MEN'S NCAA PREVIEW
THIS SHOULD BE
WELL WORTH THE WAIT being an Olympic year, we were on a roll. A year ago, all eyes were BY DAN D'ADDONA We had some dogs who were chomping at on the Cal and Texas men’s the bit. (Coach) Dave (Durden) had us on a swimming and diving teams in what looked leash...and we were ready to break loose.” As swimmers prepare for their first national college championship to be one of the greatest NCAA Championship meet in two years, that same vibe is slowly taking shape, with Cal duels ever. Sadly, the COVID-19 pandemic and Texas preparing for another elite showdown. However, after the past year that the world has endured, the wiped out that showdown, but spirits are thought process for everyone is focused more on hope. running high one year later—not only for that First and foremost, swimmers, coaches and fans hope the meet much anticipated Cal-Texas confrontation, but will take place. They also hope the showdown can live up to the for the simple fact that college swimmers will wait. Meanwhile, other teams hope they can join the mix and make again be able to come together and compete at a memorable return to the men’s NCAAs. Usually, Swimming World puts together its predictions of the top a national championship. 10 teams, including statistical analysis that includes the number of Cal and Texas have had some extremely close clashes over the years at the men’s NCAA Division I Swimming and Diving Championships—especially the past few seasons. But none were as highly anticipated as 2020 after Cal had won the year before, snapping a Texas four-peat. Then COVID-19 happened, prompting Cal’s Reece Whitley to say, “It was the fastest NCAAs that nobody ever saw!” Now a junior on the team that will be vying to win back-to-back team titles, Whitley added, “I think both teams were ready to do something that the swimming world hadn’t seen before. With it
points lost and returning from last year’s teams, giving its readers a realistic expectation of what should take place. This year, without the championships being held in 2020, that same kind of analysis wouldn’t be appropriate—or accurate. Many of the college teams have only swum in a handful of meets after spending a lot of time out of the water because of different COVID-19 protocols in different parts of the country. But what we can do is highlight the teams and swimmers to watch for at the upcoming 2021 men’s NCAA Division I Swimming and Diving Championships, scheduled for the Greensboro (N.C.) Aquatic Center, March 24-27.
>>PICTURED ABOVE: U.S. national champion Reece Whitley has put together quite a resumé in his swimming career, but the Cal junior is still looking for his first NCAA individual title, which could very well come at this year’s meet. Two years ago, he was selected the Pac-12 Men’s Swimming Freshman of the Year, and this year, he should be a major contributor in Cal’s pursuit of back-to-back team titles. [PHOTO BY CONNOR TRIMBLE]
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MARCH 2021
SWIMMINGWORLD.COM
