Michigan
Minnesota Invite
Michigan Finishes Second at Minnesota Invite
12/7/2019 11:24:00 PM | Men's Swimming & Diving
» Ross Todd completed the diving sweep, winning platform by nearly 100 points (436.40).
» Tommy Cope and Jeremy Babinet each recorded NCAA 'A' cuts in the 200-yard breaststroke.
» Felix Auböck was runner-up in the 1,650-yard freestyle.
Site: Minneapolis, Minn. (Jean K. Freeman Aquatic Center)
Event: Minnesota Invite (Day 4 of 5)
U-M Team Standing: 2nd of 7 Teams (803.5 points)
Next U-M Event: Sunday, Dec. 8 -- at Minnesota Invite - Long Course Time Trial (Minneapolis, Minn.), 9 a.m. CST
• Complete Results (PDF)
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. -- Junior Ross Todd completed the diving sweep with a dominant performance on platform, and seniors Tommy Cope and Jeremy Babinet each picked up NCAA 'A' cuts in the 200-yard breaststroke to guide the No. 5-ranked University of Michigan men's swimming and diving team to a second-place finish (803.5 points) at the Minnesota Invite on Saturday (Dec. 7) at the Jean K. Freeman Aquatic Center. Over the four days in Minneapolis, U-M accumulated 54 NCAA standards (46 swimming, eight diving).
Additionally, the following swimmers/relays have either qualified for the NCAA Championships or gotten below last year's invited time:
• Felix Auböck: 500 FR (B), 1650 FR (B)
• Jeremy Babinet: 100 BR (A), 200 BR (A)
• Luiz Gustavo Borges: 50 FR (B)
• Patrick Callan: 200 FR (B), 500 FR (B)
• Will Chan: 100 BR (B)
• Tommy Cope: 200 BR (A), 200 IM (B), 400 IM (B)
• Will Roberts: 1650 FR (B)
• Charlie Swanson: 200 BR (B)
• Relays: 200-yard Freestyle Relay (B), 400-yard Freestyle Relay (B), 800-yard Freestyle Relay (A), 200-yard Medley Relay (A), 400-yard Medley Relay (B)
"Our team became so much better as a result of this meet," said head coach Mike Bottom. "We saw a lot of improvement and best times all up and down the team. There was some fantastic competition here, and while we may not have as many big guns as teams like California and Texas, we showed we could compete. Our divers, too, did an exceptional job, not only with their performances, but in scoring points for Michigan. That's what our team needs and they're putting themselves in a position to do that."
"What we need to do now is to continue to push our conditioning and fitness level, and add a component of endurance speed to what we're doing. That'll help us be even faster at the end of the season. The other part of the equation is to continue to refine the details because every swimmer can figure out a way to get better."
Three Michigan distance swimmers finished inside the top nine of the 1,650-yard freestyle. Senior Felix Auböck, last season's national champion in the event, led the way for the Wolverines taking second with the third-fastest time in the NCAA this season (14:42.29). Junior Will Roberts was fifth (14:54.04), just ducking below last year's invited time for the NCAA Championships (14:54.65). Freshman Danny Berlitz took ninth (15:10.76), nabbing an NCAA 'B' cut.
Junior Ross Todd capped off the diving sweep with a dominant performance on platform, taking the title by nearly 100 points (436.40). Senior Jake Herremans followed him in second (339.90), while junior Chris Canning (fourth, 292.55) and freshmen Nick Leavell (fifth, 288.05) and Kevin Bradley (sixth, 261.90) rounded out the top-six finishers.
Michigan put five swimmers in the top 12 of the 200-yard breaststroke with all five trimming time from preliminaries. Seniors Tommy Cope (fifth, 1:52.31) and Jeremy Babinet (sixth, 1:52.52) both went under the NCAA 'A' cut, with Babinet moving to third on the school's all-time list. Among NCAA swimmers this year for the event, Cope ranks fifth -- with the four ahead of him all coming in the final on Saturday -- and Babinet ranks seventh. Senior Charlie Swanson bounced back in finals with a huge swim, cutting more than four-and-a-half seconds off preliminaries to take ninth (1:53.57), getting under last year's invited time for the NCAA Championships (1:54.04). Sophomores Will Chan (11th, 1:55.52) and AJ Bornstein (12th, 1:56.48) rounded out the team's point-scorers.
Senior Miles Smachlo moved up a spot in the 200-yard butterfly final, finishing fourth (1:42.76). Redshirt sophomore Spencer Carl was 13th (1:46.16), while freshman River Wright got his first NCAA 'B' cut with his second swim (1:46.63).
Junior Luiz Gustavo Borges snuck into the top eight out of preliminaries, moving up a spot in finals to finish seventh (43.04). Sophomore Patrick Callan finished off a nice week by getting under the NCAA 'B' cut in the consolation final, finishing 13th (43.75).
Senior Rob Zofchak was the team's best finisher in the 200-yard backstroke, taking 14th with an NCAA 'B' cut (1:44.13).
Michigan finished out the meet with a fifth-place finish in the 400-yard freestyle relay behind Borges, Smachlo, Swanson and Cope (2:51.34). They came within a quarter of a second of the NCAA 'A' standard.
Select swimmers will be back in the water Sunday morning (Dec. 8) for a non-scored long course time trial. Racing will begin at 9 a.m. CST.
NCAA Qualifying Times/Scores
Preliminaries - p
400-yard Freestyle Relay
B - Luiz Gustavo Borges, Miles Smachlo, Charlie Swanson, Tommy Cope (2:51.34)
1,650-yard Freestyle
B - Felix Auböck, 14:42.29
B - Will Roberts, 14:54.04
B - Danny Berlitz, 15:10.76
200-yard Backstroke
B - Rob Zofchak, 1:44.31
100-yard Freestyle
B - Luiz Gustavo Borges, 42.70 (leading off 400-yard Freestyle Relay)
B - Patrick Callan, 43.75
200-yard Breaststroke
A - Tommy Cope, 1:52.31
A - Jeremy Babinet, 1:52.52 (No. 3 at U-M)
B - Charlie Swanson, 1:53.57
B - Will Chan, 1:55.52
B - AJ Bornstein, 1:56.48
200-yard Butterfly
B - Miles Smachlo, 1:42.72p
B - Spencer Carl, 1:46.11p
B - River Wright, 1:46.63
Platform Diving
Ross Todd, 436.40
Jake Herremans, 339.90
Players Mentioned
