Michigan
Big Ten Championships
Team Effort Leads Michigan Men to Second-Place Finish at Big Tens
2/24/2018 10:51:00 PM | Men's Swimming & Diving
» Behind a team effort that included scoring performances from 25 student-athletes, the Wolverines finished second (1,617.5 points) at the Big Ten Championships, fighting until the very end. Their point total represents a 235.5-point increase over last year.
» Sophomore Felix Auböck completed the distance sweep by winning the 1,650-yard freestyle on Saturday. The Michigan distance crew went 1-2-3 in the 500-yard freestyle on Thursday, the 400-yard IM on Friday and the 1,650-yard freestyle on Saturday.
» Four sophomores made the final in the 200-yard breaststroke: Jacob Montague (fourth), Charlie Swanson (fifth), Tommy Cope (sixth) and Jeremy Babinet (seventh).
» Freshman Ross Todd became the first Michigan diver in four years to qualify for the final on platform, finishing fifth (452.75).
Site: Minneapolis, Minn. (Jean K. Freeman Aquatic Center)
Event: Big Ten Championships (Day 4 of 4)
U-M Team Standing: 2nd of 10 Teams (1,617.5 points)
Next U-M Event: Tuesday, Feb. 27 -- host Michigan Last Chance Meet (Canham Natatorium), TBA
• Photo Gallery
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. -- The No. 7-ranked University of Michigan men's swimming and diving team put up a valiant fight over four days and stayed in the hunt until the very end, coming in second (1,617.5 points) at the Big Ten Championships on Saturday (Feb. 24) at the Jean K. Freeman Aquatic Center. Indiana won the team title (1,658 points).
It was a team effort from start-to-finish for the boys in blue, as 25-of-26 student-athletes scored points, accumulating 47 new personal bests and surpassing last year's point total (1,382) by 235.5 points. The Wolverines won four individual or relay titles led by sophomore Felix Auböck, who completed the distance sweep for the second consecutive year with a win in the 1,650-yard freestyle on Saturday. He was one of 11 student-athletes to earn All-Big Ten recognition.
Following the meet, Ricardo Vargas was named Big Ten Freshman of the Year. He was the highest-scoring freshman at the Big Ten Championships, winning two silver medals and a bronze medal.
"I'm so proud of our team," said head coach Mike Bottom. "Everyone fought and scored points for Michigan. Credit to Indiana. They have an incredible team. This hurts, of course, but we will go back with that pain and use it to get better."
Facing just a 10.5-point deficit heading into the night, Michigan got the ball rolling in a big way thanks to its distance crew, which placed four finalists in the 1,650-yard freestyle. Auböck repeated as champion and left no doubt with his performance, winning by six seconds. He led a 1-2-3 finish, as Vargas capped a strong week with another runner-up finish (14:40.30), while senior PJ Ransford was third (14:49.19). The biggest eye-opening swim came from freshman Will Roberts, who dropped 19 seconds off his previous PR to finish sixth (15:02.38) out of an earlier heat. Junior Stephen Holmquist also PRed with a 15th-place finish (15:15.30). The distance swimmers dominated the whole meet, going 1-2-3 in the 500-yard freestyle on Thursday, the 400-yard IM on Friday and the mile on Saturday.
Hail Felix! #GoBlue pic.twitter.com/WuETvvTUiW
— Michigan Swimming & Diving (@umichswimdive) February 25, 2018
Four sophomores made the final of the 200-yard breaststroke. Jacob Montague was the highest finisher in fourth (1:53.54), followed by Charlie Swanson in fifth (1:53.79), Tommy Cope in sixth (1:53.76; his time in preliminaries of 1:52.91 was an NCAA "A" cut and second-fastest in program history) and Jeremy Babinet was seventh (1:54.27). All four men now find their names on the school's top times list for the event.
The divers capped a highly successful week on Saturday, as freshman Ross Todd became the program's first diver to qualify for the final on platform in four years. The second-to-last diver in preliminaries, Todd needed a 65.85 to qualify and easily surpassed that as he earned a 76.50 to take the last spot. With the team cheering him on at the edge of the diving well, Todd moved up three spots and finished fifth (452.75); it is 88 points higher than his previous personal best coming into the meet. Freshman Chris Canning (17th, 357.45) and sophomore Jake Herremans (19th, 343.10) each added points in the consolation final. In three days, that trio scored 98 points, more than quadrupling its total from last year (21).
"I think it started off with Jake making that consolation final on Thursday, because that just motivated us to get better," said diving coach Mike Hilde. "The experience we gained from this week will carry us into qualifying for the NCAA Championships and hopefully scoring points for the team. We're rolling forward positively and confidently."
Senior Paul Powers led the way in the 100-yard freestyle, moving up a spot to win a bronze medal with the second-fastest time in school history (42.34). Graduate student James Peek also cracked that list with a great swim during preliminaries, which qualified him for the final and he finished eighth (43.54). Sophomore James Jones tied for the win in the consolation final, sharing ninth overall (42.96), while junior Mokhtar Al-Yamani was 15th (43.69) and freshman Luiz Gustavo Borges was 16th (43.72).
Senior Evan White won his ninth medal in 12 career individual swims at the Big Ten Championships and led four swimmers in finals with a third-place finish (1:42.79). Sophomore Miles Smachlo took fifth (1:43.64), improving his odds of qualifying for the NCAA Championships after going 1:42.75 in preliminaries. Senior Ryan Sebastian capped a nice week in 11th (1:46.12), while junior Jon Burkett was 18th (1:45.61).
Senior Tristan Sanders held his seed placement in the 200-yard backstroke final, taking fourth (1:42.16). Two others scored points: sophomore Rob Zofchak was 11th (1:43.16) and junior Kai Williams, who had a four-second time drop off his previous career best in preliminaries, finished 12th (1:44.08).
The Wolverines closed out the meet with a third-place finish in the 400-yard freestyle relay, as the foursome of Powers, Peek, Jones and Auböck achieved the NCAA "A" cut (2:50.43).
Select swimmers will be back in the water on Tuesday (Feb. 27) at Canham Natatorium for the Michigan Last Chance Meet, the final opportunity to improve on times before the invite list for the NCAA Championships is released in early March. A start time has not yet been announced.
MICHIGAN BIG TEN INDIVIDUAL/RELAY CHAMPIONS (4)
Felix Auböck: 500-yard Freestyle, 1,650-yard Freestyle
Charlie Swanson: 400-yard IM
200-yard Freestyle Relay: Paul Powers, Luiz Gustavo Borges, Evan White, James Peek
BIG TEN AWARD WINNERS
Swimmer of the Championships: Vini Lanza, Indiana
Diver of the Championships: Michael Hixon, Indiana
Freshman of the Year: RICARDO VARGAS, Michigan
Big Ten Sportsmanship Award Honoree: James Peek
2017-18 MICHIGAN ALL-BIG TEN SELECTIONS
First Team: Felix Auböck, Luiz Gustavo Borges, James Peek, Paul Powers, Charlie Swanson, Evan White
Second Team: Mokhtar Al-Yamani, Tommy Cope, PJ Ransford, Ricardo Vargas, Kai Williams
TEAM STANDINGS
1. Indiana 1,658 2. MICHIGAN 1,617.5 3. Ohio State 1,300 4. Purdue 735.5 5. Minnesota 712.5 6. Wisconsin 696.5 7. Iowa 614.5 8. Penn State 389.5 9. Northwestern 260 10. Michigan State 247.5
1,650-yard Freestyle
1. Felix Auböck, U-M 14.34.10* 2. Ricardo Vargas, U-M 14:40.30* 3. PJ Ransford, U-M 14:49.19# 6. Will Roberts, U-M 15:02.38# 15. Stephen Holmquist, U-M 15:15.50#
200-yard Backstroke
1. Mohamed Samy, IU 1:39.68* 4. Tristan Sanders, U-M 1:42.16# 11. Rob Zofchak, U-M 1:43.16# 12. Kai Williams, U-M 1:44.08# (1:43.38#) 32. Alex Martin, U-M 1:48.02
100-yard Freestyle
1. Blake Pieroni, IU 41.43* 3. Paul Powers, U-M 42.34# 8. James Peek, U-M 43.54# (43.09#) T9. James Jones, U-M 42.96# 15. Mokhtar Al-Yamani, U-M 43.69# (43.60#) 16. Luiz Gustavo Borges, U-M 43.72# (43.37#)
100-Yard Breaststroke
1. Ian Finnerty, IU 50.72* 4. Jacob Montague, U-M 51.80# 5. Jeremy Babinet, U-M 52.22#
200-yard Breaststroke
1. Ian Finnerty, IU 1:50.79*&B! 4. Jacob Montague, U-M 1:53.54# (1:54.18#) 5. Charlie Swanson, U-M 1:53.79# (1:53.49#) 6. Tommy Cope, U-M 1:53.76# (1:52.91*) 7. Jeremy Babinet, U-M 1:54.27#
200-yard Butterfly
1. Vini Lanza, IU 1:39.95*! 3. Evan White, U-M 1:42.79# 5. Miles Smachlo, U-M 1:43.64# (1:42.75#) 11. Ryan Sebastian, U-M 1:46.12# 18. Jon Burkett, U-M 1:45.61#
Platform Diving
1. Brandon Loschiavo, Purdue 523.65^ 5. Ross Todd, U-M 452.75^ 17. Chris Canning, U-M 357.45^ 19. Jake Herremans, U-M 343.10^ 25. Steven Anderson, U-M 294.05
Platform Diving
400-yard Freestyle Relay 1. Indiana 2:48.81* (Mohamed Samy, Bruno Blaskovic Vini Lanza, Blake Pieroni) 3. MICHIGAN 2:50.43* (Paul Powers, James Peek James Jones, Felix Auböck)
* NCAA A # NCAA B ^ NCAA Zone Diving cut & Pool Record M School Record B Big Ten Record ! Big Ten Championships Record S Swim-Off T Time Trial
CAREER BESTS
1650 Freestyle -- Ricardo Vargas (14:40.30 -- 7th at U-M)
1650 Freestyle -- Will Roberts (15:02.38)
1650 Freestyle -- Stephen Holmquist (15:15.50)
200 Backstroke -- Rob Zofchak (1:43.16)
200 Backstroke -- Kai Williams (1:43.38)
100 Freestyle -- Paul Powers (42.34 -- 2nd at U-M)
100 Freestyle -- James Peek (43.09 -- 10th at U-M)
100 Freestyle -- Luiz Gustavo Borges (43.37)
200 Breaststroke -- Tommy Cope (1:52.91 -- 2nd at U-M)
200 Breaststroke -- Charlie Swanson (1:53.49 -- 6th at U-M)
200 Breaststroke -- Jeremy Babinet (1:54.27 -- 7th at U-M)
200 Butterfly -- Miles Smachlo (1:42.75 -- 6th at U-M)
200 Butterfly -- Jon Burkett (1:45.61)
200 Butterfly -- Ryan Sebastian (1:46.12)
Platform -- Ross Todd (452.75)
Platform -- Chris Canning (357.45)
Players Mentioned
