Phelps’ morning began with the 100m fly. Swimming next to World Championship teammate Davis Tarwater (Knoxville, Tenn.), Phelps was in second place at the turn, trailing Joseph Doyle (Centerburg, Ohio) of Ohio State. But in the second half, Phelps overtook Doyle to win by nearly a half-second in 53.66. Tarwater used a back-half split of 28.74 to move into second in 55.12. Doyle was third in 55.27.
In the women’s 100m fly, Felicia Lee (Towson, Md.) claimed her first win of the meet, touching in 59.92. Jemma Lowe of Wales was second in 1:00.30 and U.S. National Team member Mary DeScenza (Naperville, Ill.) was third in 1:01.99.
In the 200m freestyle Phelps, the reigning world-record holder, easily claimed his second victory of the morning. North Baltimore’s Daniel Madwed (Stamford, Ct.) hung with Phelps through much of the race, trailing by just over four-tenths at the150 mark, but the eight-time Olympic medalist completed the last 50 meters in 27.17, leaving the rest of the field more than two seconds behind. Phelps’ time of 1:49.39 was one-tenth of a second off his own pool record. Madwed battled Matthew Owen (Scottsdale, Ariz.) through the final length as Owen took second by two-hundredths (1:51.46). Madwed settled for third in 1:51.48.
The women’s 200m free saw Olympic gold-medalist Kaitlin Sandeno (Lake Forest, Calif.) swim to her third title of the meet with a time of 2:02.62. Sandeno was neck-and-neck with Northwestern University’s Andrea Hupman (Lawrenceville, Ga.) at the half-way point, but built a lead of nearly a half-second after 150 meters. Hupman finished second in 2:03.80 while DeScenza took third in 2:04.46.
Phelps closed out his individual schedule for the morning with a decisive win in the 100m backstroke. His time of 55.02 bested the 15-year-old pool record of 55:38, set by Stanford’s Jeff Rouse. Second-place finisher Roland Rudolf (Budapest, Hungary) touched in 57.46 and Omar Pinzon (Jacksonville, Fla.) was third in 59.18.
The women’s backstroke title went to Rachel Goh of Auburn University (1:03.40). Olympian Katie Hoff (1:03:52) took second place just 12 hundredths back and her North Baltimore teammate Felicia Lee finished third in 1:03.94. Sandeno finished just off the podium in fourth with a time of 1:04.06.
In other finals action this morning, 2007 Pan Am Games swimmer Ava Ohlgren (Northville, Mich.) took gold in the women’s 400m individual medley. Ohlgren’s time of 4:48.79 was more than four seconds faster than the rest of the field. Elizabeth Beisel (Saunderstown, R.I.) finished second in 4:52.61 while Kaitlin O’Brien (Caldwell, N.J.) took third in 4:53.24.
Ryan Lochte (Daytona Beach, Fla.), the top seed entering the men’s 400m IM, withdrew from his three scheduled finals to participate in a coaching clinic, leaving the men’s 400m IM wide open. Robert Margalis (St. Petersburg, Fla.) stepped up to take first in the event, touching in 4:25.80. Two-time Olympian Erik Vendt (North Easton, Mass.) was second in 4:27.30 and Keith Beavers (London, Ontario) was third in 4:27.62.
In the breaststroke events, top times went to Wales Swimming’s Lowri Tynan (1:12.25) on the women’s side and Athens Bulldog’s Neil Versfeld (1:04.83) on the men’s side. Nic Teo (1:12.83), swimming unattached, and Katie Hoff (1:12.86) rounded out the top three for the women. Club Wolverine’s Scott Spann (1:05.47) and Indiana University’s Pat Penoyar (1:06.61) went 2-3 for the men.
The finals session concluded with a sweep of the 400m medley relays by Club Wolverine. The squad of Phelps, Spann, Tarwater and Peter Vanderkaay (Rochester, Mich.) took the men’s event in 3:48.96 while the team of Sandeno, Justine Mueller (Monroe, Mich.), Margaret Kelly and Allison Schmitt (Canton, Mich.) claimed the women’s title in 4:16.64.
Action in Ann Arbor continues Saturday night with prelims in 10 events. The final session of finals is set for Sunday at 9 a.m.
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