With a two-day total of 420.5 points, Minnesota leads heading into the final night of competition at the 2008 Women’s Swimming and Diving Championships. The Golden Gophers past the Wolverines in the standings Friday night in the Bill and Mae McCorkle Aquatic Pavilion in Columbus, Ohio. Michigan has 407 points in second and Indiana has 335 to round out the league’s Top 3. Preliminaries for the last day of the championships begin at 11 a.m. and finals start at 6:30 p.m. Saturday.

“It was a really good day all across the board,” Kelly Kremer, Minnesota head coach, said. “It’s great to end a day like this and start out tomorrow in first place. We’re fortunate that we have people in every event that can get up and score.”

New Big Ten championship records were set in both the 200-yard freestyle and 100-yard backstroke while the meet records were tied on 200-yard medley relay and the 100-yard butterfly.

Also, announced at the Friday finals were the 2008 Big Ten Sportsmanship Honorees. The 11 athletes named were Meghan Bradley (Illinois), Ashley Dell (Indiana), Margaret Kelly (Michigan), Julie Kahn (MichiganState), Beth Campbell (Northwestern), Linda Lund-Kristiansen (OhioState), Molly Crispell (PennState), Leah Henninger (Purdue) and Katie Twitchell (Wisconsin).

To open the meet, the Indiana relay team of junior Sarah Stockwell and sophomores Presley Bard, Donna Smailis and Kate Zubkova garnered a Hoosier win in the 200-yard medley relay in a time of 1:38.89. Indiana tied the pool and Big Ten record time with the 1:38.89 mark first set by Wisconsin Feb. 15, 2006. Wisconsin’s relay of senior Jackie Vavrek, junior Christine Zwiegers, sophomore Rosie Morahan and freshman Maggie Meyer swam into second with a 1:39.24. In third was Michigan, finishing in 1:39.40. The Wolverine team consisted of Melissa Jaeger, Valeria Silva, Hannah Smith and Margaret Kelly.

In the 400-yard individual medley, Minnesota junior Jenny Shaughnessy set a new pool record in a time of 4:09.41. Justine Muller, a senior from Michigan, took second in 4:10.25 while sophomore Daphne Skelos of Penn State swam the race in 4:11.14 for third.

Michigan sophomore Kelly grabbed another conference medal, tying the meet and pool record with a finishing time of 52.60 in the 100-yard butterfly. Zubkova, who swam on Indiana’s winning 200-yard medley relay, finished second in 52.88 while the Wolverines were again represented in the Top 3 with senior Jaeger swimming the 100 butterfly in 52.98.

Northwestern sophomore Andrea Hupman won the 200-yard freestyle championship final in a time 1:44.89. Hupman’s time broke both the pool and Big Ten championship record of 1:45.26 set in 2005. Kelly Nelson, a junior from PennState, placed second with a time of 1:46.29 while Golden Gopher Meredith McCarthy finished third in 1:46.94.

In the 100-yard breaststroke, Jillian Tyler, a freshman from Minnesota, won with a time of 59.80, setting a new pool record. Indiana’s Stockwell finished second in 1:01.59 and Michigan’s Jaeger finished in 1:01.74 for third.

The 100-yard backstroke was won by Zubkova of Indiana. The sophomore swam a pool and meet record 51.68, finishing more than a second faster than the previous record set in 2007 of 52.85. Teammate Bard followed in 53.64 and Wisconsin rookie Meyer rounded out the Top 3 in 54:11.

In 3-meter diving, Indiana sophomore Brittney Feldman garnered her second Big Ten championship win is as many days. Feldman won the 1-meter at the finals Thursday with a score of 320.80 and secured the 3 meter win with a score of 349.55. OhioState freshman Bianca Alvarez finished second with a score of 335.65 while Purdue sophomore Ashley Karnes took third with a 335.00.

In the final event of the evening, Minnesota set a new pool record swimming the 800-yard freestyle relay in 7:08.91. Juniors Christine Jennings, Yuen Kobayashi, McCarthy and Shaughnessy represented the Gophers in the 800 freestyle relay. Indiana’s team of Bard, Allison Kay, Smailis and Amanda Smith finished second in 7:13.39. Northwestern finished just behind the Hoosiers in third with a time of 7:13.40. Quotes

Indiana, 200-yard medley relay winner Pam Swander, Indiana assistant head coach On winning: “It’s a great feeling. We kept cool and it was business like usual. We took advantage of every opportunity.”

400-yard individual medley winner - Jenny Shaughnessy, Minnesota junior On the race: “I tried a new strategy and it worked well for me tonight. Now, we just have to keep doing well and getting the maximum points possible.”

100-yard butterfly winner - Margaret Kelly, Michigan sophomore On tying a Big Ten record: “The record was set by Kaitlyn Brady (of Michigan) in 2006. It’s great to tie a teammate. I did the best I could and it was a good race for me.”

200-yard freestyle - Jimmy Tierney, Northwestern head coach On Andrea Hupman on breaking Big Ten record

“It was really special because we’ve been working hard now for a couple years. I’m thrilled Andrea was able to achieve this.”

100-yard breaststroke winner - Jillian Tyler, Minnesota freshman On the race: “It felt good to win. It’s always hard at the end to hold on to a lead.”

100-yard backstroke winner - Kate Zubkova, Indiana sophomore On the race: “I wasn’t sure I’d win but I am very happy. Now, I’m just preparing for tomorrow to try to get in the Top 3 and improve my personal best.”

3-meter diving winner - Britney Feldman, Indiana sophomore On the win: “It was awesome. It feels great and it’s an honor because these girls I’m competing against are really talented.” “It’s been good and our team has been great. They’ve been supporting me which has helped me a lot.”

Kelly Kremer, Minnesota head coach On being in first place: “It was a really good day all across the board. It’s great to end a day like this and start out tomorrow in first place. We’re fortunate that we have people in every event that can get up and score.”