Michigan
Ohio State
Wolverines Gear Up for Rivalry Road Meet against No. 11 Ohio State
1/17/2018 2:08:00 PM | Women's Swimming & Diving
» The No. 2-ranked Wolverines (6-0, 4-0 B1G) heads to Columbus, Ohio, this Saturday (Jan. 20) for a quad meet with Ohio State, Rutgers and Virginia Tech. The competition begins at noon.
» The meet serves as an opportunity for the team to get familiar with the McCorkle Aquatic Pavilion, the host pool for the Big Ten Championships (Feb. 14-17) and NCAA Championships (March 14-17).
» Michigan enters the week with 68 NCAA "A" or "B" times, with 10 swimmers ahead of last year's cut line for the NCAA Championships.
THIS WEEK
Saturday, Jan. 20 -- at No. 11 Ohio State, vs. Rutgers, vs. No. 24 Virginia Tech (Columbus, Ohio), noon
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The No. 2-ranked University of Michigan women's swimming and diving team (6-0, 4-0 B1G) faces a Big Ten rival for the second weekend in a row, when they square off with No. 11 Ohio State (5-0, 0-0 B1G), Rutgers (5-5, 1-1 B1G) and No. 24 Virginia Tech (5-2) in a quad meet on Saturday (Jan. 20) in Columbus, Ohio. The action begins at noon.
The meet serves as an opportunity for the team to get familiar with the McCorkle Aquatic Pavilion, the site of the Big Ten Championships (Feb. 14-17) and the NCAA Championships (March 14-17).
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 5-0 on the season, winning against Kentucky, Toledo, Kenyon, Akron and Denison. Ranked No. 11 in the most recent CSCAA/TYR Top 25 poll, they will face Alabama on Thursday in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.
Ohio State is led by sprinter Liz Li, an All-American and Big Ten champion in the 50-yard freestyle. Meg Bailey leads the Big Ten in the 200-yard butterfly and 400-yard IM, while freshman Kristen Romano is ranked in the top 10 in four events.
Michigan is 24-4 all-time against Ohio State. It has won three consecutive meetings in the series, including a 212-88 win last season in Ann Arbor.
Rutgers
The Scarlet Knights are 5-5 on the season, scoring wins against Seton Hall, Georgetown, Illinois-Chicago, the University of Chicago, and Illinois. Rutgers is led by sprinter Clare Lawlor, distance swimmer Francesca Bertotto and butterfly specialists Francesca Stoppa and Federica Greco.
Michigan is 2-0 all-time vs. Rutgers.
Virginia Tech
The Hokies are 5-2 on the season, picking up wins against Duke, Florida State, VMI, Queens and Liberty. Their only losses are to ACC foes North Carolina and Virginia. Ranked No. 24 in the most recent CSCAA/TYR Top 25 poll, they will compete against Cincinnati and Xavier on Friday. Virginia Tech is led by multi-event specialist Reka Gyorgy (leads the ACC in the 400-yard IM) and butterfly swimmers Maggie Gruber and Klaudia Nazieblo, each of whom rank in the top-10 of the ACC in both the 100- and 200-yard butterfly.
Saturday will be Michigan's first dual meet with Virginia Tech.
WOLVERINE BITES
• Michigan is 28-4 in dual meets since the beginning of the 2014-15 season. The Wolverines have won their last 22 dual meets against Big Ten opponents.
• The Wolverines moved up two spots to No. 2 in the most recent TYR/CSCAA Division I Coaches Poll, released on Jan. 17. The next poll is set for Feb. 7. [ Poll ]
• From sprints to distance, Michigan has looked very strong in the freestyle. It took 14-of-15 possible top-three finishes in the five freestyle events in last Saturday's win over Indiana, including four 1-2-3 finishes. At the Big Ten level, the Wolverines rank 1-2-3 in the 100-yard freestyle (Siobhán Haughey, Gabby DeLoof, Catie DeLoof) and 1-2 in the 200-yard freestyle (Haughey, G. DeLoof). Additionally, Yirong Bi, G Ryan and Sierra Schmidt all rank in the top eight in both the 500- and 1,650-yard freestyles.
• Clara Smiddy had a big meet against the Hoosiers, defeating a pair of defending Big Ten champions in both the 200-yard backstroke (Kennedy Goss) and 200-yard IM (Lilly King). Smiddy has been dynamite at the three prior Big Ten Championships in her career, winning three individual titles (2016: 100-yard backstroke, 200-yard backstroke; 2015: 200-yard IM) and scoring an additional five runner-up finishes.
• Gabby DeLoof has been one of the Big Ten's best and most versatile swimmers this season. She currently ranks second in the 100- and 200-yard freestyles and fifth in the 200-yard backstroke. With Haughey not swimming against the Hoosiers, DeLoof picked up the slack in the sprint freestyle events, winning the 100-yard freestyle (49.17) and 200-yard freestyle (1:46.21), finishing third in the 50-yard freestyle (22.89) and led off the team's winning 400-yard freestyle relay (3:19.36).
• Diver Nikki Canale put up career-best scores against Indiana, finishing second on both one-meter (284.95) and three-meter (332.70). Those are both NCAA Zone Diving qualifying scores. Christy Cutshaw has also qualified for the Zone Diving Championships on three-meter and platform.
• Daria Pyshnenko had a fantastic meet against Indiana, putting up times that came close to her midseason bests back in December. She finished second in the 50-yard freestyle (22.86; went 22.73 in a racing suit at midseason) and third in the 100-yard freestyle (50.56).
• Through last weekend, Michigan has accumulated 68 NCAA cuts (60 "B," 8 "A"). Currently, there are 10 swimmers who have times ahead of last year's cut line to the NCAA Championships: Siobhán Haughey (100-yard freestyle, 200-yard freestyle, 200-yard breaststroke, 200-yard IM), Gabby DeLoof (100-yard freestyle, 200-yard freestyle), Catie DeLoof (100-yard freestyle, 200-yard freestyle), Yirong Bi (500-yard freestyle, 1,650-yard freestyle, 400-yard IM), Sierra Schmidt (500-yard freestyle, 1,650-yard freestyle), G Ryan (500-yard freestyle, 1,650-yard freestyle), Becca Postoll (500-yard freestyle), Clara Smiddy (100-yard backstroke, 200-yard backstroke), Miranda Tucker (100-yard breaststroke, 200-yard breaststroke) and Emily Kopas (200-yard breaststroke). [ Top Times ]
LAST TIME OUT
The Wolverines dominated the freestyle events and used their depth to beat No. 10 Indiana, 180-120, in a Big Ten Championships preview 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
