Season Review: 2017-18 Michigan Men's Swimming and Diving
4/18/2018 10:00:00 AM | Men's Swimming & Diving
• Team Captains: Jackson Goethe, Paul Powers, PJ Ransford
• Record: 8-1 (6-1 Big Ten)
• Big Ten Championships: Second Place
• NCAA Championships: Eighth Place
Team Highlights
• Behind 15 individual qualifiers, the Wolverines finished eighth at the NCAA Championships, returning to the top 10 after a two-year absence. In total, 15 swimmers scored points for the team either individually on as part of a relay. They more than doubled their point total from last year (82 points) in securing its 28th top-10 finish in the last 32 seasons.
• Michigan finished second to Indiana at the Big Ten Championships in February, but was in contention for the title right until the end. It was a team effort from start-to-finish, as 25-of-26 student-athletes scored points, accumulating 47 new personal bests and surpassing last year's point total (1,382) by 235.5 points. Eleven swimmers earned All-Big Ten honors.
• The Wolverines went 8-1 in dual meets, defeating Oakland (Sept. 29), Louisville (Oct. 20-21), Minnesota, Wisconsin and Penn State (Nov. 3-4), Ohio State and Virginia Tech (Jan. 20) and Michigan State (Feb. 2). Their only setback came against Indiana on Jan. 13.
• Twenty-two members of the team received the U-M Athletic Academic Achievement Award, given to student-athletes who maintain a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher. Of those 22, 16 also received Academic All-Big Ten honors.
Individual Highlights
• The distance training group continued to show why it was one of the best -- if not the best -- in the nation. At the Big Ten Championships, Michigan dominated the distance events, going 1-2-3 in the 500-yard freestyle, 1-2-3-5 in the 400-yard IM and 1-2-3-6 in the 1,650-yard freestyle. Headlining the group was sophomore Felix Auböck, who repeated as Big Ten champion in the 500-yard freestyle and 1,650-yard freestyle, and was national runner-up in both events at the NCAA Championships. Ricardo Vargas, the Big Ten Freshman of the Year, finaled in both the 500-yard freestyle and 1,650-yard freestyle at the NCAA Championships. Senior PJ Ransford was an All-American in the 1,650-yard freestyle and All-America Honorable Mention in the 500-yard freestyle.
• Additionally, Ransford received the NCAA Elite 90 Award for the second consecutive year. The annual award is given to the student-athlete with the highest cumulative GPA competing at the NCAA Championships. Ransford graduated in December 2017 with a degree in mechanical engineering and will finish up coursework for his masters degree in December 2018. Ransford also was named the school's male recipient of the 2018 Big Ten Medal of Honor, and received a Big Ten postgraduate scholarship.
• Sophomore Charlie Swanson proved to be one of the country's best in the 400-yard IM, repeating as Big Ten champion and breaking the 3:40 barrier. After finishing 23rd at the NCAA Championships last year, Swanson made the final this year, finishing sixth. He also made the 2017-18 U.S. National Team in that event.
• The Wolverines came into the season with a deep group of breaststroke and individual medley swimmers, the bulk of whom were sophomores. Tommy Cope turned heads with a school-record swim in the 200-yard breaststroke on the final day of the season at the NCAA Championships. He also made the consolation final of the 200-yard IM and had three top-six individual finishes at the Big Ten Championships. Cope, Jacob Montague, Swanson and Jeremy Babinet made the final of the 200-yard breaststroke at the Big Ten Championships and ended the year holding four of the top eight times in school history in that event.
• The sprint freestylers showed their depth -- and speed -- on the biggest stages. The Wolverines won the Big Ten title in the 200-yard freestyle and set the Big Ten record in the same event at the NCAA Championships. Senior Paul Powers, graduate student James Peek and freshman legacy Luiz Gustavo Borges each recorded top-six finishes in the 50-yard freestyle at the Big Ten Championships and individually qualified for the NCAA Championships.
• The diving group also made massive jumps in 2017-18. Freshman Ross Todd set school records (six dives) on both three-meter and platform, finaled on platform at the Big Ten Championships and became the first Michigan men's diver to reach the NCAA Championships in 14 years. Todd, sophomore Jake Herremans (who set the school record on one-meter) and freshman Chris Canning combined to score 98 points at the Big Ten Championships, more than quadrupling their total from the previous year.Honors and Awards
Felix
Auböck
Tommy
Cope
Paul
Powers
PJ
Ransford
Charlie
Swanson
Ricardo
Vargas
Ross
Todd
NCAA Elite 90 Award
PJ Ransford
CSCAA All-Americans
Felix Auböck -- 500-yard Freestyle, 1,650-yard Freestyle
Tommy Cope -- 200-yard Breaststroke
PJ Ransford -- 1,650-yard Freestyle
Charlie Swanson -- 400-yard IM
Ricardo Vargas -- 500-yard Freestyle, 1,650-yard Freestyle
200-yard Freestyle Relay -- Paul Powers, Luiz Gustavo Borges, James Jones, James Peek
CSCAA All-America Honorable Mentions
Felix Auböck -- 200-yard Freestyle
Jeremy Babinet -- 100-yard Breaststroke
Tommy Cope -- 200-yard IM
Jacob Montague -- 100-yard Breaststroke, 200-yard Breaststroke
Paul Powers -- 50-yard Freestyle
PJ Ransford -- 500-yard Freestyle
Miles Smachlo -- 200-yard Butterfly
Evan White -- 200-yard IM, 100-yard Butterfly
400-yard Freestyle Relay -- Paul Powers, Luiz Gustavo Borges, James Jones, James Peek
800-yard Freestyle Relay -- Mokhtar Al-Yamani, Felix Auböck, Ricardo Vargas, Tristan Sanders 200-yard Medley Relay -- James Peek, Tommy Cope*, James Jones**, Paul Powers
* Replaced Jacob Montague
** Replaced Evan White
Big Ten Champions
Felix Auböck: 500-yard Freestyle, 1,650-yard Freestyle
Charlie Swanson: 400-yard IM
200-yard Freestyle Relay: Paul Powers, Luiz Gustavo Borges, Evan White, James Peek
Big Ten Awards
Big Ten Medal of Honor -- PJ Ransford
Big Ten Postgraduate Scholarship -- PJ Ransford
Big Ten Freshman of the Year: Ricardo Vargas
All-Big Ten (First Team): Felix Auböck, Luiz Gustavo Borges, James Peek, Paul Powers, Charlie Swanson, Evan White
All-Big Ten (Second Team): Mokhtar Al-Yamani, Tommy Cope, PJ Ransford, Ricardo Vargas, Kai Williams
Big Ten Sportsmanship Honoree: James Peek
Swimmer of the Week: Jacob Montague (Oct. 4), Felix Auböck (Dec. 6), Evan White (Jan. 24, Feb. 7)
Diver of the Week: Jake Herremans (Oct. 4), Ross Todd (Dec. 6, Feb. 7)
Freshman of the Week: Ross Todd (Oct. 4), Ricardo Vargas (Oct. 25), Luiz Gustavo Borges (Feb. 7)
Academic All-Big Ten
Jeremy Babinet, So., Mechanical Engineering, Redwood City, Calif.
Jon Burkett, Jr., General Studies, Medford, N.J.
Tommy Cope, So., Electrical Engineering, Dayton, Ohio
Jackson Goethe, Sr., Biopsychology, Cognition & Neuroscience, Midland, Mich.
Tim Hanson, So., LSA Undeclared, Newport Beach, Calif.
Jake Herremans, So., LSA Undeclared, Rockford, Mich.
Alex King, So., Music Performance, Evansville, Ind.
Alex Martin, So. , Business Administration, Moorestown, N.J.
Jacob Montague, So., LSA Undeclared, Grosse Pointe Farms, Mich.
Paul Powers, Sr., Mechanical Engineering, Gainesville, Ga.
PJ Ransford, Sr., Mechanical Engineering, Pittsford, N.Y.
Tristan Sanders, Sr., Biopsychology, Cognition & Neuroscience, Oldsmar, Fla.
Ryan Sebastian, Sr., Mechanical Engineering, Summit, N.J.
Miles Smachlo, So., Business Administration, Rexford, N.Y.
Evan White, Sr., Movement Science, Oakville, Ontario, Canada
Rob Zofchak, So., LSA Undeclared, Dexter, Mich.
Players Mentioned
