Michigan
NCAA Championships
Michigan Holds Top-10 Position on Day Three at NCAA Championships
3/23/2018 9:57:00 PM | Men's Swimming & Diving
» Charlie Swanson reached the podium in the 400-yard IM, finishing sixth and earning All-America honors.
» Four other individuals scored in consolation finals, including Evan White in the 100-yard butterfly (15th), Felix Auböck in the 200-yard freestyle (16th), Jacob Montague in the 100-yard breaststroke (16th) and Jeremy Babinet in the 100-yard breaststroke (14th).
» The 200-yard medley relay of James Peek, Tommy Cope, James Jones and Paul Powers went from outside scoring position to the consolation final to take 11th (1:24.58).
» Prior to the session, senior captain PJ Ransford received the NCAA Elite 90 Award for men's swimming and diving for the second consecutive year.
Site: Minneapolis, Minn. (Jean K. Freeman Aquatic Center)
Event: NCAA Championships (Day 3 of 4)
U-M Team Standing: Ninth Place of 38 teams (101.5 points)
Next U-M Event: Saturday, March 24 -- at NCAA Championships - Day Three (Minneapolis, Minn.), 10 a.m./6 p.m. CDT
• Photo Gallery
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. -- Sophomore Charlie Swanson earned All-America honors in the 400-yard individual medley to lead five individual point-scorers on the third day of the NCAA Championships, held Friday (March 23) at the Jean K. Freeman Aquatic Center. Through three days, the Wolverines are in ninth place (101.5 points) and have already more than doubled their point-total from last year's meet with one day to go.
Prior to the finals session, senior PJ Ransford received the NCAA Elite 90 Award for the second consecutive year. The annual award goes to the student-athlete with the highest grade-point average competing at the NCAA Championships.
The 400-yard IM final proved to be redemption for Swanson, who finished 23rd last season as a freshman. It took a strong back half in preliminaries to get there; he was seventh in his heat at the 200-yard mark, but got to the wall ahead of both Curtis Ogren (Stanford) and Mark Szaranek (Florida). It proved to be the difference, as only three tenths-of-a-second separated seventh through 11th places.
Occupying lane one, Swanson once again made his move on the breaststroke leg, surpassing Jonathan Roberts (Texas) for sixth (3:39.93), one spot better than his seed and right on his time from the morning. Sophomore Tommy Cope was 19th (3:42.51), while freshman Ricardo Vargas was 29th (3:45.64).
"We're fighting for points," said head coach Mike Bottom. "It's a battle out there. We had some gutsy performances to get points today. We're going to celebrate every point, every great time and every achievement that moves the team forward."
The team's big move of the day came in the 200-yard medley relay. After being seeded 19th and out of scoring position, the Wolverines took 12th in preliminaries to secure their spot in the consolation final to add a few more points toward the team total. Graduate student James Peek, a sprint freestyler, swam the leadoff (backstroke) leg, followed by Cope, sophomore James Jones and senior Paul Powers, and shaved some time from the morning preliminaries and moved up a spot to take 11th (1:24.58). Sophomore Jacob Montague and senior Evan White swam on the relay in the morning, also earning All-America Honorable Mention.
Two sophomores scored in the 100-yard breaststroke: Jeremy Babinet tied for 14th (52.69), while Montague was 16th (52.85).
White was one of two swimmers to sneak into the last spot of a consolation final on Friday, as he moved up one spot to take 15th in the 100-yard butterfly (46.42). Sophomores Miles Smachlo (33rd, 46.39) and Jones (36th, 46.79) swam during the morning's preliminaries.
Like White, sophomore Felix Auböck (200-yard freestyle) got the last spot in the 200-yard freestyle, adding a point toward the team total with a 16th-place finish (1:34.98). Junior Mokhtar Al-Yamani, in his first individual swim at the NCAA Championships, finished 29th (1:34.80).
Freshman Ross Todd, the team's first diver at the NCAA Championships in 14 years, took part in the three-meter diving competition and finished 28th (335.20). He will compete on platform tomorrow.
The season concludes tomorrow (Saturday, March 24) with the final day of the NCAA Championships at the Jean K. Freeman Aquatic Center. Preliminaries begin at 10 a.m. CDT, with finals to follow at 6 p.m.
TEAM STANDINGS (After Day 3)
1. Indiana 325 2. Texas 306 3. California 291.5 4. North Carolina State 252 5. Florida 246 6. USC 181 7. 5tanford 165 8. Louisville 118.5 9. MICHIGAN 101.5 10. Georgia 98400-yard IM
1. Abrahm Devine, Stanford 3:35.29 6. Charlie Swanson, U-M 3:39.93 (3:39.51) 19. Tommy Cope, U-M 3:42.51 29. Ricardo Vargas, U-M 3:45.64100-yard Butterfly
1. Caeleb Dressel, Florida 42.80AN 15. Evan White, U-M 46.42 (45.70) 33. Miles Smachlo, U-M 46.39 36. James Jones, U-M 46.79200-yard Freestyle
1. Townley Haas, Texas 1:29.50AN 16. Felix Auböck, U-M 1:34.98 (1:33.70) 29. Mokhtar Al-Yamani, U-M 1:34.80100-yard Breaststroke
1. Ian Finnerty, Indiana 49.69ANB T14. Jeremy Babinet, U-M 52.69 (52.29) 16. Jacob Montague, U-M 52.85 (52.36)Three-Meter Diving
1. Steele Johnson, Purdue 499.35 28. Ross Todd, U-M 335.20200-yard Medley Relay
1. USC 1:21.82 (Robert Glinta, Carsten Vissering Dylan Carter, Santo Condorelli) 11. MICHIGAN 1:24.58 (James Peek, Tommy Cope* James Jones**, Paul Powers)
* Replaced Jacob Montague
** Replaced Evan White
A American Record
N NCAA Record
B Big Ten Record
M University of Michigan Record
Players Mentioned
