Brooks Curry Flashes Speed at LSU Intrasquad Meet; Maggie Mac Neil Makes Team Debut
Louisiana State University opened its season on Saturday with its intrasquad meet, and American Olympic gold medalist Brooks Curry and Canadian Olympic champ Maggie Mac Neil were centerpieces of the competition. During the Purple vs. Gold Meet, Curry produced a time of 19.64 in the 50-yard freestyle, an impressive early-season marker.
Curry returns to LSU as the reigning NCAA champion in the 50 freestyle and 100 freestyle, and as a key component of Team USA. In addition to earning a gold medal in the 400 freestyle relay at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, Curry was part of the American squad which claimed victory in the 400 freestyle relay at this past summer’s World Championships.
Mac Neil’s first action as a Tiger included a victory in the 100-yard butterfly, where she was timed in 51.62. The Olympic champ in the 100 butterfly, Mac Neil was an NCAA titlist at the University of Michigan, but announced she would use her fifth year of eligibility from the COVID-19 pandemic to race for the California-Berkeley. But when Teri McKeever was placed on administrative leave, Mac Neil switched to LSU, where Rick Bishop is now in command. Bishop was an assistant at Michigan and worked closely with Mac Neil.
Mac Neil also won the 50 freestyle in the intrasquad meet in a superb 21.93.