Nielsen Finishes NCAA Runner-Up in 200-yard Freestyle

Friday, March 27

Iowa City, Iowa

11:00 AM CT

Michigan

NCAA Championships (Day 2)

Nielsen Finishes NCAA Runner-Up in 200-yard Freestyle

3/27/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Swimming & Diving

March 27, 2015

Men's Swimming & Diving

• Quotes | Photo Gallery

Site: Iowa City, Iowa (Campus Recreation and Wellness Center)
Event: NCAA Championships (Day 2 of 3)
U-M Team Standing: 3rd Place (210 points) after Day 2
Next U-M Event: Saturday, March 28 -- at NCAA Championships - Day 3 (Iowa City, Iowa), 11 a.m./7 p.m. CDT

IOWA CITY, Iowa -- Junior Anders Nielsen finished runner-up in the 200-yard freestyle (1:32.73), and senior Richard Funk set a new Big Ten record in the 100-yard breaststroke (51.41 in preliminaries) to highlight the second day of the NCAA Championships for the No. 5-ranked University of Michigan men's swimming and diving team on Friday (March 27) at the Campus Recreation and Wellness Center. After two days, U-M is in third place (210 points) but will have a tough battle tomorrow to keep it, as Florida (205) and USC (197) are right behind.

It was a career-best performance for Nielsen, who actually went a shade faster at night than he did in the morning (1:32.80). Nevertheless, it is the second-fastest time in school history. He almost pulled out the win, as he was only three tenths behind eventual winner Cristian Quintero (USC) at the 150-yard mark (1:08.34 to 1:08.68). But Quintero was just a little too much, splitting 23.69 down the final 50-yard portion, while Nielsen was at 24.05.

The best event for Michigan was the 100-yard breaststroke with Funk and fellow senior Bruno Ortiz. Each swimmer claimed a spot in the final, led by Funk in fifth (51.65) and Ortiz in seventh (51.67). Not only was Funk's preliminaries swim the fastest in Big Ten history, but it also lowered his previously held school record by three tenths-of-a-second. Funk and Ortiz will graduate with the first- and second-fastest times in program history and the claim of being the only U-M swimmers to ever break the 52-second barrier.

Elsewhere, Dylan Bosch scored points with a fifth-place finish in the 400-yard individual medley at 3:41.50, which was just off his time from the preliminaries (3:41.23). That first swim was particularly strong, as Bosch fought off challengers on both sides and switched gears down the 50 yards to secure his spot in a fast, tightly grouped final.

Nielsen and Bosch were back in the water later in the evening for the 800-yard freestyle. Together with Justin Glanda and Jack Mangan, U-M finished fourth (6:16.05). Nielsen had the fastest split, getting clocked at 1:32.44 for his 200-yard segment.

The other relay of the night was the 200-yard medley relay, with the team of Aaron Whitaker, Funk, Jeremy Raisky and Ortiz winning the consolation final to finish ninth (1:24.26). The only change from the morning to evening was moving Funk to the second leg (breaststroke) and shifting Ortiz to the anchor leg (freestyle), replacing Paul Powers. U-M went 1:24.60 during preliminaries, so the evening's team moved up one spot and managed to drop time.

Additionally, U-M was represented in two other events. Three were in the 100-yard butterfly, led by Evan White in 25th (46.56) and Whitaker in 29th (46.77). Tristan Sanders was the team's highest finisher in the 100-yard backstroke, taking 30th (47.06), while Peter Brumm pulled a double by swimming in both of the aforementioned events, finishing 33rd in the 100-yard butterfly (46.96) and 47th in the 100-yard backstroke (48.24).

The NCAA Championships conclude tomorrow (Saturday, March 28) with the 200-yard backstroke, 100-yard freestyle, 200-yard breaststroke, 200-yard butterfly, 1,650-yard freestyle and 400-yard freestyle relay. Preliminaries will begin at 11 a.m., with finals commencing at 7 p.m.

Top 10 Teams (After Day 2)

 1. Texas                  399 2. California             275 3. Michigan               210 4. Florida                205 5. USC                    197 6. Stanford               156 7. Georgia                148.5 8. Auburn                 131 9. Alabama                12710. NC State               104.5

Event Winners/U-M Finishers (Day 2)
(Preliminaries time in parentheses if faster than finals)

200-yard Medley Relay 1. California                      1:22.74 (1:22.40#)   (Ryan Murphy, Chuck Katis,    Justin Lynch, Tyler Messerschmidt) 9. Michigan                        1:24.26   (Aaron Whitaker, Bruno Ortiz,    Jeremy Raisky, Paul Powers) 400-yard Individual Medley 1. Will Licon, Texas               3:36.37 5. Dylan Bosch, U-M                3:41.50 (3:41.23) 100-yard Butterfly 1. Joseph Schooling, Texas           44.5125. Evan White, U-M                   46.5629. Aaron Whitaker, U-M               46.7733. Peter Brumm, U-M                  46.96 200-yard Freestyle 1. Cristian Quintero, USC          1:32.03 2. Anders Nielsen, U-M             1:32.7326. Justin Glanda, U-M              1:34.96 100-yard Breaststroke 1. Kevin Cordes, Arizona             50.25 5. Richard Funk, U-M                 51.65 (51.41) 7. Bruno Ortiz, U-M                  51.6835. Chris Klein, U-M                  53.55 100-yard Backstroke 1. Ryan Murphy, California           44.2130. Tristan Sanders, U-M              47.0647. Peter Brumm, U-M                  48.24 800-yard Freestyle Relay 1. USC                             6:11.64   (Cristian Quintero, Dylan Carter,    Michael Domagala, Reed Malone) 4. Michigan                        6:16.05   (Justin Glanda, Anders Nielsen,    Jack Mangan, Dylan Bosch) * NCAA record& NCAA Championships record# American record^ U.S. Open record! Big Ten record$ Michigan record@ Pool record

• Day 1 Results

MICHIGAN AWARD WINNERS

NCAA All-Americans
Bruno Ortiz (4): 50-yard freestyle, 100-yard breaststroke, 200-yard freestyle relay, 400-yard medley relay
Dylan Bosch (4): 200-yard IM, 400-yard IM, 800-yard freestyle relay, 400-yard medley relay
Anders Nielsen (3): 200-yard freestyle, 500-yard freestyle, 800-yard freestyle relay
Paul Powers (2): 50-yard freestyle, 200-yard freestyle relay
Richard Funk (2): 100-yard breaststroke, 400-yard medley relay
Justin Glanda (2): 200-yard freestyle relay, 800-yard freestyle relay
Jack Mangan (1): 800-yard freestyle relay
Vinny Tafuto (1): 200-yard freestyle relay
Aaron Whitaker (1): 400-yard medley relay

NCAA All-America Honorable Mentions
Richard Funk (1): 200-yard medley relay#
Bruno Ortiz (1): 200-yard medley relay
Paul Powers (1): 200-yard medley relay*
Jeremy Raisky (1): 200-yard medley relay
Aaron Whitaker (1): 200-yard medley relay

* Swam in preliminaries
# Swam in finals

Q U O T E S

Michigan Head Coach Mike Bottom
On the response from the seniors ... "Those guys did their job today. We had to have Richard and Bruno on that relay. Can't keep two school record-holders off of it. Plus, it allows us to save Paul [Powers] for the relay tomorrow. That's what we are trying to do -- set up for tomorrow. That's where the battle is going to be."

On Anders Nielsen ... "He's a team man, through and through. The more he understands who he's swimming for, the better he swims. That finals swim, it got me choked up because I know him, and I know why he does what he does. He does it for the team."

On the team's display of toughness ... "You look at what happened this morning when we didn't make the final in the 200-yard medley relay. We didn't hang our heads. We put our chests out, put our shoulders back and went after it and we got the four finalists like we hoped. We did what we needed to do to keep us in this game, and that's what it is at this point. It's about toughness right now. How tough are you? What do you have left? It's not about falling down. It's how you get up. What our guys have done -- and what they will continue to do -- is get back up and get back in races. That's what we expect tomorrow. These guys will get ready."

On tomorrow's final day ... "Getting that relay into the final is crucial. We have to count on some guys who have done a lot of swimming to do it again, guys like Dylan Bosch and Bruno Ortiz. Then we have guys like Evan White, Chris Klein, Tristan Sanders and Aaron Whitaker, guys who are here for the first time. They each have potential to get a second swim and if they can, it'll be a big bonus for us and will go a long way to helping us keep our position."

U-M Senior Richard Funk
On swimming alongside Bruno Ortiz in the 100-yard breaststroke ... "Bruno and I have been through quite the adventure together there. Freshman year, nobody really knew he could swim that even other than himself. He beat me at Big Tens that year, but neither one of us scored. After that, we decided that it was something we could work on together. It just took off from there. It's been almost a poetic ride. We started here in this very pool as freshmen and now here we are, back again to cap it off. In nearly the same lanes, too. It's been a lot of fun. There's nobody I'd rather have gone through this with than Bruno."

On how he and Bruno Ortiz rallied the team after the disappointment of the 200-yard medley relay ... "No meet is ever going to be perfect. Even in 2013 when we won, there were a few swims that we would have liked to have back. Our race this morning, I think, was a turning point. It was something to rally around. You do this after a few years, and you learn to deal with disappointment. As a senior, when things aren't going well, it falls on you to pick the team back up in any way you can. I think Bruno and I were able to do that a little bit this morning."

On his goals going into tomorrow, the last day of his collegiate career ... "I've been talking to a lot of the seniors who graduated last year, like Connor (Jaeger) and the thing I keep hearing is to just enjoy it because it goes by so fast, way faster than you can imagine. I'm going to try and take it all in and enjoy every minute. I just hope that these guys that are here, the guys that are back in Ann Arbor and the ones I've swam with over the years are proud to have called me their teammate. I hope that's what happens tomorrow."

Communications Contact: Brad Rudner (734) 763-4423