Michigan
Ohio State
Michigan Seeks Bounceback Performance at Ohio State
1/17/2018 2:33:00 PM | Men's Swimming & Diving
» The No. 7-ranked Wolverines (5-1, 3-1 B1G) look to get back in the win column this weekend, facing rival No. 16 Ohio State (3-0) and No. 19 Virginia Tech (5-1) in a tri-meet on Saturday (Jan. 20) in Columbus, Ohio.
» The two teams are meeting for the first time since tying for second at last February's Big Ten Championships, held in Columbus.
» Ohio native Tommy Cope ranks second in the Big Ten in both the 200-yard breaststroke and 400-yard IM.
THIS WEEK
•Saturday, Jan. 20 -- at No. 16 Ohio State, vs. No. 19 Virginia Tech (Columbus, Ohio), noon
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The No. 7-ranked University of Michigan men's swimming and diving team (5-1, 3-1 B1G) returns to action on Saturday (Jan. 20), facing rival No. 16 Ohio State (3-0) and No. 19 Virginia Tech (5-1) in a tri-meet at the McCorkle Aquatic Pavilion in Columbus, Ohio. The meet is slated to begin at noon.
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
Ohio State
The Buckeyes are 3-0 on the season, scoring victories over Kenyon, Denison and Kentucky. Ranked No. 16 in the most recent CSCAA/TYR Top 25 poll, they have a road meet at Alabama on Thursday.
Ohio State is led by Mark Belanger, who holds the No. 1 time in the Big Ten in the 100-yard backstroke; butterfly specialists Michael Salazar and Noah Lense, each of whom rank in the top five of the conference in both the 100- and 200-yard butterfly; and a host of top-scoring divers, including Stephen Romanik and Christo Law.
Saturday's meet marks the 84th all-time meeting in the series between the two schools that dates back to 1933. Michigan holds a 70-11-2 edge, including a 186-114 win last season in Ann Arbor. The two teams tied for second at last year's Big Ten Championships, held in Columbus.
Virginia Tech
The Hokies are 5-1 on the season, defeating Virginia, VMI, Queens, Florida State and Duke. Ranked No. 19 in the most recent CSCAA/TYR Top 25 poll, Virginia Tech has a tri-meet with Cincinnati and Xavier on Friday. They are led by sprinter Ian Ho, distance freestyler Lane Stone and breaststroker Justin Edwards.
Saturday will be the first dual meet between Michigan and Virginia Tech.
WOLVERINE BITES
• Since 2007, Michigan is 87-6-1 in dual meets, with a 55-3 record against Big Ten opponents.
• The Wolverines moved up one spot to No. 7 in the most recent TYR/CSCAA Division I Coaches Poll, released on Jan. 17. The next poll is set for Feb. 7. [ Poll ]
• Sophomore Tommy Cope, the only Ohio native on the roster (Dayton), is in the midst of a breakout campaign. He is ranked second in the Big Ten in the 200-yard breaststroke (behind teammate Jacob Montague), winning that event in last Saturday's dual against Indiana. He's also ranked second in the 400-yard IM (behind teammate Charlie Swanson) and is fourth in the 200-yard IM.
• Senior PJ Ransford kick-started his second half in a big way, sweeping the distance events against Indiana. Along with sophomore Felix Auböck and freshman Ricardo Vargas, the trio is poised to score big points this postseason, ranking 1-2-3 in the 500-yard freestyle and 1-2-4 in the 1,650-yard freestyle.
• Senior Evan White is also having a strong senior year. He has top-five finishes in all nine of his individual swims (100-yard butterfly, 200-yard butterfly, 200-yard IM) at the last three Big Ten Championships. He ranks third in the Big Ten in both the 100-yard butterfly and 200-yard IM, and fourth in the 200-yard butterfly. White had one of the most impressive performances in last Saturday's dual, chasing down Indiana's Vini Lanza to win the 100-yard butterfly. [ Watch ]
• All four divers have individually qualified for the NCAA Zone C Diving Championships in March, accumulating nine qualifying scores between them. Sophomore Jake Herremans has team-high scores on one-meter (a career-high 375.30 from last Saturday's dual vs. Indiana) and platform (354.05), while freshman Ross Todd leads on three-meter (399.98). [ Diving ]
• Heading into the weekend, Michigan swimmers have accumulated 60 NCAA "A" or "B" cuts. 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 ]
LAST TIME OUT
PJ Ransford, Evan White and Tommy Cope each won events, but Michigan fell to No. 4 Indiana, 170.5-129.5, last Saturday (Jan. 13) at Canham Natatorium. [ Recap | Highlights ]
UP NEXT
Friday, Feb. 2 -- vs. Michigan State (Canham Natatorium), 5:30 p.m.
Players Mentioned
