Finals Preview

Girls
Barring anything too unusual, the top few teams for the girls' meet tomorrow look pretty predictable, but one mistake anywhere could make for an interesting team points race. As for individual races, it looks like we will see plenty of excitement. All three relays should be close, with the top two teams in each being within a second or a little more. As for individual races, the 200 IM may be close, certainly closer than was expected based on the prelims seeds. The 50 Free should be a thriller, with all of the top 8 swimmers within half of a second, and 9th through 16th all within three quarters of a second. The start, turn, and finish will probably make all the difference. The 100 Fly should be close, with Nicole Osman taking the first seed, but not by much. The 100 Free, much like the 50, should be closely contested, with the top 8 all within a second and a half. While most of the other races don't look quite as close as far as the top few seeds go, there certainly will be close races throughout the top 16 swimmers, and maybe some unexpected close races. A few records have a chance to go down, the best chances are in the 500 Free and the 100 Breast, with an outside chance at the 200 Medley or 200 Free Relay records being broken.
Boys
As for the boys, Sallies is the favorite by a large margin, but second place is definitely up in the air, and 4th and 5th places still could change pretty easily. All three relays again look to be exciting, with the Medley having 5 teams within slightly more than a second. McKee looks to be ahead by a moderately large margin in the 200 Free, but I don't doubt that there will be a closer race than the prelims times. The boys' 50 Free should be an exciting race as usual, again with the top 8 within about a second of each other. The 100 Fly will almost definitely be close, especially if Tanner is feeling better than he was yesterday. The 100 Free features 4 swimmers under a 48, and will definitely be a race to the finish. My guess is the 500 Free will not be as close as it is seeded - Minderlein has gone a 4:37 in USA swimming. The 100 Breast will probably be exciting, with the top 4 possibly capable of breaking the 1:00 barrier. The 200 Free Relay record has a legitimate chance of being broken, with St. Andrew's only .03 away from the record at prelims, and the next few teams within a few tenths of the record. Otherwise, there are outside chances at record-breaking swims in the 200 Medley Relay, 100 Fly, and 100 Breast, but I wouldn't count on seeing any of those go down.
Both meets should be exciting tomorrow, and plan on a full house, tickets sold out quite some time ago.