Editorial coverage sponsored by SpeedoUSA
INDIANAPOLIS, Indiana, March 29. STANFORD's David Nolan went out fast and never looked back as he pulled the upset victory over California's Tom Shields in the men's 100-yard backstroke at the NCAA Division I Men's Championships.
Nolan jumped out to a 21.64 at the 50, then came home in 23.35 to win in 44.99. The swim pushed him to ninth all time in the event, as only the ninth swimmer to ever break 45 seconds. That's his second title of the meet, along with his 200-yard IM triumph on night one. He's the first swimmer with a pair of individual titles this week.
The win gave Stanford its NCAA-leading 13th win in the event's history as he joined the likes of Fred Haywood (1969), Jay Mortenson (1988), Jeff Rouse (1990, 1991, 1992), Derek Weatherford (1993), Brian Retterer (1994, 1995), Peter Marshall (2002, 2003, 2004) and current Stanford volunteer assistant Eugene Godsoe (2010) as Cardinal victors in the event.
Two-time defending champion Shields placed second in 45.21, throwing down a smoking final 50 yards of 23.01. Indiana's Eric Ress raced into third in 45.31.
Michigan's Miguel Ortiz (45.49), Arizona's Mitchell Friedemann (45.51), Auburn's Kyle Owens (46.26), California's Jacob Pebley (46.54) and Indiana's James Wells (47.09) rounded out the rest of the championship heat.
California's Tony Cox (45.46) and Wisconsin's Andrew Teduits (45.99) put up some strong times in the consolation heat with ninth and 10th-place finishes.
Michigan became the first team to crack 300 points with 302 overall. California cut the gap with a second-place 271.5, while Arizona held third with 205.5 points. USC (180) and Texas (164) stood fourth and fifth heading into the diving break.
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