Michigan
NCAA Championships
Smachlo's Butterfly Bronze Paces Michigan at NCAAs
3/29/2019 9:42:00 PM | Men's Swimming & Diving
» After three days at the NCAA Championships, Michigan is in 17th place (62 points).
» Miles Smachlo won the bronze medal in the 100-yard butterfly (44.84), earning his first career All-America honor.
» Tommy Cope (9th, 3:40.09) and Ricardo Vargas (10th, 3:42.32) each added points in the consolation final of the 400-yard IM.
Site: Austin, Texas (Lee and Joe Jamail Texas Swimming Center)
Event: NCAA Championships (Day 3 of 4)
U-M Team Standing: 17th (62 points) after Day 3
Next U-M Event: Saturday, March 30 -- at NCAA Championships - Day Four (Austin, Texas), 10 a.m./6 p.m. CDT
AUSTIN, Texas -- Junior Miles Smachlo won the bronze medal in the 100-yard butterfly and was one of three scorers to lead the University of Michigan men's swimming and diving team on Friday (March 29) at the NCAA Championships. After three days, the Wolverines are in 17th place (62 points).
Smachlo, the Big Ten champion in the 100-yard butterfly, had the swim of the day for the Maize and Blue, sneaking into the final eight after a torrid back half of his preliminaries race. He came home in 23.59, tied for fastest split of the field, finishing in 45.31. He shaved almost a half second off his time at night, going 44.84 out of lane eight to take third and win the bronze medal. Smachlo was seventh at the 50-yard mark (21.06), but came home strong just like he did in the morning, splitting 23.78 to the wall. He was only .02 seconds off his school record set at last month's Big Ten Championships. The finish marked a big improvement for Smachlo, who was 31st in this event as a freshman and 33rd last year. It also marked his first career podium finish.
Two other scored points in the consolation final of the 400-yard IM. Junior Tommy Cope had a bit of heartbreak in the morning, finishing ninth out of preliminaries and missing the final by one spot, though he did set a new personal best (3:41.40). He lowered that further in the evening and absolutely dominated the field, winning the consolation final and taking ninth overall (3:40.09), a new personal best.
Sophomore Ricardo Vargas joined Cope in the consolation, finishing right behind in 10th (3:42.32). Like Smachlo, both men had considerably higher finishes than last year: Cope was 10 spots higher (19th in 2018), while Vargas was 19 spots higher (29th in 2018). Junior Charlie Swanson finished 20th (3:43.61).
Three more swimmers were in the water for the 100-yard breaststroke. Junior Jeremy Babinet just missed a second swim with a 17th-place finish (52.39) and was the team's highest finisher. Junior Jacob Montague was 36th (53.53) and freshman Will Chan was 39th (53.90).
Freshman Patrick Callan closed out his rookie season with a solid swim in the 200-yard freestyle, finishing 28th (1:34.42). Senior Mokhtar Al-Yamani, in his final NCAA Championships, was 34th (1:34.84), while junior Felix Auböck was 38th (1:35.13).
The 200-yard medley relay of redshirt sophomore Alex King, Chan, Smachlo and sophomore Luiz Gustavo Borges finished 18th (1:25.06).
The NCAA Championships conclude Saturday (March 30) at the Lee and Joe Jamail Texas Swimming Center. Preliminaries begin at 10 a.m. CDT with finals following at 6 p.m. CDT.
Top 10 Teams (After Day 3)
1. California 372 2. Texas 329 3. Indiana 277.5 4. North Carolina St. 215 5. Louisville 149 6. Florida 136 7. Alabama 110 8. Harvard 98 9. Missouri 88 10. Tennessee 82 --- 17. MICHIGAN 62
400-yard IM
1. Abrahm Devine, Stanford 3:36.41 9. Tommy Cope, U-M 3:40.09 10. Ricardo Vargas, U-M 3:42.32 20. Charlie Swanson, U-M 3:43.61
100-yard Butterfly
1. Vini Lanza, Indiana 44.37B 3. Miles Smachlo, U-M 44.84
200-yard Freestyle
1. Andrew Seliskar, California 1:30.14 28. Patrick Callan, U-M 1:34.42 34. Mokhtar Al-Yamani 1:34.84 38. Felix Auböck, U-M 1:35.13
100-yard Breaststroke
1. Ian Finnerty, Indiana 49.85P 17. Jeremy Babinet, U-M 52.39 36. Jacob Montague, U-M 53.53 39. Will Chan, U-M 53.90
200-yard Medley Relay
1. Alabama 1:22.26P (Zane Waddell, Laurent Bams, Knox Auerbach, Robert Howard) 18. MICHIGAN 1:25.06 (Alex King, Will Chan, Miles Smachlo, Luis Gustavo Borges) A American Record N NCAA Record U U.S. Open Record B Big Ten Record P Pool Record M University of Michigan Record
Players Mentioned
