Michigan
NCAA Championships
Maize & Blue to Close Season at NCAA Championships
3/19/2018 11:24:00 AM | Men's Swimming & Diving
» Michigan is sending 15 individual qualifiers to the NCAA Championships, running Wednesday through Saturday (March 21-24) in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
» Of the team's 15 qualifiers, 10 are either freshmen or sophomores. Seniors Paul Powers, James Peek, PJ Ransford, Evan White and Tristan Sanders (relay-only) are competing in their final collegiate competition.
» Freshman diver Ross Todd will compete on three-meter (Friday) and platform (Saturday). He is the first Michigan men's diver to qualify for the NCAA Championships in 14 years.
THIS WEEK
Wed-Sat., March 21-24 -- NCAA Championships (Minneapolis, Minn.), 10 a.m./6 p.m. CDT
Championships Central | Live Results: Swimming : Diving
• Live Video: GopherSports.com (Wednesday, Thursday a.m., Thursday p.m., Friday a.m., Saturday a.m.)
• TV: ESPNU/WatchESPN (Friday p.m., Saturday p.m.)
• Social Media: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram
The University of Michigan men's swimming and diving team concludes its 97th season of varsity competition at the NCAA Championships, held Wednesday through Saturday (March 21-24) at the Jean K. Freeman Aquatic Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Preliminaries sessions begin at 10 a.m. CDT, with finals following at 6 p.m.
The Wolverines will have one of the largest teams at the NCAA Championships with 14 individually-qualified swimmers, one diver and one relay-only swimmer. The roster is comprised of swimmers Mokhtar Al-Yamani, Felix Auböck, Jeremy Babinet, Luiz Gustavo Borges, Tommy Cope, James Jones, Jacob Montague, James Peek, Paul Powers, PJ Ransford, Tristan Sanders (relay only) Miles Smachlo, Charlie Swanson, Ricardo Vargas and diver Ross Todd.
Finals sessions on Friday and Saturday will be aired on ESPNU and via the WatchESPN app. Wednesday and Thursday, along with the morning sessions on Friday and Saturday, will be streamed live on www.gophersports.com. Additionally, ESPNU will air a two-hour show at 5 p.m. on Wednesday, April 4.
SCHEDULE OF EVENTS AND INVITED PARTICIPANTS
Wednesday, March 21 (6 p.m.)
800-yard Freestyle Relay
Thursday, March 22 (10 a.m./6 p.m.)
200-yard Freestyle Relay
500-yard Freestyle -- Felix Auböck, Ricardo Vargas, PJ Ransford
200-yard IM -- Evan White, Tommy Cope, Charlie Swanson, Jacob Montague
50-yard Freestyle -- Paul Powers, Luiz Gustavo Borges, James Peek
400-yard Medley Relay
Friday, March 23 (10 a.m./6 p.m.)
400-yard IM -- Charlie Swanson, Tommy Cope, Ricardo Vargas
100-yard Butterfly -- Evan White, James Jones
200-yard Freestyle -- Felix Auböck, Mokhtar Al-Yamani
100-yard Breaststroke -- Jacob Montague, Jeremy Babinet
Three-Meter Diving -- Ross Todd
200-yard Medley Relay
Saturday, March 24 (10 a.m./6 p.m.)
1,650-yard Freestyle -- Felix Auböck, Ricardo Vargas, PJ Ransford
100-yard Freestyle -- Paul Powers
200-yard Breaststroke -- Tommy Cope, Jacob Montague, Charlie Swanson, Jeremy Babinet
200-yard Butterfly -- Miles Smachlo
Platform Diving -- Ross Todd
400-yard Freestyle Relay
SCORING FORMAT
The top eight times (places 1-8) in each preliminary race, including relays, will advance to the evening's finals and earn NCAA All-America (the only exception is the 1,650-yard freestyle, which is a timed final). The next eight times (places 9-16) will swim in the 'B' final and earn NCAA All-America honorable mention. The top 16 finishers will score points for their team.
NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS TIDBITS
HISTORY: U-M has won 12 NCAA championships (1937-41, 1948, 1957-59, 1961, 1995, 2013), the second-most of any collegiate swimming and diving program behind Texas, who are the three-time defending champions. The Wolverines won an additional seven before the NCAA officially sanctioned the sport in 1937 (1927-28, 1931-32, 1934-36). Michigan is also the only program in the country to win national titles under four different head coaches -- Mike Bottom, Matt Mann, Jon Urbanchek and Gus Stager.
CHAMPIONS: In its history, 108 U-M athletes have accounted for 165 national individual, diving or relay championships. Michigan has crowned at least one national champion in 23 of the last 30 NCAA Championships (none in 1998, 2002, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2016 or 2017).
BEST EVENTS: The program's best event at the NCAA Championships has been the 100-yard freestyle, as 10 U-M swimmers have won a total of 16 national titles. The Wolverines have had at least one individual national champion in every race but three: 100-yard backstroke, 100-yard breaststroke and the 200-yard IM. Michigan's most successful relay team has been the 400-yard freestyle relay, winning that race 14 times (last in 1959). Prior to the 200-yard medley relay team's win in 2013, the last U-M relay team to win a national championship was the 800-meter freestyle relay team in 2004.
LAST SEASON: Michigan finished 17th at the 2017 NCAA Championships, held in Indianapolis, Indiana. Four swimmers and one relay scored points, headlined by Felix Auböck, who posted the second-fastest mile time in history on the final day of competition. [ Recap ]
LAST TIME OUT
BIG TEN CHAMPIONSHIPS (Feb. 21-24): The Wolverines finished second at the Big Ten Championships, held Feb. 21-24 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. They scored 235.5 more points than in 2017, fueled by Big Ten titles from Felix Auböck (500-yard freestyle, 1,650-yard freestyle), Charlie Swanson (400-yard IM) and the 200-yard freestyle relay. In total, 25-of-26 student-athletes on the championships roster scored points for the team. [ Recap ]
NCAA ZONE C DIVING CHAMPIONSHIPS (March 8-10): Freshman Ross Todd qualified for the NCAA Championships on three-meter and platform at the NCAA Zone C Diving Championships, held March 8-10 in Columbus, Ohio. [ Recap ]
WOLVERINE BITES
• The Wolverines will have one of the biggest (and youngest) rosters at the NCAA Championships, as 10 of the 15 individual qualifiers are either freshmen or sophomores. Five of them -- Jeremy Babinet, Luiz Gustavo Borges, Tommy Cope, Ricardo Vargas and Ross Todd -- will make their debuts, while junior Mokhtar Al-Yamani and James Jones are first-time individual qualifiers after going as relay-only swimmers last year.
• The NCAA Championships mark the final collegiate competition for five seniors, led by captains Paul Powers (50-yard freestyle) and PJ Ransford (1,650-yard freestyle), both of whom are multi-time All-Americans.
• Sophomore Felix Auböck heads into his second NCAA Championships looking to build off last year's impressive debut. He scored in three events, finishing second in the 1,650-yard freestyle, third in the 500-yard freestyle and 10th in the 200-yard freestyle. This year, Auböck is seeded first in the 500-yard freestyle and second in the 1,650-yard freestyle. Also keep an eye on fellow 2016 Olympian Ricardo Vargas, the 2018 Big Ten Freshman of the Year, who is seeded third in the 500-yard freestyle and seventh in the 1,650-yard freestyle.
• The Wolverines have at least three qualifiers in six events: 50-yard freestyle (three), 500-yard freestyle (three), 1,650-yard freestyle (three), 200-yard breaststroke (four), 200-yard IM (four) and 400-yard IM (three).
• Freshman Ross Todd is the first Michigan diver to compete at the NCAA Championships since Jason Coben in 2004. Coben is also the last diver to score at the NCAA Championships (2004) and final in an event (platform, 2003). Todd will compete on three-meter (Friday) and platform (Saturday); he was fifth on platform and ninth on three-meter at the Big Ten Championships, also held at Minnesota.
Players Mentioned
