Joao De Lucca Defends NCAA Championship in 200 Freestyle
March 28, 2014 | Swimming & Diving
March 28, 2014
University of Louisville senior swimmer Joao De Lucca defended his national NCAA title when he won the 200 freestyle in 1:31.96 at the second day of finals at 2014 NCAA Championships at the Lee and Joe Jamail Texas Swimming Center on the campus of the University of Texas. The Cardinals finished the second day in 12th place as a team.
"It feels awesome to repeat what I did last year. I am always attacking and going for it," said De Lucca. "I was going for the record but it was so hard. To be honest I didn't have a plan. I was calm, I wanted to swim my race. I knew those guys were coming for me. I was in my zone and I was ready for the challenge."
The native Brazilian made no secret of the fact that he was going for the NCAA record of 1:31.20 set by Arizona's Simon Burnett of Arizona in 2006. De Lucca had the fastest splits in the first three 50 yards of the race and then won a full second ahead of a competitive field despite putting up the slowest final 50 of the field. He was just a tick off his winning time from last year which was 1:31.51.
Michael Wynalda of Michigan, who qualified first in the field finished third in 1:32.58. Southern Cal's Cristian Quintero closed with a blistering final 50 for second in 1:32.28.
"It's really good to win as a senior. I'm returning something back to the university that has done a lot for me," said De Lucca. "I remember when I first came to Louisville I had no idea what Louisville was all about. It was something new for me and way different from where I'm from. They supported me and they did so much for me. I'm very happy to be able to give something back to them. This school means a lot to me."
The Cardinals got a big boost in the standings from the in 100-breast as well as junior Thomas Dahlia won the consol finals with a 52.08. Senior Kameron Chastain was third in the consol final with a 52.51. Kevin Cordes of Arizona set the NCAA record with the win with a 50.04.
In the 800 free relay, the Cardinals entered the timed finals seeded tenth and put up a school record time. Mattias Lindenbauer (1:35.58), Joao De Lucca (1:33.03), Trevor Carroll (1:34.85) and an anchor leg of 1:35.12 by Thomas Dahlia to put up a 6:18.58. Lindenbauer's leadoff leg moves him into fourth place all time at U of L in the 200-free.
Men - Team Rankings - Through Event 14
1. Texas 318.5 2. California 312.5 3. Florida 279 4. Michigan 225 5. Georgia 200 6. Southern Cal. 140 7. Arizona 135.5 8. Auburn 121 9. Stanford 117 10. Florida State 96 11. Indiana 95 12. Louisville 88 13. Missouri 69 14. Alabama 67.5 15. Tennessee 57 16. North Carolina State 56.5 17. Penn State 44 18. Unlv 38 19. Ohio State 36 20. Arizona State 28 21. University of Miami (Florida) 26 22. Minnesota 25 23. Duke 16 24. Notre Dame 14 24. Purdue 14 24. West Virginia 14 27. U.S. Naval Academy 12 27. Virginia Tech 12 27. Virginia 12 30. Western Kentucky 11 31. South Carolina 10 32. University of Utah 9 33. Wisconsin 8 34. UNC 7 35. Harvard 4 35. Dartmouth 4 37. Texas A&M 3 37. Wyoming 3 39. Kentucky 2 40. Georgia Tech 1.5 41. Csu Bakersfield 1
