Watch Friday Night's Finals On Peacock

GREENSBORO, N.C. – University of Evansville junior Alon Baer (Gesher HaZiv, Israel) qualified for the 'B Final' in the men's 100-Meter Breaststroke on Friday morning at the Toyota U.S. Open Championships being held at the Greensboro Aquatic Center in Greensboro, North Carolina.  Baer will now compete in Friday night's finals, which will begin at 5 p.m. central time and can be seen live on the Peacock streaming service.

Baer won his heat – heat three – of the preliminary round competition in the 100 Breaststroke with a time of 1:03.10.  Baer charged hard in the final 25 meters to pull away from an even field and win the heat by 0.76 seconds.  His time of 1:03.10 ranked 14th-fastest out of 68 competitors in the 100 Breast.

Baer's 'B Final' qualification capped a strong morning at the Toyota U.S. Open Championships from three Purple Aces.  Sophomore Daniel Santos Lopez (Madrid, Spain) finished second in heat one of the men's 100-Meter Butterfly with a time of 56.73 to drop over two seconds off of his personal-best mark.  Fellow sophomore Benjamin Hasanovic (Innsbruck, Austria) also placed sixth in heat five of the men's 100-Meter Breaststroke with a time of 1:06.36.  The Toyota U.S. Open Championships features hundreds of athletes from around the world, including various Olympians and National Team members.

"I was extremely proud of all three men this morning," said UE head swimming and diving coach Stuart Wilson.  "We had some really good swims this morning, and I am excited to see what Alon can do tonight in the 'B Final.'  I think that he is going to be even better tonight!"