03-05-2017, 10:56 AM
Matt:
Coach Knapp was entirely realistic in identifying 4th at NCAAs as about the best to which the team can aspire. Texas is the favorite this year, and off the top of my head, they have 3 swimmers who participated in the last Olympics (including Joseph Schooling, who beat Michael Phelps in the 100 meter fly to win the event). They have a number of other swimmers who placed in the A-finals at NCAA last year., as well as a strong diving team. The Texas men's team is similar in top-level talent to the Stanford women's team.
The next two strongest teams, which are also a cut above Stanford, are Cal and NC State. Cal has the Olympic champion in 100 and 200 meter backstroke, Ryan Murphy, along with Andrew Seliskar, a sophomore who is six for six in winning events at Pac-12 over his two years (and a high place finisher at NCAAs last year), and generally good depth. NC State is strong in sprinting, which pays big dividends on relays. Relays are massive point generators at NCAAs (whereas they matter much less at Pac-12s) and 4 out of 5 are sprint distances.
Stanford's men's team is made up of a lot of swimmers and divers who are good enough to score fairly high at the conference meet, but who will be pressed big time to make the top 16 at NCAAs. They are weak in the sprinting department. They'll take a large team to NCAAs, especially if they can qualify some divers (with the qualifying zone meet upcoming this week), but just not enough difference makers.
By the way, their best two swimmers are freshman, which would seem to bode well for the future, but unfortunately, their 2017 matriculating recruiting class is only fair, relative to aspirations of winning NCAAs. (It's a class that most schools would love, but on paper, not likely to move them ahead of the teams noted above.)
But for now, it'll be fun to see where in the range of, say, 4th to 10th, they come out at NCAAs. I find it an especially fun meet to follow, insofar as the swimmers are so bunched together in terms of times that anyone who qualifies for the meet has a chance to score. Then, if he makes the "A" or "B" final in the morning in, say, 7th or 8th (bottom of the A final) or 15th or 16th place, he has the opportunity to move up at night. In other words, every swim/every swimmer matters, as teams are scratching and clawing for every point they can get. So stay tuned.
Coach Knapp was entirely realistic in identifying 4th at NCAAs as about the best to which the team can aspire. Texas is the favorite this year, and off the top of my head, they have 3 swimmers who participated in the last Olympics (including Joseph Schooling, who beat Michael Phelps in the 100 meter fly to win the event). They have a number of other swimmers who placed in the A-finals at NCAA last year., as well as a strong diving team. The Texas men's team is similar in top-level talent to the Stanford women's team.
The next two strongest teams, which are also a cut above Stanford, are Cal and NC State. Cal has the Olympic champion in 100 and 200 meter backstroke, Ryan Murphy, along with Andrew Seliskar, a sophomore who is six for six in winning events at Pac-12 over his two years (and a high place finisher at NCAAs last year), and generally good depth. NC State is strong in sprinting, which pays big dividends on relays. Relays are massive point generators at NCAAs (whereas they matter much less at Pac-12s) and 4 out of 5 are sprint distances.
Stanford's men's team is made up of a lot of swimmers and divers who are good enough to score fairly high at the conference meet, but who will be pressed big time to make the top 16 at NCAAs. They are weak in the sprinting department. They'll take a large team to NCAAs, especially if they can qualify some divers (with the qualifying zone meet upcoming this week), but just not enough difference makers.
By the way, their best two swimmers are freshman, which would seem to bode well for the future, but unfortunately, their 2017 matriculating recruiting class is only fair, relative to aspirations of winning NCAAs. (It's a class that most schools would love, but on paper, not likely to move them ahead of the teams noted above.)
But for now, it'll be fun to see where in the range of, say, 4th to 10th, they come out at NCAAs. I find it an especially fun meet to follow, insofar as the swimmers are so bunched together in terms of times that anyone who qualifies for the meet has a chance to score. Then, if he makes the "A" or "B" final in the morning in, say, 7th or 8th (bottom of the A final) or 15th or 16th place, he has the opportunity to move up at night. In other words, every swim/every swimmer matters, as teams are scratching and clawing for every point they can get. So stay tuned.