Michigan
Big Ten Championships
Swanson, 200 Freestyle Relay Help Wolverines Keep Pace at Big Tens
2/23/2018 10:45:00 PM | Men's Swimming & Diving
» After three days at the Big Ten Championships, Michigan is in second place (1,080 points), only 10 points behind Indiana (1,090). The Wolverines remain ahead of last year's pace, scoring 156.5 more points heading into the final day of competition.
» The foursome of Paul Powers, Luiz Gustavo Borges, Evan White and James Peek won the 200-yard freestyle to end the night, coming within .07 seconds of the school record.
» Sophomore Charlie Swanson repeated as Big Ten champion in the 400-yard IM, leading a 1-2-3-5 finish in the event. He became the fifth man in school history to crack the 3:40 barrier.
» Freshman diver Ross Todd won the consolation final on three-meter, setting a school record (429.50).
Site: Minneapolis, Minn. (Jean K. Freeman Aquatic Center)
Event: Big Ten Championships (Day 3 of 4)
U-M Team Standing: 2nd of 10 Teams (1,080 points)
Next U-M Event: Saturday, Feb. 24 -- at Big Ten Championships -- Day Four (Minneapolis, Minn.), 11 a.m./6:30 p.m. CST
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. -- Sophomore Charlie Swanson defended his title in the 400-yard individual medley and the foursome of senior Paul Powers, freshman Luiz Gustavo Borges, senior Evan White and graduate student James Peek ended the night with a near-record win in the 200-yard freestyle relay to lead the No. 7-ranked University of Michigan men's swimming and diving team on the third day of the Big Ten Championships on Friday (Feb. 23) at the Jean K. Freeman Aquatic Center.
The Wolverines kept their momentum going and built on it, getting scoring performances from 25 of 26 student-athletes on the roster, including 19 personal records. U-M remains ahead of its pace from day three last year, as the squad scored 156.5 more points heading into tomorrow's final sessions.
"This team has worked together all the way through and everyone is scoring points," said head coach Mike Bottom. "That last relay, to pull it together the way they did, shows that we have purpose in what we're doing. No matter what comes tomorrow, we will fight."
Michigan ended the night on a high note, capturing the 200-yard freestyle relay for the sixth time in school history. Powers (19.27), Borges (18.90), White (19.36) and Peek (18.96) combined to go 1:16.49, an NCAA "A" cut that ended up only .07 seconds off the school record. The quartet trailed by two tenths-of-a-second going into the anchor leg, but Peek brought them back and got his hand on the wall ahead of Indiana for the win. Michigan won the event for only the sixth time in its history, and first since 2015.
WATCH: Paul, Gus, Evan and James come within .07 seconds of the school record and end the third day of the Big Ten Championships with a win in the 200-yard Freestyle Relay! #GoBlue pic.twitter.com/cHZiKdLsia
— Michigan Swimming & Diving (@umichswimdive) February 24, 2018
Like yesterday in the 200-yard IM, every one of the team's entries in the 400-yard IM scored points, all in the championship or consolation finals. The Wolverines got four in the final for the second year in a row and went 1-2-3-5 behind Swanson, who won back-to-back titles in the event (3:39.16). He cut nearly five seconds from preliminaries and became the fifth man in program history to break the 3:40 mark. Sophomore Tommy Cope was the top seed out of the morning and took second to Swanson (3:42.86), while freshman Ricardo Vargas was third (3:43.73). Senior PJ Ransford rounded out the finalists in fifth (3:46.27).
Three others were in the consolation final: junior Stephen Holmquist in 11th (3:47.65), freshman Will Roberts in 12th (3:48.11) and senior Ryan Sebastian in 13th (3:48.80).
Sophomore Felix Auböck held his own in a stacked 200-yard freestyle final with a fourth-place finish (1:33.23). Joining him was junior Mokhtar Al-Yamani, who finished sixth (1:35.02) in his first career championships final. Junior Kai Williams had a great swim in the consolation (11th, 1:36.34), while freshman Luiz Gustavo Borges was 16th (1:37.83).
Michigan only had two swimmers in the 100-yard breaststroke, but both made the final. Sophomore Jacob Montague took fourth and became just the third man in school history to crack 52 seconds; he just missed the NCAA "A" cut (51.80). The big jump came from Montague's classmate, Jeremy Babinet, who greatly improved his odds of qualifying for the NCAA Championships with a fifth-place finish and the fourth-fastest time in school history (52.22).
All five swimmers in the 100-yard butterfly made it back to score, led by three finalists in the championship heat. Senior Evan White was the runner-up (45.63) to earn an individual silver for the sixth time in 11 career Big Ten Championships races. Joining him in the final were sophomores Miles Smachlo in seventh (46.16) and James Jones in eighth (46.75). Junior Jon Burkett moved up in the consolation final, taking 11th (46.68), while sophomore Alex Martin -- pulling a double in his first career Big Ten Championships -- added points in 23rd (47.83).
The Wolverines had five swimmers score in the 100-yard backstroke, led by senior Tristan Sanders in eighth (47.40). Martin was one of three consolation finalists in 14th (47.81), followed by Powers (47.87) and Peek (48.22). Sophomore Rob Zofchak added some points with a 19th-place finish (47.59).
The divers continued to show improvement, more than doubling last year's point total by the end of the day Friday. Freshman Ross Todd won the consolation final with a school-record performance on three-meter (429.50), while sophomore Jake Herremans took 13th (397.70) in his second scoring performance of the meet. Both are new PRs. Freshman Chris Canning scored points for the second consecutive day and jumped five spots to score in the final round with a 21st-place finish (345.65).
At the Big Ten Championships in 2017, two divers (Herremans and junior Collin DeShaw, who is redshirting the season) scored 21 points. Through two days, the diving group has 58 points, with platform still to come tomorrow.
The Big Ten Championships conclude Saturday (Feb. 24) at the Jean K. Freeman Aquatic Center. Preliminaries begin at 11 a.m. CST, with finals starting at 6:30 p.m.
TEAM STANDINGS
1. Indiana 1,090.5 2. MICHIGAN 1,080 3. Ohio State 870 4. Purdue 540 5. Minnesota 480 6. Wisconsin 479.5 7. Iowa 377.5 8. Penn State 292.5 9. Northwestern 189 10. Michigan State 173
100-yard Butterfly
1. Vini Lanza, IU 44.79* 2. Evan White, U-M 45.63# (45.54#) 7. Miles Smachlo, U-M 46.16# 8. James Jones, U-M 46.74# (46.05#) 11. Jon Burkett, U-M 46.68# T23. Alex Martin, U-M 47.83# (47.76#)
400-yard IM
1. Charlie Swanson, U-M 3:39.16* 2. Tommy Cope, U-M 3:42.86# (3:42.75#) 3. Ricardo Vargas, U-M 3:43.73# 5. PJ Ransford, U-M 3:46.27# (3:46.20#) 11. Stephen Holmquist, U-M 3:47.65# 12. Will Roberts, U-M 3:48.11# 13. Ryan Sebastian, U-M 3:48.80#
200-yard Freestyle
1. Blake Pieroni, IU 1:31.14*! 4. Felix Auböck, U-M 1:33.23# (1:33.10#) 6. Mokhtar Al-Yamani, U-M 1:35.02# (1:34.72#) 11. Kai Williams, U-M 1:36.34# (1:36.25#) 16. Luiz Gustavo Borges, U-M 1:37.83# (1:36.27#)
100-Yard Breaststroke
1. Ian Finnerty, IU 50.72* 4. Jacob Montague, U-M 51.80# 5. Jeremy Babinet, U-M 52.22#
100-yard Breaststroke
1. Gabriel Fantoni, IU 45.79# 8. Tristan Sanders, U-M 47.40# (47.02#) 14. Alex Martin, U-M 47.81# (47.55#) 15. Paul Powers, U-M 47.87# (47.52#) 16. James Peek, U-M 48.22# (47.42#) 19. Rob Zofchak, U-M 47.59# 28. Jon Burkett, U-M 48.37#
Three-Meter Diving
1. Steele Johnson, Purdue 540.55^ 9. Ross Todd, U-M 429.50^ 13. Jake Herremans, U-M 397.70^ 21. Chris Canning, U-M 345.65^ 32. Steven Anderson, U-M 303.55
200-yard Freestyle Relay
1. MICHIGAN 1:16.49* (Paul Powers, Luiz Gustavo Borges Evan White, James Peek) * NCAA A # NCAA B ^ NCAA Zone Diving cut & Pool Record M School Record B Big Ten Record ! Big Ten Championships Record S Swim-Off T Time Trial
CAREER BESTS
100 Butterfly -- Evan White (45.54 -- T-2nd at U-M)
100 Butterfly -- Miles Smachlo (46.16 -- T-9th at U-M)
100 Butterfly -- Jon Burkett (46.76)
100 Butterfly -- Alex Martin (47.76)
400 IM -- Charlie Swanson (3:39.16 -- 5th at U-M)
400 IM -- Tommy Cope (3:42.75 -- 9th at U-M)
400 IM -- Ricardo Vargas (3:43.73 - 10th at U-M)
400 IM -- PJ Ransford (3:46.20)
400 IM -- Stephen Holmquist (3:47.79)
400 IM -- Will Roberts (3:48.26)
200 Freestyle -- Mokhtar Al-Yamani (1:34.72)
200 Freestyle -- Kai Williams (1:36.25)
200 Freestyle -- Luiz Gustavo Borges (1:36.27)
100 Breaststroke -- Jacob Montague (51.80 -- 3rd at U-M)
100 Breaststroke -- Jeremy Babinet (52.22 -- 4th at U-M)
100 Backstroke -- James Peek (47.42)
100 Backstroke -- Paul Powers (47.52)
3M Diving -- Ross Todd (429.50 -- 1st at U-M)
3M Diving -- Jake Herremans (397.70)
Players Mentioned
