one easily. ​Hannah Stevens ​of Missouri will be nipping at her out of lane five as she had a strong prelim swim of 50.61 for the second seed. ​Kathleen Baker​ of Cal, who broke the meet record with the second-fastest performance in history last night with a 49.80 in Cal's 400 medley relay, is the third seed this morning with a 50.63. ​Ally Howe ​of Stanford, the fastest performer of all-time with a 49.69 from Pac-12's last month is the fifth seed with a 50.80. You cannot overlook her Stanford teammate ​Janet Hu​, either. The Cardinal junior is seeded fourth with a 50.75.

​1.) Olivia Smoliga (Georgia): 50.31
2.) Hannah Stevens (Missouri): 50.61
3.) Kathleen Baker (Cal): 50.63
4.) Janet Hu (Stanford): 50.75
5.) Ally Howe (Stanford): 50.80
6.) Hellen Moffitt (UNC): 50.94
7.) Nadine Laemmler (Missouri): 50.96
8.) Claire Adams (Texas): 51.10
16.) Asia Seidt (Kentucky): 51.73

200 MEDLEY RELAY

NCAA Record: 1:34.15 (Stanford, 2016)
Meet Record: 1:34.24 (Cal, 2012)
American Record: 1:34.15 (Stanford, 2016)
US Open Record: 1:34.15 (Stanford, 2016)

The Texas A&M ladies claimed the top seed this morning with a 1:35.59 behind a MONSTER ​25.54 breaststroke split from ​Jorie Caneta. ​Caneta's time is unofficially the fastest split in history (we will confirm), narrowly slipping past ​Lilly King's​ 25.55 from Big Ten's last month. NC State claimed the second spot led by a 26.06 breaststroke leg from ​Kayla Brumbaum​ and a strong anchor from ​Ky-lee Perry​ in 21.32. The California Golden Bears squad will be in the third position tonight with a 1:35.93. Interestingly enough, ​Abbey Weitzeil​ swam the breaststroke leg for Cal, splitting a 27.58 and showing speed is speed regardless of stroke. Keep an eye out for Stanford in lane eight tonight. The Cardinal did not have a great prelim swim, nearly two seconds slower than their 1:34.32 from Pac-12's, but they will certainly be stronger in the final.

​1.)​ Texas A&M: 1:35.59
2.) NC State: 1:35.77
3.) California: 1:35.93
4.) Arizona: 1:36.02
5.) Indiana: 1:36.03
6.) Missouri: 1:36.17
7.) Southern Cal: 1:36.18
8.) Stanford: 1:36.24
16.) Auburn: 1:37.36