Wolverines Continue To Grow Big Ten Lead

TEAM STANDINGS (AFTER FRIDAY'S EVENTS)
Place     Team - Points
1.            Michigan -588.5
2.            Ohio State - 357.5
3.            Minnesota - 344
4.            Purdue - 330
5.            Indiana - 285.5
6.            Wisconsin - 173.5
7.            Penn State - 157
8.            Northwestern - 150
9.            Iowa - 97
10.          Michigan State - 79

Minnesota Wins Two Titles On Second Day of Big Ten Championships
The University of Minnesota men's swimming and diving team claimed two Big Ten titles and broke two school records at the second night of the Big Ten Championships at Purdue's Boilermaker Aquatic Complex. The Gophers stand in third place with 344 points, behind Michigan (588.5) and Ohio State (357.5). Senior Colin Lee-To (Excelsior, Minn.) won the Big Ten title in the 100 breaststroke and the Gophers took the 200 medley relay title. Purdue is currently fourth with 330 points and Indiana is fifth with 285.5.

The Gophers couldn't have scripted a better opening to the second night of action. The 200 medley relay team of Nadav Kochavi, Colin Lee-To, Anthony Portela and Steve Miller blasted the Big Ten record with a time of 1:24.41, setting a new school record in the process. The previous conference record of 1:25.14 was set in 2007 by Northwestern's team of Matt Grevers, Mike Alexandrov, Kyle Bubolz and Bruno Barbic, three of which were Olympians in 2008. The time also broke the school record set in 2003 by over a second-and-a-half and is the Gophers' first title in the event since 2003 and ninth overall.

"It was amazing," Portela said. "It was a magical moment. We were talking beforehand and we knew if we had a chance. It would set the tone for everyone's swims tonight."

Kochavi split a 21.65, followed by Lee-To (23.49), Portela (20.32) and Miller (18.95). When asked about the significance of winning the title and breaking a record set by a team of Olympians, Miller said, "It's pretty amazing. If we had we gone a second slower, we would have been happy. When you mention those names associated with the record, it makes our accomplishment even greater and I am excited to share this with my teammates."

The momentum clearly carried over during the rest of the evening as Lee-To became Minnesota's first individual conference champion since 2006, winning the 100 breaststroke in a school record time of 53.17. He finished ahead of Ohio State's Sam Pelkey (53.77) and Purdue's Aaron Koger (53.79) to become the Gophers' first champion in the event since Jeff Hackler in 2003 and fifth overall. "I think the medley relay helped," Lee-To noted. "I took that win and carried it over. It put me in the right mindset."

Ivan Gutesa registered a personal-best 54.28 to win the consolation final of the 100 breast and pick up huge team points. His time is the seventh-fastest in school history. Rob Schnitzler also managed an 11th place finish in 54.71, just .22 seconds off his prelim time from the morning.

In the 400 individual medley, Alex Wold continued a very impressive Championships, dropping more time off his personal-best time set in the prelims to take third in a time of 3:45.80. It marked the best finish of his Big Ten career and made him the third-fastest performer in school history. Wold took fourth in the 200 IM last night. Michigan's Tyler Clary broke the NCAA record set in 2006 by Ryan Lochte with a time of 3:38.03.

Josh Griffey also posted a personal-best time to place 10th overall in 3:50.64. Griffey dropped .13 seconds off his time from the prelims and recorded his best Big Ten finish.

After shattering an 11-year-old-record in the 100 butterfly in the prelims, Kochavi came back at night to place third in the event with a time of 46.60. Michigan's Chris Brady took the title in a Big Ten record time of 45.45. Swimming in his first Big Ten final, Portela took eighth place with a time of 47.61. In the consolation final, Kevin Baseheart placed 12th with a time of 47.88.

Kochavi wasn't finished for the evening. In the final of the 100 backstroke, he placed fifth in 47.99 while Karl Burdis took sixth in a career-best 48.12. The tandem are the fourth and seventh-fastest swimmers ever in the event for Minnesota.

Ray Betuzzi took seventh in the 200 freestyle in 1:36.01, reaching his second championship final in as many nights. Michigan's Dan Madwed ran away with a Big Ten record time of 1:33.90. In the consolation final, Miller placed 14th in 1:36.98 and Adam Weis took 16th in 1:37.58.

The Gophers received a second-straight great effort in springboard diving. After placing two finalists on the 1-meter on Thursday, Drew Brown registered a sixth-place finish on the 3-meter tonight while Cole Young took 13th in the consolation final. Brown tallied a career-high score of 389.30 to pick up 13 team points for Minnesota. "I am really proud of Drew. He was really solid and only missed one dive," diving coach Jason Baumann said. "Without that miss, he would have been in the mix for second. To place sixth in this incredibly deep field is a great accomplishment."

Young rallied from an early missed dive in the prelims to sneak into the consolation final where he tallied a score of 330.15 to place 13th. He has scored eight times in his Big Ten career. Brown became the first Gopher to final on both springboard events since 2001. Minnesota held a 20-point advantage over Ohio State for second place after diving.

Minnesota suffered a setback in the 800 freestyle relay to end the night. The Gophers were disqualified for an early exchange which ended up dropping them to third place. The disqualification also closed the gap for Purdue in fourth place to just 14 points. Indiana also DQ'd the relay and slipped to fifth.

Tomorrow's prelims start at 11 a.m. central.

Ress Takes Second in 100 Back at Big Ten Swim and Dive Championships
Led by a second-place finish in the 100 backstroke from freshman Eric Ress and a school record swim in the 400 individual medley, the Indiana men’s swimming and diving team is in fifth place after day two of the Big Ten Men’s Swimming and Diving Championships in Ann Arbor, Mich.

Michigan continues to hold a commanding lead with 588.5 points. Ohio State is second with 357.5, followed by Minnesota (344), Purdue (330) and Indiana (285.5). The meet concludes on Saturday with the 1650 free, 200 backstroke, 100 freestyle, 200 breaststroke, 200 butterfly and 400 freestyle relay.

“I thought there were some bright spots,” said head coach Ray Looze. “I thought the 400 IMs went well, and the 100 fliers had a nice evening, moving up in points.”

The evening session kicked off with the 200 medley relay with Ress, Tyler Lemert, Matt Lenton and Bryan Chovanec placing fifth with a time of 1:26.65. That is an NCAA B cut for the Hoosiers.

Ress earned a spot in the championship final of the 100 backstroke and finished second in his first Big Ten meet with a time of 47.38, matching his career best set in the morning prelim. Doug Spraul took his turn in the bonus final where he finished 19th overall by touching the wall in 49.52.

“Eric had a really nice day and it was good to see what he was able to do,” Looze said. “We need more guys to step up like him.”

Ress and Spraul both set personal bests in the final preliminary heat in the morning session with Ress second in 47.38, and Spraul sixth in 49.30. Ante Zoricic took third in the first preliminary heat with a time of 50.92.

He also posted a personal best of 1:36.92 on the opening leg of the 800 free relay, but the team was dealt a blow when it was disqualified for an early exchange and a school-record time of 6:26.62 was wiped from the record books.

“We are just a young team and are prone to some untimely errors,” Looze said. “We had a chance to finish up the session well with the 800 free relay, but we jumped it and it is a relay where you don’t need fast exchanges.”

Cody Weik and Brenden Butler represented Indiana in the championship final of the 400 individual medley, with Weik taking fifth in 3:49.20. Butler placed eighth in 3:53.74. Michigan’s Tyler Clary won the event with an NCAA-record time of 3:38.03. Freshman Tony Mattar earned a spot in the consolation final where he finished 14th with a time of 3:54.52. In the bonus final, Aaron Opell recorded a time of 3:57.27 to finish 20th overall.

Weik set a new IU record with a time of 3:46.95 in his morning swim, breaking the old mark of 3:47.84 set by Steven Murry in 2007.  Butler was fourth in the final heat with a career best of 3:50.40.  Mattar got the Hoosier off to a rousing start in the morning session by winning the second heat with a time of 3:50.94. That is almost 11 seconds better than his career best heading into the meet. Opell was sixth in the third heat with a time of 3:56.16.

Lenton, A.J. Miller and Matthew O’Brien led the way for Indiana in the consolation final of the 100 butterfly. O’Brien took second in the heat and 10th overall in 47.72. Miller took the 13th spot overall with a time of 47.92. Lenton was eighth in the heat and 16th overall in 48.84. In the bonus final, freshman Tyler Shedron posted a time of 49.34 to finish 22nd overall.

O’Brien topped his career best with a time of 47.69 for fifth in heat four, while Miller was sixth in the same heat with a time of 47.89. Lenton was sixth in his heat with a lifetime best of 48.08. Shedron posted a career-best time of 49.29 to finish third in his heat, while Doug Spraul was fourth in the heat with a time of 49.68.

In the 200 freestyle, Knight placed fifth in the consolation heat and 13th overall with a time of 1:36.80. Barbiere finished second in the consolation heat and 18th overall with a time of 1:37.56.   

Knight went a career-best 1:36.13 in the final heat for the fastest IU swim of the event. Barbiere cut two seconds off his personal best with a time of 1:37.22 to finish second in heat five. Bart Ginocchio and Ryan Hinshaw both posted career bests in the second heat with Ginocchio fourth in 1:40.99, and Hinshaw sixth in 1:41.69.

Competing in his first Big Ten Championship heat, sophomore Tyler Lemert took sixth in the 100 breaststroke with a time of 54.10, just 4/100ths of a second off his career best. Swimming in the consolation heat, Heath Tameris picked up a point for IU with a 16th-place showing (55.41). Competing in his first Big Ten meet, Daniel Sliwinski took third in the consolation heat (19th overall) with a time of 54.96. Justin Peterfish placed 21st overall in 55.90.

Lemert was second in heat three with a time of 54.26, while Sliwinski posted a season best in the same heat with a time of 54.92. Tameris placed fourth in heat four with a time of 54.70, while Peterfish was seventh in 55.68.

Freshman Linus Altman-Kurosaki led the Hoosiers with a fifth-place finish on the three-meter springboard with a score of 409.65, topping his previous career best of 385.30 set in the morning prelims. Landon Marzullo took seventh with a final score of 381.40. In the consolation final, Will Bohonyi finished 14th with a score of 310.90.

Marzullo led the way with a career-best 430.95 points in the morning prelims, while Altman-Kurosaki put up a score of 385.30. Bohonyi totaled 325.65 points to advance to the consolation final, with Robert Dohring tallying 297.10 points. Jonathan Dohring finished with 284.85 points.

RECORDS FALL FOR BADGERS AT BIG TEN CHAMPIONSHIPS
School records fell on the board and in the pool for the Wisconsin men’s swimming and diving team Friday, as the Badgers built up some steam heading into the final day of the Big Ten Conference Swimming & Diving Championships.
 
A school-record effort of 6:28.04 propelled the Badgers to a fourth-place finish in the 800 freestyle relay, the final event of the meet’s second day, and kept UW staked to sixth place in the team standings.
 
Add in sophomore Caleb Percevecz’s school-record score of 368.25 in 3-meter diving and it was a solid day for the Badgers, who look forward to some of their best events on the schedule for Saturday.
 
“I’m really proud of the way we rallied today,” UW head coach Eric Hansen said. “Caleb came up big for us on the 3-meter and our guys put in a really great effort in the 800 free relay.
 
“To end on a couple of high notes like that really gives us some momentum heading into what could be a big day for us on Saturday.”
 
Heading into the meet’s final day, a score of 173.5 has the Badgers in sixth place and holding a 16.5-point lead over No. 22 Penn State.
 
Michigan holds a commanding lead in the team race with a score of 588.5. Ohio State is in second with 357.5 points, with Minnesota (344) third and Purdue (330) in fourth.
 
It was senior Scott Rice, junior Phil Davies, senior Kyle Sorensen and freshman Brett Nagle who made up the Badgers’ school-record effort in the 800 free relay, improving UW’s ‘B’ qualifying mark for the NCAA championships in the process.
 
Rice scored in three events for UW on the night, as he also was part of the Badgers’ seventh-place finish in the 200 medley relay and took fourth in the 100 butterfly.
 
“You really have to appreciate Scott’s versatility,” Hansen said. “He has been able to help us out in so many different events and is really making the most of his last conference meet.”
 
Derrick O’Donnell was the Badgers’ other individual standout, as he scored a seventh-place finish in the 100 backstroke. Five UW swimmers qualified for the finals of the event, with Jesse Stipek (10th) and Mike Hopkins (17th) also scoring for the Badgers.

Percevecz earned himself a spot in the championship final on the 3-meter board by coming up big on his sixth and final dive of the prelims. His school-record score of 368.25 seeded him seventh for the final, in which he finished eighth with a score of 357.50.
 
“Caleb was outstanding for us,” Hansen said. “It’s an incredibly tough field he’s going up against in the diving events, and he did a great job of putting himself in position to score us some important points.”
 
The Badgers opened the night with that seventh-place finish in the 200 medley relay. The team of O’Donnell, Dan Koenig, Rice and Kyle Sorensen improved its NCAA ‘B’ qualifying time in the event, clocking the third-fastest time in school history in the process.
 
Nittany Lions Improve to Seventh at Big Ten Championships
The men’s swimming and diving team improved from eighth to seventh place in Friday’s final at the Big Ten Championships. The Nittany Lions now have 157 points and is only 16.5 points behind Wisconsin.
 
Penn State started off the finals with the 200 medley relay team of Patrick Schirk, Mitch Scherer, Tim Williams and Vincent Reydams placed fourth with a time of 1:26.59, breaking a nine year old school record in the process.
 
Matt Cox scored points in the consolation final with a seventh place finish, 15th overall, in the 400 IM with a time of 3:55.48. Marino finished first in the C Final with a personal best and NCAA “B” time of 3:51.03 moving from ninth to second in the Penn State record book.
 
Williams added points to the Nittany Lion collection in the 100 butterfly placing sixth in the consolation final, 14th overall, with a time of 47.97.
 
Ben Ryan claimed first in the 200 freestyle C Final, 17th overall, with a time of 1:37.45. Jon Cochrane wasn’t far behind placing third setting a new personal best of 1:38.06.
 
Scherer went on to place eighth overall in the 100 breaststroke with an NCAA “B” time of 54.12 setting a new school record in the process. He outswam previous record holder Kyle Miranda by .13 seconds. Brian Alden also added points with a sixth place finish, 14th overall, in the consolation finals clocking in at 55.07
 
Schirk took third place in the 100 backstroke touching the wall in 47.68. Dan Fimbianti claimed second place in the C Final with a time of 49.39.
 
The Nittany Lions closed out Friday’s finals as the 800 freestyle relay team of Ryan, Basil Kaaki, Cochrane and Alden placed sixth in 6:30.12.
 
In the diving well, Josh Bonner placed eighth in the consolation finals, 16th overall, in the three-meter springboard with a score of 277.05.
 
IOWA SWIMMING & DIVING: DWYER, RELAY POST NCAA B CUTS
Hawkeye sophomore Conor Dwyer and the Iowa 800 free relay posted NCAA B cut performances during Friday's competition at the Big Ten Championships at West Lafayette, Ind. Iowa is in ninth place in the team standings with 97 points after two days of competition. Defending team champion Michigan leads the team race with 588.5.
       
Dwyer placed fourth in the 200 free with a collegiate-best time of 1:35.27, while the relay of Dwyer, and juniors Brian Farris, Nick Divan and Ryan Evans placed seventh in a season-best and team-leading 6:32.74. Dwyer's time ranks second in school history, while the relay time ranks eighth.
       
The Hawkeyes posted 20 collegiate bests during Friday's competition. Among those were sophomore Sean Hagan and junior Matt Ryan in the 100 breast, sophomore Max Dittmer in the 100 back and senior James Dragon in the 100 fly. Hagan placed 22nd (55.96), swimming a 55.96 in the prelims, while Ryan placed 23rd (55.97) posting a 55.54 in the prelims. The prelim times rank fourth and seventh, respectively, in school history. Dittmer placed 22nd (50.19) in the 100 back, posting a collegiate-best 49.41 that ranks seventh in school history in the prelims. Dragon placed 24th in the 100 fly (50.49), swimming a collegiate-best 49.15 in the prelims. That time ranks eighth in school history.
       
Junior Michael Gilligan led the Hawkeyes divers, placing 15th (307.00) on the three-meter board. Junior Frank Van Dijkhuizen placed 17th (318.30) and senior Drew DeLashmutt placed 18th (315.80) in that event.
       
The Hawkeyes missed an opportunity to score extra team points as the 200 medley relay was disqualified from their race for leaving too early.