The Wisconsin swimming and diving program punctuated its impressive, season-opening road trip in the southwest with an upset, as the men's team knocked off Arizona 170-128 in dual meet action at the Hillenbrand Aquatic Center on Saturday.
The well-rounded performance on the men's side was highlighted by Matt Hutchins, who won two events on the day, including a personal-best time of 9:17.11 in the 1000-yard freestyle, which shattered his old mark. The next closest swimmer in the 1000 free was Arizona’s Nick Hogsed, who finished second in 9:29.06.
Hutchins’ performances continued what was an impressive display in freestyle competition for Wisconsin over the weekend, as he then followed up and claimed the 500-yard freestyle in 4:25.49. The sophomore from Christchurch, New Zealand, also finished second in the 400-yard individual medley with a time of 4:00.49. Teammate Josh Anderson won the 400 IM by clocking in at 4:00.44.
Wisconsin lost just one freestyle race on the day.
"The men beat a really good team today," UW head coach Whitney Hite said. "Arizona is one of those premier teams. I'm very proud. We had guys step up when they needed to, such as Nick Caldwell, Cannon Clifton, Brett Pinfold and Anderson.
"Across the board, we haven't swam that fast this early in the season ever."
Another personal-best time was set by Caldwell in the 200-yard butterfly, after he won by finishing in 1:47.72. Harrison Tran came in third for the event, but also clocked in with a personal-best time of 1:50.48.
Caldwell also finished second to Hutchins in the 500-yard freestyle (4:31.25).
Both the 100- (44.86) and 200-yard (1:38.65) freestyle were claimed for Wisconsin by Pinfold. Finishing just behind in both events was teammate Clifton, who added a pair of second-place finishes to his day’s work.
Drew teDuits had a consistent day across the board for the Badgers, emphasized with wins in both the 100- (49.85) and 200-yard backstroke (1:48.06). The senior from Fitchburg, Wisconsin, also finished fourth in the 400-yard individual medley (4:05.44) and helped the men's 200-yard medley relay team to a second place finish in 1:31.02.
Also a part of Wisconsin’s 200-yard medley relay team was Austin Byrd, who individually earned a second-place finish in the 100-yard backstroke (50.32) and placed third in the 200-yard backstroke back (1:49.27).
Schafer won the 200-yard breaststroke (1:59.60), while also picking up a second place finish in the 100-yard breaststroke (55.28).
On the women's side for the Badgers, Aja Van Hout won the 400-yard individual medley in 4:23.04, edging Tjasa Oder of Arizona by just three tenths of a second. Van Hout also finished second in the 200-yard freestyle (1:51.22).
Ivy Martin claimed the 100-yard freestyle (49.24), while also finishing second in the 100-yard butterfly (55.20).
The 50-yard freestyle went to Chase Kinney, who finished in 23.11.
The Wisconsin women's team was topped 196-104, however, which also gave Arizona the combined team victory at 324-274.
"The Arizona women's team is one of the best in the country," Hite said. "We weren't that far off, despite the score. We're not far from being able to compete with them. I'm proud of the girls, as we didn't back down and they competed. We have some good things to work on now going forward."
Wisconsin returns to action Oct. 17 when it heads to Minneapolis for a dual meet with border rival Minnesota.
The Wisconsin swimming and diving program made an opening statement, as both the men’s and women’s teams combined for wins to defeat Arizona State 272-205 in the season-opening dual meet in Tempe, Arizona, on Friday.
The women's team captured 11 total events and topped the Sun Devils 142-94, while the men won eight total events and edged ASU 130.5-111.5.
"I thought we did a pretty nice job today and the group did a good job competing," UW head coach Whitney Hite said. "It was a good start for us. I think the key for us is that we're better than we were last year pretty much across the board."
On the women’s side, Wisconsin dominated both of the relays. The 200-yard medley relay of Ivy Martin, Anna Meinholz, Dana Grindall and Chase Kinney touched first in 1:41.71, while the 200-yard freestyle relay quartet of Martin, Annie Tamblyn, Aja Van Hout and Solveig Viren also won in impressive fashion and came in at 1:32.01.
Martin set the tone in the freestyle relay with a split time of 22.23, which would have been the second-fastest time on the team last season. Martin, an All-American and member of the 2014-15 USA Swimming National Team, captured the Big Ten record in the 50-yard freestyle last season with a time of 21.58.
Kinney swept both the 50- and 100-yard freestyle. The sophomore finished 23.12 to win the 50 free, then came back and won the 100 free as well in a time of 51.35.
In the 1000-yard freestyle, Jenny Holtzen recorded a new personal-best and the sixth-fastest time in program history at 10:00.00.
Van Hout won all of her events, posting times of 2:02.74 in the 200-yard individual medley and 4:56.23 in the 500-yard freestyle.
"The women did very well and we really looked good today," Hite said. "Similar to the men's side, you had your regulars, but you also had others, such as Holtzen, putting up some good times. Kinney has made a move toward being good. Ashley Peterson in the diving was really great. That was really good for us to be able to win an event there as well."
Peterson placed first on the 3-meter board with a score of 317.85 and Shannon Sullivan third for UW with a score of 217.50. On the 1-meter board, Peterson placed third with a score of 246.98.
Nick Caldwell continued the domination of freestyle events by the Badgers going on the men's side, winning the 500-yard freestyle in 4:36.16 and the 1000-yard freestyle with a time of 9:36.22. The men also claimed both the 50- and 100-yard freestyle, as Brett Pinfold tied Tadas Duskinas for first with a time of 20.89 in the 50 free and Cannon Clifton captured the 100 free with a time of 45.19.
The men earned a pair of second-place finishes in relays. The 200-yard medley relay squad of Pinfold, Nick Schafer, Drew teDuits and Clifton finished second in 1:30.72. Clifton, Damon Zito, Ryan Stack and Ryan Barsanti of the 200-yard freestyle relay also placed second, coming in at 1:23.09.
"For the men, I was really pleased with having the same list of characters step up, but it was also nice to get some new faces in the mix," Hite said.
Wisconsin looks to continue its success in the southwest tomorrow when the Badgers take on Arizona at the Hillenbrand Aquatic Center at 11:30 a.m. (CT).
