ASU is set to defend its title at the NCAA Men’s Swimming Championships

(Photo: Courtesy of Sun Devil Athletics)

The Sun Devils swim team has been training for their ultimate shot at glory, and it’s finally here for them to claim.

No. 2 Arizona State went undefeated in the regular season and had a spectacular outing at the Big 12 Swim and Dive Championships, but before the collegiate season closes, a national champion must be crowned, leading 14 Sun Devils to head to the McAuley Aquatic Center in Atlanta to compete in the NCAA Men’s Swimming Championships.

The men’s team has been building up to this moment as the defending champs, winning the program’s first national championship last season.

“Every win on the way, every dual meet win, the Big 12 win, is all just part of the process that we all have in our minds of how we’re going to be at the end of the season and how we’re going to perform in March,” senior Jonny Kulow said.

Head coach Herbie Behm believes the Sun Devils’ relay teams are all contenders to win. The trust Behm has in his team comes from a historic outing at the conference championship, where the 400-yard freestyle relay team set the NCAA record at 2:42.30.

“It’s going to be a tough meet, but certainly something we can do well in,” Behm said. “It’ll be tight, but that’s what we do all year long in the dual meets.”

The Sun Devils will have a chance to prove how strong they are in the relays on the first day of the championship, competing in the men’s 200-yard medley relay to get the day started. That race will see graduate Adam Chaney go up against his former team, Florida, the No. 1 seed in the race, with an entry time at 1:20.03.

“He’s going to have a little extra behind him, and that’s going to bleed into the other guys,” Behm said. “It’s really fantastic what he brings.”

Along with Chaney, expectations are going to be high for junior Ilya Kharun, senior Remi Fabiani and Kulow. The four will swim in the 400-relays and each will compete in three individual events. Behm said those four, along with the rest of the team, have “a chance to score a lot of points.”

A highly anticipated matchup will be between Florida senior Josh Liendo and Kharun. Kharun is the No. 1 seed in the 50-yard freestyle and the 200-yard butterfly, but Liendo has the advantage in the 100-yard butterfly, winning the event at the last two NCAAs.

Arizona State has excelled this season because of the demanding practices it holds at the Mona Plummer Aquatic Center in Tempe. The Sun Devils have such grueling practices that Behm had to wait until the last day to write who would be on the record-breaking relay team prior to the Big 12s.

“The most important thing for a successful college team to have is that internal competition,” Behm said. “The best thing they can do is try and beat the other guy, because then that’ll make him have to do better.”

Wednesday’s preliminary round starts at 7 a.m. Mountain Standard Time. The eight fastest times in the preliminaries will advance to the finals starting at 3 p.m.