Michigan
NCAA Championships - Day 1
Michigan to Close out 100th Season at NCAA Championships
3/19/2021 10:00:00 AM | Men's Swimming & Diving
» The Big Ten champion Wolverines will finish off their 100th season of varsity competition at the NCAA Championships, Wednesday through Saturday (March 24-27) in Greensboro, N.C.
» Thirteen student athletes -- 12 swimmers, one diver -- will be in action. All five relays also qualified.
» The Wolverines finished 13th in 2019 and are looking to get back into the top 10 for the first time since 2018.
THIS WEEK
Wed-Sat., March 24-27 -- at NCAA Championships (Greensboro, N.C.), 10 a.m./6 p.m.
Wednesday, March 24 -- Day 1, 6 p.m.
TV: ESPN3 | Live Results | Live Video
Thursday, March 25 -- Day 2, 10 a.m./6 p.m.
TV: ESPN3 | Live Results | Live Video: Prelims / Finals
Friday, March 26 -- Day 3, 10 a.m./6 p.m.
TV: ESPN3 | Live Results: Swimming / Diving | Live Video: Prelims / Finals
Saturday, March 27 -- Day 4, 10 a.m./6 p.m.
TV: ESPN3 | Live Results: Swimming / Diving | Live Video: Prelims / Finals
• Social Media: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram
Fresh off winning its second consecutive Big Ten Conference title, the No. 8-ranked University of Michigan men's swimming and diving team will close out its 100th year of varsity competition at the NCAA Championships, Wednesday through Saturday (March 24-27) at the Greensboro Aquatic Center in Greensboro, N.C. Preliminaries will be held at 10 a.m., with finals following at 6 p.m.
Earning invites are seniors Luiz Gustavo Borges, Will Roberts and Ross Todd; juniors Patrick Callan, Will Chan, Jared Daigle, Mason Hunter and Eric Storms; sophomores Danny Berlitz, Cam Peel and River Wright; and freshmen Wyatt Davis and Jake Mitchell. All five relays qualified for the meet.
Live championship coverage will air on ESPN3 for preliminary and finals sessions Wednesday through Saturday. ESPNU will air a two-hour show at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, April 13.
Schedule of Events and Invited Michigan Participants
Wednesday, March 24 (6 p.m.)
800-yard Freestyle Relay
Thursday, March 25 (10 a.m./6 p.m.)
200-yard Freestyle Relay
500-yard Freestyle -- Patrick Callan, Jake Mitchell
200-yard IM -- Jared Daigle
50-yard Freestyle -- Luiz Gustavo Borges, Cam Peel, River Wright
400-yard Medley Relay
Friday, March 26 (10 a.m./6 p.m.)
100-yard Butterfly -- River Wright
400-yard IM -- Danny Berlitz, Jared Daigle
100-yard Backstroke -- Wyatt Davis, Eric Storms
200-yard Freestyle -- Luiz Gustavo Borges, Patrick Callan, Jake Mitchell
100-yard Breaststroke -- Will Chan, Mason Hunter
Three-Meter Diving -- Ross Todd
200-yard Medley Relay
Saturday, March 27 (10 a.m./6 p.m.)
1,650-yard Freestyle -- Jake Mitchell, Will Roberts
200-yard Backstroke -- Wyatt Davis
100-yard Freestyle -- Luiz Gustavo Borges, Cam Peel, River Wright
200-yard Breaststroke -- Will Chan, Mason Hunter
Platform Diving -- Ross Todd
400-yard Freestyle Relay
Scoring Format
The top eight times (places 1-8) in each preliminary race will advance to the evening's finals and earn NCAA All-America awards (the only exception is the 1,650-yard freestyle, which is a timed final). The next eight times (places 9-16) will swim in the 'B' final and earn NCAA All-America honorable mention. The top 16 finishers will score points for their team.
NOTE: A change to the schedule involves relays. All relays will be timed finals instead of the traditional prelims-finals cadence. Each heat will have only four relays with one empty lane separating each team.
NCAA Championships Tidbits
History: U-M has won 12 NCAA championships (1937-41, 1948, 1957-59, 1961, 1995, 2013), the second-most of any collegiate swimming and diving program behind Texas. The Wolverines won an additional seven before the NCAA officially sanctioned the sport in 1937 (1927-28, 1931-32, 1934-36). Michigan also is the only program in the country to win national titles under four different head coaches -- Mike Bottom, Matt Mann, Jon Urbanchek and Gus Stager.
Champions: In its history, 110 U-M athletes have accounted for 166 national individual, diving or relay championships. The last swimmer, diver or relay to win a national title came in 2019 from Felix Auböck in the 1,650-yard freestyle.
Best Events: The program's best event at the NCAA Championships has been the 100-yard freestyle, as 10 U-M swimmers have won a total of 16 national titles. The Wolverines have had at least one individual national champion in every race but three: 100-yard backstroke, 100-yard breaststroke and the 200-yard IM. Michigan's most successful relay team has been the 400-yard freestyle relay, winning that race 14 times (last in 1959). Prior to the 200-yard medley relay team's win in 2013, the last U-M relay team to win a national championship was the 800-meter freestyle relay team in 2004.
Last Time at NCAAs: The Wolverines took 13th in 2019 (99 points). Felix Auböck was NCAA champion in the 1,650-yard freestyle and was one of three All-Americans alongside Miles Smachlo (third in the 100-yard butterfly) and Ricardo Vargas (fourth in the 500-yard freestyle). Five swimmers and two relay teams earned All-America Honorable Mentions. [ Recap ]
Last Time Out
Big Ten Championships (March 2-6): The Wolverines overcame a 200-point diving deficit and trailed heading into the final day of the five-day meet, but rallied in a spectacular way to win its 42nd Big Ten title on March 6 in Columbus, Ohio. Despite only three individual or relay gold medals, Michigan won with depth, putting 12 swimmers in 'A' or 'B' finals on the last day of competition. [ Recap ]
Wolverine Bites
• This marks the third NCAA Championships appearance each for seniors Luiz Gustavo Borges and Ross Todd. Borges had received an invite to last year's meet prior to it being canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Senior Will Roberts is a first-time invitee, also having received a berth last year. He is ranked 30th out of 32 swimmers in the 1,650-yard freestyle.
• The Wolverines are strongest in the sprint and distance freestyle events, scoring three invites in both the 50- and 100-yard freestyles and two invites in the 200-, 500- and 1,650-yard freestyles. Sophomores Cam Peel and River Wright are first-time invitees. Wright had a breakout meet at the Big Ten Championships, moving up on the school's all-time performers list in three events: first in the 100-yard freestyle, tied for second in the 100-yard butterfly and tied for sixth in the 50-yard freestyle.
• Junior Will Chan is the team's highest seed in an individual event (second in the 100-yard breaststroke). At the Big Ten Championships, he became the first man in program history to break 51 seconds in the 100-yard breaststroke. His time of 50.95 makes him the 14th-fastest performer in history.
• A trio of juniors are making their first appearances at the NCAA Championships largely due to big time improvements made from last year to this year. They include Jared Daigle in the 200-yard IM (1:47.79 to 1:43.99), Mason Hunter in the 100-yard breaststroke (52.77 to 51.80) and Eric Storms in the 100-yard backstroke (47.32 to 46.37).
• Freshmen Wyatt Davis and Jake Mitchell are gearing up for their first taste of the NCAA Championships. The Carmel, Ind., natives are not strangers to the big stage, both having previously represented the United States at the 2019 FINA World Junior Championships. Mitchell was named Big Ten Freshman of the Year.
• Senior Ross Todd will represent the Wolverines in diving, slated to compete on both three-meter (on Friday) and platform (on Saturday). He qualified for the NCAA Championships in his two previous opportunities, finishing as high as 25th (platform) in 2018.
Players Mentioned
