The 10th-ranked Minnesota women’s swimming and diving team improved to 8-0 with victories over Purdue, No. 16 Wisconsin and Illinois this weekend at the Big Ten Quad Duals at University Aquatic Center. Individual wins by Ashley Steenvoorden, Jenny Shaughnessy, Meredith McCarthy and Kaylee Jamison led Minnesota this afternoon.
The Gophers defeated Illinois 232-110, Purdue 222-121 and Wisconsin 191-160.
Wisconsin took the opening event of the day, scoring a close win over Minnesota with a time of 1:41.30. Minnesota’s unit of Jenna Lennertz, Jillian Tyler, Kaylee Jamison and Stacy Busack clocked a second place time of 1:41.60 and Purdue was third.
The Gophers continued to dominate the distance free events. After finishing 1-2-3-4 in the 500 free last night, Minnesota repeated the feat in the 1000 free. Ashley Steenvoorden took first in a time of 9:52.66 while Yuen Kobayashi was second in 9:57.39. Kristen Steenvoorden took third in 9:58.57 and Christine Jennings was fourth in 10:03.50.
In the 50 freestyle, Wisconsin’s Beckie Thompson took first in 23.01 but the Gophers still managed to place 2-3-4. Stacy Busack was second in 23.21 and Kaylee Jamison was third in 23.45 after winning the second of three heats. Meredith McCarthy came in fourth in 23.66.
The Badgers made it two straight, as Maggie Meyer captured the 100 backstroke in a time of 54.77. Candice Peak made it a 1-2 finish for Wisconsin in 55.46 while Hannah Whitehead was the Gophers’ best finisher in fourth with a time of 56.91.
A thrilling battle in the 200 breaststroke between Minnesota’s Jillian Tyler and Wisconsin’s Jen Illescas got the large crowd going at University Aquatic Center. Illescas broke away in the final 25 yards to score an upset win in 2:12.93. Tyler touched in 2:13.52. The rest of the pack was far behind. Illinois’ Marissa Clapp was third in 2:17.59 and Kim Kazika was fourth for Minnesota in 2:20.53. Although Minnesota held large leads over Purdue and Illinois, Wisconsin pulled ahead of the Gophers 139-138 after the 200 breast, setting a dramatic finish in their dual.
In another tight and exciting race, Jamison pulled out a win in the 100 butterfly in 54.68 and Megan Braun was second in 55.77. After little rest, Illescas turned in a third place swim in 56.10 for Wisconsin. Minnesota surged back ahead of Wisconsin by six points with the score at 151-145.
The Gophers posted another win in the 200 freestyle with Meredith McCarthy hitting the wall first in 1:49.72. Pulling a rare third consecutive race, Illescas was second in 1:50.15 and Kobayashi was third in 1:50.36. Jennings also managed a fourth place finish in 1:51.31 and Marissa Davies was fifth for the Gophers in 1:51.52. The Gophers established a 165-150 lead over the Badgers following the event.
Minnesota also received a boost from Taylor Enerson, who took second place on the platform with a score of 220.45. Purdue’s Casey Matthews took first with a score of 250.50.
Jenny Shaughnessy cruised to a win in the 400 individual medley by over two and a half seconds with a time of 4:21.04. Illinois’ Marissa Clapp was second in 4:23.75 and Kait Strickland took third in 4:24.31. Kristen Steenvoorden also placed fifth for the Gophers in 4:27.63. Shaughnessy's win clinched the meet over Wisconsin.
In the final event of the two-day meet, Wisconsin and Minnesota staged a thrilling battle in the 400 freestyle relay. After several lead changes, the race came down to the final lap between Wisconsin’s Illescas and Minnesota’s Stacy Busack. At the end, Busack had the kick and gave the Gophers first in 3:22.18.
Minnesota will compete in its final tuneup for the Big Ten Championships next weekend with the Minnesota Challenge at University Aquatic Center.
BADGERS GO 2-1 AT QUAD DUALS, SEE BIG TEN WIN STREAK SNAPPED
The Wisconsin women’s swimming and diving team’s impressive win streak in Big Ten Conference dual meets ended at 45 Saturday, as the Badgers went 2-1 on the final day of the Big Ten Quad Duals at the University of Minnesota Aquatic Center.
The 17th-ranked Badgers fell to No. 9 Minnesota, 191-160, but defeated both Purdue and Illinois by scores of 218.5-131.5 and 230-115. The Golden Gophers scored wins over each of the three teams, while Purdue downed Illinois.
The Badgers started the meet well, winning four of the first five races. The 200 medley relay started the day for Wisconsin with a win, while freshman Beckie Thompson won the 50 freestyle, sophomore
Maggie Meyer won the 200 backstroke, and freshman Ashley Wanland won the 200 breaststroke.
Despite starting the day strong, the Badgers were unable to keep up with the Gophers as they won the final four events.
The 200 medley relay with a team of Meyer in the backstroke, Wanland in the breaststroke, senior Christine Zwiegers in the butterfly and Thompson in the freestyle helped the Badgers start the second day of competition strong.
The team won the event in a time of 1:41.30, while the ‘B’ relay of junior Sarah Goff in the backstroke, junior Libby Brooks in the breaststroke, sophomore Karlyn Hougan in the butterfly and sophomore Kelsey Gergen in the freestyle came in fifth with a time of 1:47.09.
The Minnesota women’s team again kicked off the individual events with a win, taking the first top four spots in the 1000 freestyle. Junior Gabby Maddalena came in fifth for Wisconsin in a time of 10:07.56, freshman Danielle Beckwith followed closely in sixth in 10:11.56, freshman Kelly Winckler took seventh in 10:17.94 and sophomore Abby Soderholm finished 12th in 10:30.29.
Thompson won the first individual event for the women on the day, taking the 50 freestyle in 23.01. Thompson currently holds the nation’s eighth-fastest time in the event and was able to hold off Minnesota’s Stacy Busack, who is ranked 10th nationally. Zwiegers tied for sixth for Wisconsin in 23.75, junior Rosie Morahan placed ninth in 23.84 and Gergen finished 11th in 24.40.
Meyer picked up from Thompson’s win, finishing first in the 100 backstroke in 54.77. Peak helped the Badgers go 1-2 in the event with a second place finish in a time of 55.46, in addition to freshman Amie Osten and Goff taking ninth and tenth with times of 58.29 and 58.57, respectively.
Wanland kept the momentum going for the Badgers, winning the 200 breaststroke in 2:12.93. The upset win came over Minnesota’s Jillian Tyler, who holds the nation’s second fastest time in the event. Brooks came in sixth in the race in 2:21.79.
Wanland’s win gave the Badgers a 139-138 lead over Minnesota with four events remaining, but the Gophers took advantage over the remaining heats, providing the final margin.
Minnesota won the next two events, placing first and second in the 100 butterfly and first and third in the 200 freestyle. The Badgers were able to get the third through fifth positions in the 100 butterfly with senior Jen Illescas in 56.10, Hougan in 56.63 and Zwiegers in 57.26. Sophomore Molly Southworth also competed for the Badgers, taking ninth in 58.07.
Illescas then went on to take second in the 200 freestyle in 1:50.15, while Morahan placed sixth in 1:52.72, Peak was eighth in 1:53.91 and Beckwith tenth in 1:54.64.
The Gophers built upon their two previous wins, placing first and third in the 400 individual medley. Brooks placed fourth for the Badgers in 4:27.43, Maddalena finished 7th in 4:30.46, Soderholm came in ninth in 4:34.13 and senior Katie Twitchell placed 16th in 4:52.09.
The women completed the swimming portion of the meet finishing second in the 400 freestyle relay with an ‘A’ relay of Meyer, Thompson, Morahan and Illescas in a time of 3:22.56, losing to Minnesota’s ‘A’ team. The ‘B’ relay finished fourth in a time of 3:30.25 with Gergen, Peak, Hougan and Southworth.
The competition was the final of the Badgers’ dual meet season, as they next head to Ann Arbor, Mich., for the Big Ten Championships, Feb. 19-21.
Gopher Swimming Defeats Purdue And Wisconsin
The No. 11 Minnesota men’s swimming and diving team completed dominating victories over No. 16 Purdue and Wisconsin this weekend to improve to 7-0 on the season. The Gopher defeated Purdue 205-148 and Wisconsin 237-116. Alex Wold and Ivan Gutesa won individual events to lead Minnesota this afternoon.
The Gophers continued to dominate the relays, cruising to a win in the 200 medley relay to start this afternoon’s action. Karl Burdis, Colin Lee-To, Anthony Portela and Michael Richards combined for a winning time of 1:30.20. Purdue was second in 1:31.09 and Wisconsin was third in 1:31.57. Minnesota’s B team of Nadav Kochavi, Rob Schnitzler, Kevin Baseheart and Ray Betuzzi turned in a fourth place time of 1:31.91.
In a closely contested 1000 freestyle, Purdue’s Matt Stewart edged the Gophers’ Mike Holmes at the wall. Stewart clocked a winning time of 9:22.34 while Holmes was just behind in 9:24.56. Michael Daup won the first of two heats to finish fifth overall in 9:29.67.
Minnesota showed some depth in the 50 free, taking three of the top five spots. Purdue’s Andrew Langenfeld took first in 20.18 but Michael Richards was second in 20.45, followed by Curt Carlson in 20.47. Steve Miller took fifth in 20.89 after winning the first of the two heats.
Burdis led the Gophers in the 100 backstroke, finishing second in 50.44. Wisconsin’s Derrick O’Donnell placed first in 50.19. Anthony Portela led the Gophers in the 100 butterfly, finishing third in 49.50 while Purdue’s Andrew Langenfeld was first in 48.67. Kevin Baseheart was fourth in 49.67.
Ivan Gutesa had a strong swim to lead the Gophers in the 200 breaststroke. He took first in a time of 2:01.97 while Colin Lee-To was second in 2:03.83. Freshman Richard Hills made it a 1-2-3 Gopher finish with a time of 2:06.11.
John Schmitt gave Purdue its first swimming win of the day, taking the 200 free in 1:38.92. However, Minnesota again showed its depth, finishing 2-3-4-5. Carlson was second in 1:40.05 and Ray Betuzzi was third in 1:40.60. Dominique Massie-Martel took fourth in 1:41.26 and Miller was fifth in 1:42.12.
Cole Young had an outstanding day to lead Minnesota’s efforts on the platform. Young tallied a score of 371.45 to finish second, behind Purdue’s David Boudia (456.65), who dove for the United States at the Olympic Games this past summer. Young did finish ahead of Purdue’s David Colturi (361.10) and Kyle Mitrione (320.60). His best dive came on a reverse 2 ½ where he received 8s and 9s. Drew Brown placed fifth with a score of 315.15 and Tyler Jepsen was eighth (241.15).
Alex Wold completely destroyed the field in the 400 individual medley, posting the meet’s most dominating victory. Wold quickly broke away in the backstroke portion and never looked back, winning in 3:57.62. Scott Rice of Wisconsin was second in 4:02.63. Josh Griffey was third in 4:04.30.
To wrap up the two-day meet, the Gophers took the 400 freestyle relay to complete a sweep of the four relays. Baseheart, Carlson, Richards and Miller posted a time of 2:59.70. Miller was able to hold off a late charge by the Boilermakers’s Dan Jung to preserve the victory. Purdue’s second place time was 3:00.31 and Minnesota’s B team of Lee-To, Portela, Betuzzi and Adam Weis was third in 3:03.19.
Minnesota will be back in action next weekend when it hosts the Minnesota Challenge.
