Michigan
Georgia Fall Invitational
Michigan Finishes Second at UGA Fall Invitational
12/3/2017 6:42:00 PM | Men's Swimming & Diving
» The Wolverines finished second out of six teams, scoring 915 points over the three days in Athens, Ga.
» Felix Auböck and PJ Ransford finished 1-2 in the 1,650-yard freestyle.
» Sophomores Jacob Montague, Tommy Cope and Charlie Swanson recorded three of the program's top-10 times in the 200-yard breaststroke on Sunday.
Site: Athens, Ga. (Gabrielsen Natatorium)
Event: UGA Fall Invitational -- Day 3 of 3
U-M Team Standing: 2nd of 6 teams (915 points)
Next U-M Event: Saturday, Jan. 13 -- vs. Indiana (Canham Natatorium), 11 a.m.
10
ATHENS, Ga. -- Sophomore Felix Auböck won the 1,650-yard freestyle and three others secured runner-up finishes as the No. 4-ranked University of Michigan men's swimming and diving team closed out the first half of the season with a second-place finish (915 points) at the UGA Fall Invitational, which concluded Sunday (Dec. 3) at Gabrielsen Natatorium. California won the team title (1,014 points).
"It was the best midseason meet for our combined team that we've ever had," said head coach Mike Bottom. "It was fun to watch from top-to-bottom. Our student-athletes were doing best times or getting close to their best times, and reaching times that were invited to NCAAs last year."
"The exciting thing is that we have people in all events who are swimming well. This is the first time in my years at Michigan that we have three guys under 19.5 in the 50-yard freestyle. The distance group is doing great. And diving, credit to them and to Mike [Hilde]. Doing all three events, preliminaries and finals, in three days can be grueling, but they showed a lot of toughness and did a great job. The team is embracing the understanding that we are one and that in itself helps everyone perform."
As it has all weekend, the distance crew once again looked superb, as four swimmers collected NCAA "B" cuts in the 1,650-yard freestyle. Auböck flirted with the NCAA "A" standard with his win (14:43.76), while senior PJ Ransford finished behind in second (14:49.36). Those are the fourth- and ninth-best times in the NCAA this season. Freshman Ricardo Vargas was sixth (15:05.96). Freshman Will Roberts claimed the last cut, finishing 12th (15:21.69).
Freshman Ross Todd performed well on platform, finishing second (337.45), scoring more than 70 points on two of his dives. Sophomore Steven Anderson was fifth (296.35), just missing the NCAA Zone Diving cut, while Jake Herremans was sixth (269.35).
The sophomore class scored big points in the 200-yard breaststroke, as all four men in the championship and consolation finals cut time. Sophomore Jacob Montague was second (1:53.23), while Tommy Cope took two seconds off his preliminaries time to take third (1:53.72). Charlie Swanson won the consolation in 1:56.10 -- a drop of almost three-and-a-half seconds from preliminaries -- a time that would've been fifth in the final. Those three now rank fourth, fifth and 10th in school history. Jeremy Babinet was 14th (1:58.74).
Four others scored points in the 100-yard freestyle, led by Georgia native Paul Powers in fifth (42.79) and sophomore James Jones in seventh (42.93). For Jones, it's the ninth-best time in school history. Freshman Luiz Gustavo Borges (10th, 43.47) and junior Mokhtar Al-Yamani (12th, 43.68) were in the consolation final.
Senior Tristan Sanders snuck in the 200-yard backstroke final and improved his seed, finishing fifth (1:43.03). Two swimmers had top-10 finishes in the 200-yard butterfly: sophomore Miles Smachlo in sixth (1:44.28) and senior Evan White in 10th (1:44.52).
The Wolverines closed the meet with an NCAA "B" cut in the 400-yard freestyle relay (2:52.68) via the foursome of Powers, Jones, Borges and Al-Yamani.
The full team is back in action after the new year, returning to Canham Natatorium to face Big Ten rival Indiana on Jan. 13. The meet begins at 11 a.m.
NCAA QUALIFYING TIMES/SCORES
Preliminaries - p
1,650-yard Freestyle
B -- Felix Auböck, 14:43.76
B -- PJ Ransford, 14:49.36
B -- Ricardo Vargas, 15:05.96
B -- Will Roberts, 15:21.69
200-yard Backstroke
B -- Tristan Sanders, 1:43.03
B -- Rob Zofchak, 1:45.08p
100-yard Freestyle
B -- Paul Powers, 42.79
B -- James Jones, 42.93 (No. 9 at U-M)
B -- Luiz Gustavo Borges, 43.47
B -- Mokhtar Al-Yamani, 43.62p
200-yard Breaststroke
B -- Jacob Montague, 1:53.23 (No. 4 at U-M)
B -- Tommy Cope, 1:53.72 (No. 5 at U-M)
B -- Charlie Swanson, 1:56.10 (No. 10 at U-M)
B -- Jeremy Babinet, 1:58.74
200-yard Butterfly
B -- Miles Smachlo, 1:43.31p
B -- Evan White, 1:44.52
Platform Diving
337.45, Ross Todd
400-yard Freestyle Relay
B -- 2:52.68 (Paul Powers, James Jones, Luiz Gustavo Borges, Mokhtar Al-Yamani)
Players Mentioned
