Michigan
Indiana
Men's Swimming and Diving to Entertain No. 4 Indiana in Top-10 Clash
1/10/2018 12:00:00 PM | Men's Swimming & Diving
» No. 8 Michigan (5-0, 3-0 B1G) welcomes Indiana (6-0) to Canham Natatorium for a combined men's and women's dual meet. The Hoosiers are ranked No. 4 in the country and are the defending Big Ten champions.
» This is the team's first competition since finishing second at the UGA Fall Invitational in early December. Instead of taking their annual training trip to the Florida Keys, the team elected to stay in Ann Arbor and spend the week between Christmas and the start of classes training in their home pool.
» Between the two schools, Michigan and Indiana hold conference-best times in 12 of the 13 individual swimming events. Each team has six.
THIS WEEK
Saturday, Jan. 13 -- vs. No. 4 Indiana (Canham Natatorium), 11 a.m.
Live Results
• Social Media: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram
With a bit more than seven weeks until the Big Ten Championships, the No. 8-ranked University of Michigan men's swimming and diving team (5-0, 3-0 B1G) will open the second half of the season with a top-10 clash, hosting No. 4 Indiana (6-0) to Canham Natatorium on Saturday (Jan. 13) for a combined men's and women's dual meet. Action begins at 11 a.m. Admission is free.
The first 100 fans in attendance will get a free 64-ounce insulated Michigan water bottle. Copies of the team's 2017-18 poster will also be made available. Members of the Michigan Pep Band will also make an appearance.
The team's Twitter and Instagram accounts (@umichswimdive) will provide pre- and post-meet coverage. Results will be posted to MGoBlue.com and Meet Mobile following each race.
SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
200-yard Medley Relay
1,000-yard Freestyle
200-yard Freestyle
100-yard Backstroke
100-yard Breaststroke
200-yard Butterfly
One-Meter Diving
50-yard Freestyle
Three-Meter Diving
100-yard Freestyle
200-yard Backstroke
200-yard Breaststroke
500-yard Freestyle
100-yard Butterfly
200-yard IM
400-yard Freestyle Relay
SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION
The Hoosiers are 6-0 on the season, scoring dual-meet wins over Florida, Texas, Tennessee, Kentucky, Cincinnati and Notre Dame. They are the defending Big Ten champions, winning last year's meet by 122 points.
They are led by 2016 Olympic medalists Blake Pieroni and Michael Hixon. Pieroni won a gold medal on Team USA's 4x100-meter freestyle relay, while Hixon won silver in synchronized three-meter. Both are former CSCAA All-Americans.
Michigan and Indiana have one of the sport's oldest and most storied rivalries, as the series dates all the way back to 1922. The Wolverines lead the all-time series with a 46-31-3 mark. The Hoosiers won last year's matchup in Bloomington by a 167-133 margin.
WOLVERINE BITES
• Since 2007, Michigan is 87-5-1 in dual meets, including a 55-2 mark against Big Ten opponents.
• The Wolverines were ranked No. 8 in the most recent TYR/CSCAA Division I Coaches Poll, released on Dec. 6. The next poll is released Jan. 17. [ Poll ]
• Currently, there are 11 swimmers who have times ahead of last year's cut line to the NCAA Championships: Paul Powers (50-yard freestyle), James Peek (50-yard freestyle), Luiz Gustavo Borges (50-yard freestyle), Felix Auböck (200-yard freestyle, 500-yard freestyle, 1,650-yard freestyle), PJ Ransford (500-yard freestyle, 1,650-yard freestyle), Ricardo Vargas (500-yard freestyle), Jacob Montague (100-yard breaststroke, 200-yard breaststroke, 200-yard IM), Tommy Cope (200-yard breaststroke, 400-yard IM), James Jones (100-yard butterfly), Evan White (100-yard butterfly, 200-yard IM) and Charlie Swanson (400-yard IM). [ Top Times ]
• Four of the team's five divers have achieved at least one NCAA Zone Diving qualifying score. Jake Herremans and Ross Todd have scores in all three disciplines (1M, 3M, PL), while Chris Canning has two (1M and 3M) and Steven Anderson has one (1M). Junior Collin DeShaw is the other diver on the team, but is redshirting the season. [ Diving ]
• Between the two schools, Michigan and Indiana hold conference-best times in 12 of the 13 individual swimming events. The Wolverines have Big Ten-best times in the 50-yard freestyle (Powers), 500-yard freestyle (Auböck), 1,650-yard freestyle (Auböck), 200-yard breaststroke (Montague), 100-yard butterfly (Jones) and 400-yard IM (Swanson). Indiana is tops in the 100-yard freestyle (Blake Pieroni), 200-yard freestyle (Pieroni), 200-yard backstroke (Mohamed Samy), 100-yard breaststroke (Ian Finnerty), 200-yard butterfly (Vini Lanza) and 200-yard IM (Lanza). The only event in which a swimmer from neither school leads is the 100-yard backstroke (Mark Belanger, Ohio State).
• Senior captain PJ Ransford earned his undergraduate degree in mechanical engineering at fall commencement in December. Last year's NCAA Elite 90 Award recipient for men's swimming and diving, Ransford graduated in three-and-a-half years with a 4.0 GPA. He began his postgraduate studies last week in the College of Engineering, working toward a master's in mechanical engineering. Also earning their degrees in December were Colin Eaton, Jack Mangan, Julian Ballestas, Vinny Tafuto and Cameron Stitt -- all seniors on last year's team.
LAST TIME OUT
The Wolverines ended the first half of the season with a second-place finish at the UGA Fall Invite, held Dec. 1-3 in Athens, Georgia. [ Recap | Results ]
UP NEXT
Saturday, Jan. 20 -- at Ohio State, vs. Virginia Tech (Columbus, Ohio), noon
Players Mentioned
