2024 Tennessee Invitational
- November 19-22, 2024
- Alan Jones Aquatic Middle, Knoxville, Tennessee
- Brief Course Yards (25 yards), Prelims/Finals, scored as a double twin
- Psych Sheets
The College of Tennessee has despatched SwimSwam psych sheets for the 2024 Tennessee Invitational. The meet, which was pared again in variety of contributors throughout COVID, shall be scored as a double twin between the three collaborating swim groups from Virginia, Kentucky, and the hosts Tennessee.
UNC Asheville may also take part in diving occasions, however received’t be scored.
Probably the most notable information factors from the psych sheets come from the defending NCAA Champion Virginia girls.
Gretchen Walsh, the reigning NCAA Swimmer of the Yr, coming off arguably the most effective season in NCAA historical past, will swim the 50 free, 100 fly, and 200 backstroke.
The 50 free and 100 fly are each races that she received eventually yr’s NCAA Championship meet, however her day 4 race was the 100 free, the place she broke the entire yards information with a 44.83 within the 100 free.
However in true Virginia vogue, that doesn’t lock her in to these occasions, both mid-season or in championship season.
She has solely swum the 200 backstroke 5 instances in her profession (membership or collegiate):
- Nov 9, 2014 – 2:22.68 (Membership invite) – age 11
- November 15, 2015 (Membership invite) – age 12
- Oct 6, 2019 – 1:59.10 (Membership invite) – age 16
- Jan 15, 2022 – 1:54.67 (Virginia Tech twin meet) – freshman
- Jan 14, 2023 – 1:51.42 (Virginia Tech twin meet) – sophomore
Her finest time, performed in a twin meet popping out of vacation coaching, would have positioned her sixth eventually yr’s NCAA Championships.
The Virginia college report in that occasion is 1:49.35 belonging to Courtney Bartholomew and the ACC Document is a 1:54.03 performed in 2017 by NC State’s Alexia Zecnik.
Gretchen would be the solely Walsh sister racing at this invite. Whereas Gretchen’s older sister Alex, additionally an Olympian and multi-time NCAA Champion, introduced she would return for a fifth yr, she hasn’t raced since Paris.
She underwent a process on her meniscus earlier this yr, although Virginia coaches on the time downplayed the affect that will have on her season.
Additionally absent from the meet is All-American senior Tim Connery. He did race on the workforce’s blockbuster twin meet in opposition to Florida, although his finishes (eighth within the 100 fly, eighth within the 100 breast) have been less than his standard normal. He missed the Olympic Trials and that twin with Florida was his first meet since NCAAs in March.
She is scheduled to race at Brief Course Worlds in December, together with Gretchen, and fellow Virginia varsity workforce members Emma Weber and Jack Aikins. Each Aikins and Weber are additionally entered on this meet.
In step with custom, Virginia received’t race both the boys’s or girls’s 800 free relay on the meet. Throughout the DeSorbo period, they’ve most popular to give attention to placing ahead their finest 4 for 4 relays mid-season after which worrying about qualifying the 800 free relays for NCAAs on the ACC Championships in February.
