By Forrest W. Kobayashi

Here is a recap of the biggest stories from the past week in U.S. Swimming.

Chloe Sutton dominates and continues impressive Grand Prix run in Missouri. Sutton won four races at the Missouri Grand Prix, held at the Mizzou Aquatic Center in Columbia, Mo. this past weekend. In the process, she extended her series lead to 50 points, almost double the points of second place competitors Rebecca Soni and Matt Grevers.

You can read more about the event and other competitors here.

Michael Phelps, who announced he would participate in the Missouri Grand Prix, had to withdraw from competition. Baltimore received excessive amounts of snow which prevented Phelps from traveling to the event.

USMS national records set by Olympians Mark Gangloff and Fred Bousquet. Swimming World Magazine is reporting that Gangloff and Bousquet both set new United States Masters Swimming records this past weekend. The meet was held at Auburn University.

Gangloff posted new USMS records in the 100 yard breaststroke (52.47) and the 100 yard individual medley (48.27).  Gangloff beat the old breaststroke record by almost two seconds. Gary Marshall previously held the record with a time of 54.30.

Bousquet delivered in the 50 meter freestyle, posting a time of 18.67.

You can view results from this event here. (PDF Download provided by Swimming World Magazine)

Auburn Tigers aim for 14th straight Southeastern Conference title. The Auburn Tigers, a perennial competitor in collegiate swimming, are gunning for their 14th straight conference title. The SEC Championships are currently taking place in on the campus of the University of Georgia.

Scout.com’s report notes that earlier on this season, Auburn lost to the University of Florida, so it is not a given that Auburn will run away with the championship. Current men’s swimming rankings rank Auburn at No. 5 and Florida at No. 6. Just outside the top ten are two other SEC teams, the University of Tennessee (No. 11) and host team Georgia (No. 12).

As for the women’s chances, they face stiff competition in top-ranked Georgia and seventh-ranked Florida. Auburn’s women’s team comes in at eighth on the latest polls.

Conference championships begin on nationwide basis. Other major conference championships happening this week include the Big East Championships (University of Pittsburgh), the Big Ten Women’s Championships (Purdue University) and the ACC Women’s Championships (University of North Carolina and Duke University).

Are there any stories from the past week that caught your attention? Do you plan on tuning into any of the collegiate championship meets this week?

Tags: Auburn Tigers, Chloe Sutton, Mark Gangloff, Matt Grevers, Michael Phelps

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