Michigan
Big Ten Championships
Michigan Sets 200 Free Relay Records, Sits Second After Day Two of B1G Championships
2/20/2025 9:03:00 PM | Women's Swimming & Diving
Site: Columbus, Ohio (McCorkle Aquatic Pavilion)
Event: Big Ten Championships (Day 2 of 4)
U-M Team Result: 2nd Place of 14 Teams (431 Points)
Next U-M Event: Friday, Feb. 21 -- at Big Ten Women's Swimming and Diving Championships - Day Three (Columbus, Ohio), 10 a.m./5:30 p.m.
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Behind strong individual and relay swims, the No. 10-ranked University of Michigan women's swimming and diving team sits second with 431 points on Thursday (Feb. 20) at the Big Ten Championships inside McCorkle Aquatic Pavilion.
The Maize and Blue saved its best race for last, winning the 200-yard freestyle relay and setting new program, conference, and championship meet records with a time of 1:26.13. The win marks the first for U-M at Big Tens since 2022.
In the morning session, the Wolverines packed the finals, starting with Hannah Bellard and Rebecca Diaconescu reaching the 500-yard freestyle 'A' final as the third and fourth seeds, respectively. U-M put three swimmers in the 200-yard IM 'A' final as Stephanie Balduccini, Devon Kitchel and Letitia Sim each reached the top heat. Brady Kendall and Lindsay Flynn advanced to the 'A' final in the 50-yard freestyle.
Bellard led off the finals session with a time of 4:36.96 to finish third overall in the 500 free. Diaconescu checked in at eighth overall with a mark of 4:41.81. Sim followed up with a silver medal in the 200-yard IM, clocking a 1:54.64. Balduccini finished sixth with a time of 1:55.69, and Kitchel took eighth with a mark of 1:56.81. In the 50 free, Kendall grabbed a silver medal with a time of 21.76 seconds, and Flynn powered through the pool in 21.83 seconds to earn bronze. Claire Newman topped the 'B' final with a mark of 21.99.
Michigan will be back in action on Friday (Feb. 20) for the third day of the Big Ten Championships. Preliminaries will start at 10 a.m., and finals get underway at 5:30 p.m.
Standings After Day Two
1. No. 14 Ohio State 480 2. NO. 10 MICHIGAN 431 3. No. 7 Indiana 378 4. No. 13 Wisconsin 301 5. No. 12 USC 292 6. No. 24 Minnesota 239 7. Purdue 199 8. Northwestern 182 9. Nebraska 154 10. UCLA 140 11. Rutgers 139 12. Penn State 110 13. Illinois 105 14. Iowa 84
Players Mentioned
