ATHENS, Ga. — Several LSU swimmers have one final chance at earning a berth for the NCAA Championships as the two-day Bulldog Invitational gets underway at Georgia’s Gabrielsen Natatorium on Saturday morning.
“The Last Chance” meet features time trials for those swimmers on the bubble with NCAA provisional cuts in qualifying for respective events. If those swimmers are unable to make automatic times this weekend, they can still advance to NCAAs if there are open spots in an event.
Morning prelims are scheduled for 9 a.m. CST, followed by a finals session at 4 p.m. CST.
Sophomore Julius Gloeckner holds four provisional cuts. Gloeckner ranks third in the SEC in the 200 freestyle (1:37.30), sixth in the 200 butterfly (1:46.56) and third in the 400 individual medley (3:50.45).
Junior Miko Malberg holds the seventh-best 50 free clocking in the league with a time of 19.78. Malberg swam that career-high mark at the SEC Championships last weekend.
Freshman Will Rivers is the Tigers’ best shot at sending a distance free swimmer to the national meet. Rivers is third in the SEC in the 500 free (9:11.50) and fourth in the SEC in the 1650 free (15:21.78). Both times are school records.
Junior Kevin Braud is looking to qualify for his first NCAA Championships as he is sixth in the conference in the 100 back (48.41) and fifth in the 200 back (1:45.96).
Sophomore Christoph Lubenau ranks fourth in the SEC in the 100 fly (47.57) after recording the fourth-fastest time in school history last weekend. Lubenau is also part of the Tigers’ 400 medley relay “B” cut team that is seventh in the league (3:16.29).
On the women’s side, sophomore Katie Gilmore has already punched her ticket to Minneapolis with an automatic clocking in the 50 free (22.63). Gilmore improved on her school-record time last weekend at SECs and could be joined in the event by senior Colleen Bertirotti and sophomore Katherine Noland.
Gilmore, Bertirotti, Noland and Sabrina Messmer are just shy of an automatic berth in the 200 free relay. The group holds the fourth-best time in the SEC this season (1:31.59).
Gilmore, Bertirotti, Noland and freshman Signe Larson are also fourth in the league in the 200 medley relay with a time of 1:40.96.
The Women’s NCAA Championships take place, March 8-10, in Minneapolis, Minn. The Men’s NCAA Championships will be held at the same venue, March 15-17.
A complete list of the LSU swimmers who qualify for NCAAs will be released once the field is set.