Phelps set a pool record and won the men's 100m back with a time of 54.15. He was able to hold off fellow Olympian Ryan Lochte (Daytona Beach, Fla.) for his only win of the night. Lochte finished second in 54.81 and David Nolan (Hershey, Pa.) was third in 55.10.
Ziegler had an impressive swim in the women's 400m free, breaking the pool record by almost five seconds with a time of 4:07.78. Katie Hoff (Towson, Md.) finished second in 4:08.23 and Gator Swim Club's Andreina Pinto was third in 4:15.81. "My mindset has changed. I'm swimming for me more and I'm enjoying it," Ziegler said after the race. "There's going to be ups and downs but I'm still having fun."
Coughlin placed first and set a pool record in the 100m back with a time of 1:00.04. The Olympic gold medalist took an early lead in the event and her strong underwater work helped her hold on to the lead in the final 50 meters. Elizabeth Pelton (Baltimore, Md.) was second in 1:00.67 and Brazil's Fabiola Pulga Molina was third in 1:00.95.
Phelps was upset in the 200m fly, finishing fourth with a time of 1:57.79. The win went to China's Wu Peng who finished in 1:56.62. Phelps, who owns the world record in the event, was unable to come from behind in the final 50 meters to make the podium. Poland's Marcin Cieslak was second in 1:57.13 and Tyler Clary (Riverside, Calif.) was third in 1:57.56.
The men's and women's 50m free, always two of the more exciting races of the night, saw winning swims from Brazil's Cielo and Joyce, respectively. The men's race, which featured Olympic gold medalists Jason Lezak (Irvine, Calif.) and Cullen Jones (New Brunswick, N.J.), was dominated by the Brazilian swimmers as they earned the top three spots. Cielo swam a 22.08, a new pool record, while Bruno Fratus was second in 22.52 and Nicholas Santos was third in 22.54. Joyce won the women's race with a pool-record time of 25.25, just .11 ahead of Brazils' Cazzio Delaroli. Dana Vollmer (Granbury, Texas) rounded out the top three with a time of 25.45.
Clary picked up a win in the men's 400m free with a time of 3:51.57. He held off Michael Klueh (Evansville, Ind.), who finished second in 3:52.01, and Charlie Houchin (Raleigh, N.C.), who was third in 3:52.81. In other races, Jasmine Tosky (Walnut Creek, Calif.) won the women's 200m fly in 2:11.11. Madison Wright of Kingfish Aquatics was second in 2:12.21 and Caitlin Leverenz (Tucson, Ariz.) was third in 2:13.34. Leverenz picked up the win in the women's 200m breast with a time of 2:30.37. Ariana Kukors (Auburn, Wash.) was second in 2:31.89 and Annie Zhu of Asphalt Green Aquatics was third in 2:32.16. The men's 200m breast was won by 1500m free Olympic gold medalist Ous Mellouli of Tunisia. Melloui set a pool record in 2:15.36 and was followed by Mike Alexandrov (Champaign, Ill.), who was second in 2:15.84. Austria's Markus Rogan was third in 2:15.92.
The Eric Namesnik Michigan Grand Prix will be broadcast and webcast LIVE on Universal Sports on Sunday, April 10 from 5:30 - 7 p.m. ET. A LIVE webcast of both prelims and finals from the meet will also be available on www.usaswimming.org/michigangrandprix. The complete competition schedule for the meet can be found online. Prelims start at 9 a.m. ET and finals begin at 5:30 p.m. ET.
2010-2011 USA Swimming Grand Prix Swim Meet Series
- Minnesota Grand Prix 12-14 Nov, 2010
Minneapolis, MN - Austin Grand Prix 14-17 Jan, 2011
Austin, TX - Missouri Grand Prix 18-21 Feb, 2011
Columbia, MO - Indianapolis Grand Prix 3-5 Mar, 2011
Indianapolis, IN - Michigan Grand Prix 8-10 Apr, 2011
Ann Arbor, MI - Charlotte UltraSwim Grand Prix 12-15 May, 2011
Charlotte, NC - Santa Clara International Grand Prix 16-19 Jun, 2011
Santa Clara, CA
Television and online coverage will also be provided of all 2010-2011 USA Swimming Grand Prix events. Universal Sports will broadcast the Austin Grand Prix (January 14-17), the Missouri Grand Prix (February 18-21), the Indianapolis Grand Prix (March 3-5) and the Michigan Grand Prix (April 8-10). Online coverage of all seven events will be provided by Swimnetwork.com and Universalsports.com.
This is the fourth year in a row that prize money has been awarded to the overall point leader of the Grand Prix Series. In its inaugural year in 2008, Olympic gold medalist Michael Phelps took home the prize. The 2009 purse went to National Team swimmer Mary DeScenza and Chloe Sutton took home $20,000 in 2010.
The scoring system awards swimmers points based on gold, silver and bronze-medal performances at each of the eight meets. A gold medal earns a swimmer five points, a silver medal is worth three points and a bronze medal is one point. The standings integrate male and female participants, recognizing the swimmer with the highest cumulative point total. In the event of a tie, the winner will be the swimmer who earned the highest single-race FINA power point ranking. Leaders will be tracked online at www.usaswimming.org and in Splash magazine, the official magazine of USA Swimming.
