Five first-team All-American honors
EVANSVILLE, Ind. — The NMU men’s swim and dive team garnered seven All-Americans on Friday at the NCAA Championships, including five first-team honors.
Matteo Ballardin added a first-team All-America honor to his resume, as he punched a ticket to the championship final with his performance in the prelims this morning. Ballardin would finish sixth in the country at 1:45.39.
Stiles earned the final spot in the consolation final for the 3-meter diving, and would earn a second-team All-America honor. Andrew Tease also competed in a consolation final, as he finished seventh in the heat and 15th overall for a second-team All-America honor of his own.
The 200 free relay team of William LaCount, Youssef Nahali, Jef Leroux, and Leo Nolles swam in the final event of the evening, finishing sixth overall to earn first-team All-America honors to close out the day.
The final day from the NCAA Championships is tomorrow, starting with the preliminary heats at 11 a.m. ET.
How It Happened
The evening started with Stiles earning a second-team All-America honor in the 3-meter board, finishing sixth in the consolation final and 14th overall with his score of 478.65.
Tease competed in the consolation final of the 100 breast, and he was ahead at the halfway point of the race. Aron Jonsson made a move to win the B final at 53.76, and Tease finished in seventh in the heat at 54.42, just less than a second behind the lead.
Ballardin made his appearance in the championship heat of the 200 fly, and he was neck and neck with the leaders at the halfway point. Gavrysh stormed back to claim gold at 1:42.52, and Ballardin would finish as sixth-best in the country at 1:45.39.
The evening ended with the 200 free relay, and it was the men’s team who swam in lane three of the final heat of the evening. LaCount got a great push off the block, giving his team a great start to build off of. Nahali kicked off second, followed by Leroux, and on came Nolles as the anchor. The veteran gave it all he could in the final push, and it was good enough for fifth in the fast heat and sixth overall.
Morning Session
Tease swam in the fourth and final heat of the 100 breast, taking off from lane two. Tease swam a 54.27 to finish fifth in his heat and 14th overall, earning a spot in the consolation finals tonight.
Ballardin swam in heat two of four in the 200 fly, controlling lane five in the middle of the pool. The freshman had a confident swim with excellent underwater work, pulling ahead in the final stretch to win the heat and post a 1:44.90, winning his heat by a second and claiming the top qualifying spot after two heats. Ballardin would finish seventh, earning a spot in the championship heat.
Stiles and Thornton competed in the 3-meter board, with Stiles advancing into the consolation final in 16th with a score of 432.85. Thornton missed the cut to make the evening finals, as he posted a score of 399.10.
Running Event Count Friday, March 13
Finals
Event 26 – 100 breast: Tease 15th, 2nd team All-America honors
Event 28 – 200 fly: Ballardin 6th, 1st team All-America honors
Event 29 – 3-meter diving: Stiles 14th, 2nd team All-America honors
Event 31 – 200 free relay: LaCout, Nahali, Leroux, Nolles 6th, 1st team All-America honors
Prelims
Event 26 – 100 breast: Tease 14th, will swim in ‘B’ final tonight
Event 28 – 200 fly: Ballardin 7th, will swim in ‘A’ final tonight
Event 29 – 3-meter diving: Stiles 16th, Thornton 18th. Stiles will dive in ‘B’ final
Thursday, March 12
Finals
Event 13 – 100 fly: Nolles 15th, 2nd team All-America honors
Event 15 – 400 IM: Ballardin 11th, 2nd team All-America honors
Event 20 – 400 Medley Relay: Ballardin, Tease, Nolles, Leroux 12th
Prelims
Event 13 – 100 fly: Nolles 15th, will swim in ‘B’ final tonight
Event 15 – 400 IM: Ballardin 11th, will swim in ‘B’ final tonight
Wednesday, March 11
Finals
Event 9 – 1-meter diving: Stiles 12th, Thornton 18th, both earn 2nd team All-America honors
Event 6 – 200 IM: Ballardin 14th, 2nd team All-America honors
Event 8 – 50 free: Nolles 15th, 2nd team All-America honors
Event 11 – 200 Medley Relay: Ballardin, Tease, LaCount, Nolles 12th, 2nd team All-America honors
Prelims
Event 6 – 200 IM: Ballardin 12th (will compete in the B finals tonight)
Event 8 – 50 Free: Nolles 10th (will compete in the B finals tonight), Leroux 23rd, LaCount 25th
Event 4 – 1000 Free: Garin 23rd
Event 9 – 1-meter diving: Stiles 11th, Thornton 16th, both competing in the B finals tonight
Tuesday, March 10
Finals
Event 2 – 800 Free Relay: Rosatelli, Khmara, Fulconi, Ballardin 11th place, 2nd team All-America honors
