Michigan
Big Ten Championships
Michigan Finishes Second at Big Ten Championships
3/2/2019 10:44:00 PM | Men's Swimming & Diving
» Michigan finished second in the team race (1,464 points). Indiana won the meet for the third consecutive year (1,705 points).
» Over the four-day meet, all 26 men on the championships roster scored points.
» Felix Auböck won the 1,650-yard freestyle for the third consecutive year, leading a 1-3-5 finish in the final along with Ricardo Vargas and Will Roberts.
» Ross Todd made the final on platform for the second year in a row and finished runner-up (442.60).
» All four divers scored in all three events this week.
Site: Iowa City, Iowa (Campus Recreation and Wellness Center)
Event: Big Ten Championships (Day 4 of 4)
U-M Team Standing: 2nd Place of 10Â Teams (1,464 points)
Next U-M Event: Tuesday, March 5 -- host Michigan Last Chance Meet (Canham Natatorium), 5 p.m.
• Complete Results (PDF) | Photo Gallery
IOWA CITY, Iowa -- Four individuals won medals -- including a third consecutive title in the 1,650-yard freestyle from junior Felix Auböck and a runner-up finish on platform from sophomore Ross Todd -- to help the University of Michigan men's swimming and diving team finish second (1,464 points) at the Big Ten Championships on Saturday (March 2) at the Campus Recreation and Wellness Center. Indiana won the team title (1,705 points).
In a true team-wide effort, all 26 men on the championships roster scored points over the four-day meet. They accumulated 41 new career bests, 67 NCAA standards (7 'A,' 52 'B,' 8 diving) and had 16 times or scores that now appear on the school's all-time top-10 list.
"We had a week of great performances from swimmers and divers," said head coach Mike Bottom. "We won races, broke records, got more people qualified to the NCAA Championships and swam really fast. Everyone here scored points for Michigan, and that's an incredible feat. It was a battle to the end, and I couldn't be prouder of this team."
Auböck's win punctuated what was a dominant effort by the distance group this week. The junior was locked in a tight race with teammate Ricardo Vargas and Indiana's Michael Brinegar, but turned on the jets at the right time, splitting 1:39.6 across the final 200 yards to get the win in 14:29.58. Auböck has now won the 500- and 1,650-yard freestyles in three consecutive years, becoming the first man in program history to do that since Matt Patton (2007-09).
Vargas got the bronze medal (14:31.76), recording the fifth-fastest time in school history, while sophomore Will Roberts was fifth (14:54.77). Those two, along with senior Stephen Holmquist (14th, 15:14.98), all set new career bests. This week across the three distance events (500-yard freestyle, 1,650-yard freestyle, 400-yard individual medley), U-M scored 376 points, accounting for nearly a quarter of the team total.
THREE STRAIGHT -- AGAIN! Felix Auböck turns on the jets in the final 300 yards to win the 1650 FR (14:29.58).
— Michigan Swimming & Diving (@umichswimdive) March 3, 2019
Splits: 26.3/26.2/25.9/25.5/25.0/23.2#GoBlue #MichiganDistance pic.twitter.com/ji2ze45fE9
The Michigan divers capped off a successful week on tower Saturday, led by sophomore Ross Todd, who made the final for the second year in a row and finished runner-up to earn All-Big Ten honors (442.60). He is the first Michigan men's diver to win a medal on platform since Jason Coben won it in 2004. Junior Jake Herremans rebounded from a tough finish in the preliminaries to finish 11th (383.65 -- the third-best score in school history), while sophomore Chris Canning was 15th (338.50). Redshirt junior Collin DeShaw added two points in 23rd (289.10). All four divers scored in all three events at this year's Big Ten Championships.
Led by juniors Charlie Swanson (third, 1:52.94) and Jeremy Babinet (seventh, 1:53.83), all seven swimmers entered in the 200-yard breaststroke scored, combining for 109 points. Swanson now sits at No. 3 in school history for the event. Three others were in the consolation final, including junior Tommy Cope (9th, 1:53.68), freshman Mason Hunter (11th, 1:55.27) and freshman Will Chan (16th, 2:00.04), the latter of whom swam the event for the first time this season during the morning's preliminaries. Junior Jacob Montague won the bonus final (17th, 1:55.18), as he was joined there by freshman AJ Bornstein (22nd, 1:58.77).
Senior Kai Williams ended his meet on a high note, taking fourth in the 200-yard backstroke and setting a new personal best with the sixth-fastest time in school history (1:41.77). Junior Rob Zofchak claimed points in the consolation final (10th, 1:43.76), while redshirt sophomore Alex King (21st, 1:45.41) and junior Alex Martin (23rd, 1:46.88) topped off impressive weeks in the bonus final. All four set career bests on Saturday.
Sophomore Luiz Gustavo Borges capped off his week with a third top-10 finish, claiming sixth in the 100-yard freestyle (42.92). Junior James Jones had a nice swim to get into the consolation final, finishing 13th (43.41).
Fresh off his record-setting win in the 100-yard butterfly Friday, junior Miles Smachlo was back in a final Saturday, taking fourth in the 200-yard butterfly (1:42.73). Senior Mokhtar Al-Yamani swam the event for the first time at a Big Ten Championships, dropping close to a second from preliminaries to win the bonus final (17th, 1:45.34).
Don't try this at home, kids. Ross gets a 73.60 on his fourth dive. #GoBlue pic.twitter.com/1kEkl2LB63
— Michigan Swimming & Diving (@umichswimdive) March 3, 2019
The Wolverines ended the meet with a fourth-place finish in the 400-yard freestyle relay behind Borges, Smachlo, Swanson and Cope (2:51.47).
Select swimmers will be back in the water Tuesday (March 5) at 5 p.m. for the Michigan Last Chance Meet at Canham Natatorium. All four divers will next compete at the NCAA Zone C Diving Championships, March 14-16 in West Lafayette, Indiana.
MICHIGAN BIG TEN CHAMPIONS (5)
Felix Auböck: 500-yard Freestyle, 1,650-yard Freestyle
Miles Smachlo: 100-yard Butterfly
Charlie Swanson: 400-yard IM
200-yard Medley Relay: Alex King, Will Chan, Miles Smachlo, Luiz Gustavo Borges
BIG TEN AWARD WINNERS
Swimmer of the Championships: Vini Lanza, Indiana
Diver of the Championships: James Connor, Indiana
Freshman of the Year: Max McHugh, Minnesota
Big Ten Sportsmanship Award Honoree: Mokhtar Al-Yamani
2018-19 MICHIGAN ALL-BIG TEN SELECTIONS
First Team: Felix Auböck, Luiz Gustavo Borges, Will Chan, Alex King, Miles Smachlo, Charlie Swanson
Second Team: Patrick Callan, Tommy Cope, Ross Todd, Ricardo Vargas
TEAM STANDINGS
1. Indiana 1,705 2. MICHIGAN 1,464 3. Ohio State 1,243.5 4. Purdue 744.5 5. Minnesota 726 6. Wisconsin 593.5 7. Penn State 563.5 8. Iowa 560 9. Northwestern 378 10. Michigan State 209
1,650-yard Freestyle
1. Felix Auböck, U-M 14:29.58* 3. Ricardo Vargas, U-M 14:31.76* 5. Will Roberts, U-M 14:54.77# 14. Stephen Holmquist, U-M 15:14.98#
200-yard Backstroke
1. Gabriel Fantoni, IU 1:39.53* 4. Kai Williams, U-M 1:41.77# 10. Rob Zofchak, U-M 1:43.76# (1:43.09#) 21. Alex King, U-M 1:45.41 (1:44.45#) 23. Alex Martin, U-M 1:46.88 (1:44.90#) 27. Bora Unalmis, U-M 1:45.86
100-yard Freestyle
1. Bowen Becker, MINN 41.71* 6. Luiz Gustavo Borges, U-M 42.92# (42.81#) 13. James Jones, U-M 43.41# (43.17#) 29. Dylan Boyd, U-M 44.31 42. Patrick Callan, U-M 44.98
200-yard Breaststroke
1. Ian Finnerty, IU 1:50.30* 3. Charlie Swanson, U-M 1:52.94* 7. Jeremy Babinet, U-M 1:53.83# 9. Tommy Cope, U-M 1:53.68# 11. Mason Hunter, U-M 1:55.27# 16. Will Chan, U-M 2:00.04 (1:56.63#) 17. Jacob Montague, U-M 1:55.18# 22. AJ Bornstein, U-M 1:58.77 (1:58.00#)
200-yard Butterfly
1. Vini Lanza, IU 1:39.28* 4. Miles Smachlo, U-M 1:42.73# 17. Mokhtar Al-Yamani, U-M 1:45.34#
Platform Diving
1. Brandon Loschiavo, PUR 502.30^ 2. Ross Todd, U-M 442.60^ 11. Jake Herremans, U-M 383.65^ 15. Chris Canning, U-M 338.50^ 23. Collin DeShaw, U-M 289.10
400-yard Freestyle Relay
1. Indiana 2:48.67* (Zach Apple, Bruno Blaskovic, Mohamed Samy, Jack Franzman) 4. MICHIGAN 2:51.47# (Luiz Gustavo Borges, Miles Smachlo, Charlie Swanson, Tommy Cope) * NCAA 'A' standard # NCAA 'B' standard ^ NCAA Zone Diving standard A American Record N NCAA Record B Big Ten Record % Big Ten Championships Record M University of Michigan Record P Pool Record
CAREER BESTS
1650-yard Freestyle: Ricardo Vargas (14:31.76 -- No. 5 at U-M)
1650-yard Freestyle: Will Roberts (14:54.77)
1650-yard Freestyle: Stephen Holmquist (15:14.98)
200-yard Backstroke: Kai Williams (1:41.77 -- No. 6 at U-M)
200-yard Backstroke: Rob Zofchak (1:43.09)
200-yard Backstroke: Alex King (1:44.45)
200-yard Backstroke: Alex Martin (1:44.90)
100-yard Freestyle: Dylan Boyd (44.31)
200-yard Breaststroke: Charlie Swanson (1:52.94 -- No. 3 at U-M)
200-yard Breaststroke: Jeremy Babinet (1:53.83 -- No. 8 at U-M)
200-yard Breaststroke: Will Chan (1:56.63)
200-yard Butterfly: Mokhtar Al-Yamani (1:45.34)
Platform Diving: Jake Herremans (383.65 -- No. 3 at U-M)
Players Mentioned
