By Braden Keith on SwimSwam
2026 Tennessee Last Chance Meet
February 27-28, 2026 Alan Jones Aquatic Center, Knoxville, Tennessee Short Course Yards (25 yards) Live ResultsThe Virginia Tech men added another swimmer to their NCAA Championship roster on Friday at the Tennessee Last Chance meet when senior Landon Gentry dropped a 1:40.35 in a 200 fly afternoon time trial.
Gentry took three cracks at the event at the ACC Championships. He swam 1:41.35 in prelims to qualify for the A-Final, then added a tenth to finish 7th in 1:41.49.
He was able to shave a bit off his season best with a 1:41.04 in a time trial, but that time left him ranked 24th in the NCAA – a possible qualifier, but in the new era of auto qualifications, far from a lock.
On Friday in Tennessee, Gentry dropped a 1:40.35 to erase any doubt. That time leaps him to 14th in the country this season and knocks six-tenths off the personal best time he swam at the 2025 NCAA Championships.
Gentry, normally a hard charger in this 200 fly, is taking a less-is-more approach to the 200 fly this season. On Friday, he was about three-tenths off his pace going into the final 50 of the race, but clamped down with a 26.50 split on the last lap to lock down a best time. That’s .99 seconds faster in the last 50 than he was in his previous personal best.
While the timing of qualifying via a Last Chance meet is never ideal for an NCAA taper, Gentry did the same last year and managed to still drop time at NCAAs, placing 17th. If he repeats that pattern this year, he should earn an individual All-America honor in this event.
This is his third NCAA Championship qualification in four seasons.
It was a successful meet overall for the Virginia Tech men. Freshman Connor Johnson swam 1:39.64 in the 200 back final on Friday, which is under last year’s invite time by about half-a-second. It moves him into a tie for 23rd this year, which typically would be a lock for NCAA qualifying this late in the season. With 28-30 men usually invited per event, and Automatic Qualifiers impacting numbers this year, that puts him and Alabama’s Cole Witmer right on the bubble for a potential tie-breaker situation.
On Saturday, Virginia Tech’s Oscar Bilbao, a transfer from Arizona State, gave himself a chance at NCAA qualification with a 1:52.45 in the final of the 200 breaststroke. That was his third attempt at the event over the weekend, and gave him a three-tenths improvement off his previous season best. His personal best remains a 1:52.31 from the 2025 Big 12 Championships while still training at Arizona State.
He now ranks 25th in the NCAA this season, and with a few mid-major auto qualifiers ahead of him (Michael Phillips, Carter Dooling, Jed Garner) and no obvious scratches, that puts him squarely on the bubble for an NCAA invite.
On the women’s side, Virginia Tech’s success was matched by the Tennessee Volunteers.
Sophomore Emily Armen swam a 100 free time trial on Friday and posted a 47.63. That was .18 seconds better than she did in a dual meet against Michigan at the mid-season CSCAA Challenge, which moved her from a tie for 40th place into a tie for 33rd place. While not quite a lock given AQs, that’s probably on the right side of the bubble once a few non-entrants above her are removed (like Cal’s Mia West, who split 47.10 on a relay leadoff at ACCs).
Third time was the charm for Lexi Stephens in the 200 back. On Friday, she swam 1:53.69 in prelims and 1:53.32 in finals of the women’s 200 back. While that 1:53.32 was a season best, it left her outside of the top 40 and likely outside of an NCAA Invite.
Then, in a time trial late Friday, Stephens went for broke, opening in a 54.69 and finishing in a time of 1:53.09. That swim moved her up to 36th in the NCAA rankings this season.
With at least two scratches ahead of her (Olympians Anastasia Gorbenko and Katie Grimes), that gives her a shot at NCAAs, though USC’s Lindsay Barnes clocked a 1:52.55 at the SMU Last Chance Meet and Notre Dame’s Emily Hamill clocked a 1:52.93 at the Louisville Last Chance meet to muddy the path a bit.
Tennessee sophomore McKenzie Siroky hasn’t had a great second season in the 200 breaststroke. The former breakout star of the 2024 Olympic Trials ranks 5th in the NCAA in the 100 this season, but hasn’t come close to the 2:06.57 she did in the 200 at SECs last year.
While that has led to some good results and medley relay records for the Vols, she didn’t actually have an NCAA Invite time in the 200 breast before this weekend. Her only individual swims at SECs were the 100 breaststroke (2nd) and 50 free (23.40). She can now add the 200 breaststroke to her lineup if she chooses thanks to a Last Chance 2:09.70. That event comes on the same day as the 400 medley relay, though, so unless she’s expecting to find a few more seconds at NCAAs, she may just skip it again.
Psych sheets for the women’s meet will be posted by noon Eastern on Wednesday, March 4, while the men’s sheets will be posted by noon on Wednesday, March 11.
Read the full story on SwimSwam: Virginia Tech Senior Landon Gentry Drops a Last 50 Hammer to Earn NCAA Invite at Last Chance Meet
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