Penn men’s swimming freshman standout, Matthew Fallon, is missing the USA Swimming International Team Trials, but not for a reason you might expect.
According to SwimSwam, Fallon is skipping the trials because of a conflict with his final exam schedule. Wednesday, April 27, the day of the 200-yard breaststroke, serves as the final day of Penn's class schedule, and because of that, Fallon is unable to compete in the race, which will take place in Greensboro, N.C.
The race itself is serving as a selection meet for the 2022 FINA World Championships.
Despite missing his potential qualifying race, Fallon has had an impressive collegiate debut season. He's already gone down in the Penn program record books in both the 100 and 200 breaststroke, with times of 51.45 and 1:49.71, respectively.
The Warren, N.J., native started his season and collegiate career off strong with a first-place finish in the 100-breast (54.16) and 200 IM (1:51:36).
At the Zippy Invitational in December, one of the biggest meets of the season, Fallon dominated. On the first day, Fallon set the new pool and meet record mark of 1:44.03 in the 200 IM. Later, Fallon won the 200 medley quartet with a time of 1:27.26, set a program record in the 100 breast with a time of 51.45, and set another pool and meet record with a time of 1:49.71 in the 200 breast.
Fallon’s continued success set him up to be an Ivy Championship qualifier and then an NCAA Championships qualifier. At the Ivy Championships, Fallon became the Ivy League champion in the 200 breast and earned second team All-Ivy honors in the 100 breast.
At the NCAA Championships, the Quaker competed in the 100 and 200 breaststroke and earned All-American honorable mention honors for the 100 breaststroke. He also finished third in the 200 breaststroke with a time of 1:49.16, securing Fallon first team All-American honors. No Quaker had earned that award since 2019.
While Fallon won’t be competing at the USA Swimming International Trials next weekend, his performance this season suggests he'll have more shots to compete at the event in the coming years.
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