Michigan
Indiana
Wolverines Come Up Short at No. 5 Indiana
1/13/2017 12:00:00 AM | Men's Swimming & Diving
Jan. 13, 2017
» Indiana won 13 of 16 events, but Michigan's depth kept it close, going 2-3-4-5 in two events, 2-3-4 in three events and 2-3 in three events.
» Eight races were decided by less than a half-second, including three within a tenth-of-a-second.
Site: Bloomington, Ind. (Counsilman-Billingsley Aquatic Center)
Score: #5 Indiana 167, #13 Michigan 133
Records: U-M (3-1, 1-1 Big Ten), IU (9-0, 2-0 Big Ten)
Next U-M Event: Friday, Jan. 27 -- vs. Ohio State (Canham Natatorium), 6 p.m.
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- The No. 13-ranked University of Michigan men's swimming and diving team went toe-to-toe with the nation's fifth-best team but came up just short, falling to Indiana, 167-133, at the Counsilman-Billingsley Aquatic Center on Friday (Jan. 13).
Though the Hoosiers won 13 of 16 events, Michigan kept things close all afternoon thanks to its depth, accumulating piles of points by going 2-3-4-5 in two events, 2-3-4 in three events and 2-3 in three events. The competition was close with a total of eight races decided by less than a half-second, including three within a tenth-of-a-second.
"No one feels good about losing and neither does this team. However, we fought the good fight and never gave up," said head coach Mike Bottom. "We got out-touched probably five or six times. If three of those go our way, we could've brought the meet down to the last relay. Indiana is a very strong team. We knew that. And we have to respect that going into Big Tens because we know we have a real challenge on our hands."
Junior PJ Ransford was one of the team's three victors on the afternoon, dominating the 1,000-yard freestyle, which he won by nearly nine seconds (9:02.79) over Blake Maczka (9:11.23). The Wolverines won the meet's other distance event, as well, as freshman Felix Auböck touched first (4:23.21), followed by Ransford (4:24.92). Junior Tristan Sanders outpaced the entire field in the 200-yard backstroke, winning by two seconds (1:44.60) over teammate Luke Papendick (1:46.66).
Michigan did a nice job of cancelling out Indiana's gains with 2-3-4-5 finishes in both the 200-yard butterfly (Evan White, Miles Smachlo, Ryan Sebastian, Julian Ballestas) and 200-yard breaststroke (Chris Klein, Jacob Montague, Tommy Cope, Charlie Swanson). White finished second in a trio of events, including the 100-yard butterfly (47.61), the 200-yard butterfly (1:45.52) and the 200-yard IM (1:47.76).
Junior Paul Powers was the team's top sprinter on the afternoon, finishing second in the 50-yard freestyle (19.96) and third in the 100-yard freestyle (44.47).
The Wolverines finished second in both the 200-yard medley relay (1:27.36) and the 400-yard freestyle relay (2:58.56).
Indiana put some distance between itself and Michigan thanks to diving, going 1-2-3 on both the one- and three-meter springboards. Freshman Jake Herremans claimed an NCAA Zone Diving qualifying score on three-meter, finishing fourth (343.93), while fellow freshman Steven Anderson took fourth on one-meter (294.68).
The Wolverines return to the water in two weeks (Friday, Jan. 27) when they welcome rival Ohio State to Canham Natatorium. The action will begin at 6 p.m. Admission is free.
Communications Contact: Brad Rudner
Players Mentioned
