March 28, 2010
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Adam Meyer (Sr., Bethesda, Md.) closed out his Navy swimming career by earning Honorable Mention All-America honors in the 200 butterfly event for the second consecutive year. Meyer placed sixth in the consolation final of the event (14th place overall) Sunday during the final session of the NCAA Championship meet at the McCorkle Aquatic Pavilion in Columbus, Ohio, to garner the laurel.
"It is a very humbling experience to compete at this meet," said Navy head coach Bill Roberts. "That said, we are very happy for Adam. This weekend has been a real celebration of is career."
All swimmers who compete in the championship final of an event (top eight qualifiers from the trial heats) earn All-American accolades, while those competing in the consolation final of an event (the ninth through 16th qualifiers in the trial heats) receive Honorable Mention All-America honors.
The No. 18 seed in the 200 fly at this year's NCAA Championship with his qualifying time of 1:44.36, Meyer advanced to the consolation final by finishing in 10th place in the trial heats of the event. His time of 1:43.71 -- the fourth-best time in the event at Navy -- placed him just outside of the qualifiers for the event's championship final. Stanford's David Mosko claimed the eighth and final spot in the championship final with his clocking of 1:43.22. The lone swimmer separating Mosko from Meyer in the trial heats was Georgia's Matthew Bartlett with his ninth-place time of 1:43.33.
As Sunday night's consolation final got underway, Meyer stood in fifth place after 50 yards with a time of 23.37. After improving his position to fourth place after 100 yards (49.65), he remained in that spot at the 150-yard mark of the race (1:16.53). Meyer would fall back slightly over the closing 50 yards to finish in sixth place in the race with a time of 1:44.10, the No. 7 clocking in Navy history.
California's Robert Sullivan edged Meyer for fifth place in the race by one one-hundredth of a second. Bartlett would win the consolation final with a time of 1:43.13.
Meyer, the 2009 and `10 Patriot League Swimmer of the Year, previously placed fifth in the consolation final (13th overall) of the 200 fly at last year's NCAA Championship meet. He is the first Navy swimmer to garner All-America honors in multiple seasons since Rexford Hand earned the accolades in 1971 and `73. Meyer's award last year made him the first Navy swimmer to earn All-America recognition in an individual event since Ian Johnston accomplished the feat in both breaststroke events in 1996.
"We're happy Adam was able to score points once again," said Roberts. "He really stepped up today and showed what he has done for us over the last four years and what he is made of. Farewell to 'The Raptor.'"
Although Meyer was seeded 33rd in the 200 breaststroke at the meet, he chose to not participate in the event due to the fact that it also was being contested Sunday. He began the NCAA Championship by placing 27th in the 200 individual medley event on Friday.
