Cal's Ryan Murphy set an NCAA record in the 200-yard backstroke.
AUSTIN, Texas — If water were fire, the pool at the Lee and Joe Jamail Swimming Center would smoke.
Three event records were set Saturday during the third and final evening of competition at the 2014 NCAA Division I Men’s Swimming and Diving Championships, and Michigan sophomore Dylan Bosch -– one of those who made Saturday history – summed it up nicely for his fellow record-breakers.
“Just to be in the books and written in to the history of NCAA swimming is a big deal,” he said of his own, fresh 200-yard butterfly mark.
The smoke began rising with the night’s second event -- the 200-yard backstroke. California freshman Ryan Murphy won it in explosive fashion, setting an NCAA record of 1:37.35. It was the second individual title of these championships for Murphy, who also won the 100 backstroke on Friday. Plus, he was a member of the Cal team that won Friday’s 200 medley relay.“This meet is so physically taxing,” Murphy said. “I’ve never been an emotional swimmer, but this meet, in order to be successful, you have to swim with a lot of emotion. So it’s been a bit of an adjustment, but it’s so much fun.”
In the 200 breaststroke, Arizona junior Kevin Cordes – as he did a year ago in Indianapolis – won his second event of the meet in historical fashion. Cordes finished in 1:48.66, erasing the American record of 1:48.68. It also was his 11th record in the past two seasons.
“It’s kind of crazy,” Cordes said. “It still hasn’t set in the past couple years. Just still going out there and trying to improve.”
For him, improvement means big chunks out of national record books. A day earlier, Cordes had shattered the NCAA, American, U.S. Open and meet records in his 100-yard breaststroke victory.
“It’s really satisfying to end the meet out like this,” Cordes said. “We had a little rough patch and some bad breaks but I finished it off strong. I couldn't be happier.”
Perhaps Saturday’s biggest shocker came in the 200 butterfly, where Florida’s Marcin Cieslak was considered the favorite. He finished second, however, to a blazing swim by Bosch, who set new NCAA, U.S. Open, meet and pool records with a 1:39.33.
“I had a pretty good feeling that I could get it,” Bosch said. “This is the fastest meet in the world and it’s crazy, man. I knew I had a chance to get the record, but I just wanted to do for my teammates over there.”
Saturday’s seminal victory likely was more satisfying considering Bosch’s position a year ago, when he was seeded first in the same NCAA event as a freshman. Then, he finished third behind California’s Tom Shields, who set a then-new NCAA record of 1:39.65 with his victory.
On Saturday, that record became Bosch’s.
“That was a great experience being next to Tom,” he said. “But I kind of wanted to win that one. I was just a freshman so I was pretty young. A year later and it’s an amazing feeling. It’s a really fast meet. It’s probably one of the fastest meets in the world.
“So, to be on the top of that podium is an awesome feeling and just a testament to how great the guys are at Michigan and how well we all train. I couldn't have done it without them.”
