Cal senior Ryan Hoffer won his second straight NCAA title in the 50 freestyle with an 18.33, the fastest ever swim by someone not named Caeleb Dressel as Hoffer is the second fastest performer all-time, passing the Auburn duo of Cesar Cielo and Matt Targett.
Hoffer led a huge 1-2 for Cal as freshman Bjorn Seeliger finished in second at 18.71, which puts him 12th all-time in this event, and gives Cal a 67 point lead over Florida heading in to diving. Seeliger also improved on his 18.72 from earlier in the night in the 200 free relay. This is also a similar finish to Hoffer’s last NCAA title when he went 1-2 with Pawel Sendyk in 2019.
“It is such an honor. I am just so stoked to be a part of this. I am happy to get up to this level and perform,” Ryan Hoffer said after the race. “It feel so good. We really wanted to get that 1-2. I knew we had it in us, ever since me and Pawel did it my sophomore year. Having him following in Pawel’s shoes is kind of fun. … (freshmen) grow up so fast … It was something we knew we could do.”
The Gators had Adam Chaney in third place at 18.88 as he was one of three freshman in the A-Final, and seven total competing in individual events tonight, as Virginia Tech’s Youssef Ramadan was eighth at 19.45.
Georgia’s Dillon Downing placed fourth at 18.94 ahead of Michigan senior Gus Borges (19.02). Georgia is searching for its highest finish in school history since 1997 when the Bulldogs were third, and haven’t been top four since. Georgia is currently fifth in the team standings but have a lot of swimming left.
Texas’ Daniel Krueger placed sixth at 19.08 while Pittsburgh’s Blaise Vera was seventh at 19.39.
Cal now has seven NCAA titles in the 50 free as Ryan Hoffer joins Matt Biondi (1986, 87), Anthony Ervin (2000), Nathan Adrian (2009, 2011) and himself (2019) as winners of the event for the Golden Bears.
All-Time Rankings:
- 17.63, Caeleb Dressel, Florida, 2018
- 18.33, Ryan Hoffer, California, 2021
- 18.47, Cesar Cielo, Auburn, 2008
- 18.52, Matt Targett, Auburn, 2009
- 18.56, Ryan Held, NC State, 2018
- 18.63, Vladimir Morozov, Southern California, 2013
- 18.64, Kristian Gkolomeev, Alabama, 2015
- 18.66, Nathan Adrian, California, 2011
- 18.66, Pawel Sendyk, California, 2019
- 18.67, Fred Bousquet, Auburn, 2010
- 18.69, Bowe Becker, Minnesota, 2018
- 18.71, Bjorn Seeliger, California, 2021
- 18.72, Adam Brown, Auburn, 2011
- 18.74, Robert Howard, Alabama, 2019
Event 5 Men 50 Yard Freestyle
=========================================================================
NCAA: N 17.63 3/22/2018 Caeleb Dressel, Florida
Meet: M 17.63 3/22/2018 Caeleb Dressel, Florida
American: A 17.63 3/22/2018 Caeleb Dressel, Florida
U. S. Open: O 17.63 3/22/2018 Caeleb Dressel, Florida
Pool: P 18.43 3/25/2021 Ryan Hoffer, California
Name Year School Prelims Finals Points
=========================================================================
=== Championship Final ===
1 Hoffer, Ryan SR California 18.43 18.33P 20
r:+0.62 8.90 18.33 (9.43)
2 Seeliger, Bjorn FR California 18.91 18.71 17
r:+0.65 9.04 18.71 (9.67)
3 Chaney, Adam FR Florida 18.98 18.88 16
r:+0.60 9.03 18.88 (9.85)
4 Downing, Dillon SO Georgia 18.88 18.94 15
r:+0.66 9.27 18.94 (9.67)
5 Borges, Gus SR Michigan 19.12 19.02 14
r:+0.65 9.07 19.02 (9.95)
6 Krueger, Daniel JR Texas 19.13 19.08 13
r:+0.68 9.27 19.08 (9.81)
7 Vera, Blaise SR Pittsburgh 19.17 19.39 12
r:+0.65 9.20 19.39 (10.19)
8 Ramadan, Youssef FR VT 19.08 19.45 11
r:+0.59 9.54 19.45 (9.91)
=== Consolation Final ===
9 Friese, Eric SO Florida 19.20 18.90 9
r:+0.64 9.05 18.90 (9.85)
10 Curry, Brooks SO LSU 19.19 19.08 7
r:+0.61 9.30 19.08 (9.78)
11 Brownstead, Matt FR Virginia 19.21 19.21 6
r:+0.62 9.16 19.21 (10.05)
12 Franzman, Jack JR Indiana 19.21 19.31 5
r:+0.62 9.43 19.31 (9.88)
13 Izzo, Giovanni JR NC State 19.39 19.38 4
r:+0.63 9.05 19.38 (10.33)
14 Varjasi, Peter SO Florida St 19.38 19.41 2.5
r:+0.68 9.36 19.41 (10.05)
14 Deryk, Cooper JR Utah 19.37 19.41 2.5
r:+0.67 9.24 19.41 (10.17)
16 Peel, Cam SO Michigan 19.34 19.44 1
r:+0.62 9.30 19.44 (10.14)
Men - Team Rankings - Through Event 5, following the win by Ryan Hoffer 1. California 196 2. Florida 129 3. Texas 125 4. Georgia 102 5. Texas A&M 80 6. NC State 65 7. Indiana 41 7. Arizona 41 9. Virginia 38 10. Michigan 37 11. Virginia Tech 35 12. Louisville 34 13. Alabama 32 14. Stanford 29 15. Missouri 16 16. Georgia Tech 14 16. Purdue 14 18. Pittsburgh 12 18. Ohio St 12 20. Notre Dame 9 21. Penn St 8 22. Lsu 7 23. Florida St 6.5 24. Utah 2.5
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