Emma Weber and Virginia continue their season in Tennessee. ~ Photo by Kris Wright/TheSabre.com
After quite a few notable races at Chapel Hill on Nov. 1, the Virginia swimming and diving teams are gearing up for the annual Tennessee Invitational. The Cavaliers will face off against Kentucky and Tennessee in what will be scored as a double-dual meet between the three teams.
Currently, the Cavalier women are holding strong to their No. 1 national ranking and the men have dropped back to No. 21. Among the other teams, Tennessee is ranked at No. 8 and No. 11 for the women’s and men’s teams, respectively. Kentucky’s teams are unranked, but the men’s side did receive votes in the most recent poll.
Looking Back
Last year, Virginia had an incredible performance at the meet, winning several events, setting records, and achieving many personal bests.
At the 2023 Tennessee Invite, the Cavalier women won first overall and the men secured second place. Swimmers Aimee Canny and Cavan Gormsen dominated in the mid-distance events with Canny winning the women’s 500 free and Gormsen in second, only to switch it up in the 400 Free when Gormsen took first with Canny touched right behind her in second. Ella Nelson, Ella Bathurst, and Sophia Wilson swept the women’s 400 IM, going 1, 2, and 3, respectively. On the men’s side, Sebastian Sergile and Noah Nichols went 1 and 2 in the 200 IM. The most memorable feat, however, was likely when the Virginia Women cleared the board in the 200 Free, earning 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 6th place.
What To Expect
Based on last year’s performance by Virginia and some early times from individual swimmers already this season, viewers can likely anticipate an unforgettable meet. There should be some highly contested swims at the Tennessee Invite as many teams are putting their top swimmers in their strongest events.
Starting off strong with the men’s 50 free, it likely will be a very close call between top seed Jordan Crooks (19.07) and 2nd seed Lamar Taylor (19.45) from Tennessee and 3rd seed Jack Aikins (19.53) from the Hoos. In the men’s 200 free, UVA freshman David King (1:34.79) and Tennessee sophomore Nikoli Blackman (1:34.81) should be in a close race.
Although Noah Nichols has an almost 2-second lead in the men’s 200 IM seeding, it will be a tight battle for second place with some of the top swimmers in the event all within milliseconds of one another. Nichols is followed by teammate and 2nd seed Colin Bitz (1:48.06), then Tennessee’s Gus Rothrock (1:48.22); Virginia’s Matthew Styczen (1:48.26) and finally David King (1:48.60) should be in the mix too. UVA fans will likely want to tune into what will likely be a very close race.
In the women’s 100 free, Vol Camille Spink (47.30) and Cavalier Claire Curzan (47.59) square off for what should be a fun race. The women’s 500 free will be a must-watch event as the top 3 swimmers are all within 2 seconds of each other, an impressive feat in a distance event. The top seed is UVA’s Cavan Gormsen (4:40.46), closely followed by the Vols’ Ella Jansen (4:40.67) and third seed Sophia Knapp (4:41.80) for the Cavaliers.
Who’s Trying To Get Cuts
Getting the top spot in their events won’t be the swimmers’ only focus at the Tennessee Invitational. Many will be looking to achieve NCAA cuts, which would qualify the individual for the NCAA Division 1 Swimming and Diving Championships. Each event has an A standard, the optimal time, and a B standard, which is considered a provisional time. Once swimmers achieve a cut in an individual event, they can enter into any other event at the championships in which they have at least a B standard, with a maximum of 3 individual events.
For Virginia, junior Jack Aikins likely will be looking to qualify for a B cut in the 50 free and an A cut in the 100 back, as he is currently at 19.53 and 46.22, respectively. Noah Nichols is doubling up as well, going for an A cut in the 100 breast (seeded at 52.40) and a B cut in the 200 IM (seeded at 1:46.94). At 47.59, sophomore Claire Curzan is closing in on an A cut in the 100 free. Emma Weber is narrowing in on an A cut in the 100 breast at 58.77. Freshman Leah Hayes will likely be going for an A cut in the 200 IM with a seeded time of 1:54.93. The official list of NCAA times is available on SwimSwam.com.
Viewing
The meet will be scored like dual meets on a team vs. team basis, with preliminaries in the morning and finals in the afternoon for all individual events. Spectators can view the meet on the SEC Network+ or on the Meet Mobile app.
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