Michigan
Minnesota Invite
Eight Top-Three Finishes Pace Wolverines on Final Day of Minnesota Invite
12/7/2019 11:40:00 PM | Women's Swimming & Diving
» Sierra Schmidt (15:49.90) and Kaitlynn Sims (15:51.06) went 1-2 in the 1,650-yard freestyle, posting the third- and fourth-fastest times in school history. Both were NCAA 'A' cuts.
» Michigan also got wins from Miranda Tucker (200-yard breaststroke) and Christy Cutshaw (platform diving).
» Other notable performances came from Chloe Hicks (second in 200-yard backstroke), Daria Pyshnenko (second in 100-yard freestyle) and Vanessa Krause (third in 200-yard butterfly).
Site: Minneapolis, Minn. (Jean K. Freeman Aquatic Center)
Event: Minnesota Invite (Day 4 of 5)
U-M Team Standing: 2nd of 7 Teams (813.5 points)
Next U-M Event: Sunday, Dec. 8 -- at Minnesota Invite - Long Course Time Trial (Minneapolis, Minn.), 9 a.m. CST
• Complete Results (PDF)
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. -- Junior Sierra Schmidt (1,650-yard freestyle), senior Miranda Tucker (200-yard breaststroke) and junior Christy Cutshaw (platform diving) each claimed event wins to help the No. 18-ranked University of Michigan women's swimming and diving team finish second (813.5 points) at the Minnesota Invite on Saturday (Dec. 7) at the Jean K. Freeman Aquatic Center. Over the four days in Minneapolis, U-M accumulated 40 NCAA standards (31 swimming, nine diving).
Additionally, the following swimmers/relays have qualified for the NCAA Championships or gotten below last year's invited time:
• Maggie MacNeil: 50 FR (A), 100 FL (A), 100 BK (A), 100 FL (A)
• Sierra Schmidt: 1650 FR (A), 500 FR (B)
• Kaitlynn Sims: 1650 FR (A), 500 FR (B)
• Daria Pyshnenko: 50 FR (B), 100 FR (B)
• Miranda Tucker: 100 BR (A), 200 BR (B)
• Vanessa Krause: 200 FL (B)
• Chloe Hicks: 200 BK (B)
• Relays: 200-yard Freestyle Relay (B), 400-yard Freestyle Relay (A), 200-yard Medley Relay (A), 400-yard Medley Relay (A)
"Our team became so much better as a result of this meet," said head coach Mike Bottom. "We saw a lot of improvement and best times all up and down the team. There was some fantastic competition here, and while we may not have as many big guns as teams like California and Texas, we showed we could compete. Our divers, too, did an exceptional job, not only with their performances, but in scoring points for Michigan. That's what our team needs and they're putting themselves in a position to do that."
"What we need to do now is to continue to push our conditioning and fitness level, and add a component of endurance speed to what we're doing. That'll help us be even faster at the end of the season. The other part of the equation is to continue to refine the details because every swimmer can figure out a way to get better."
The distance pair of Schmidt and Sims set the tone for the evening, going 1-2 in the 1,650-yard freestyle, finishing 12 seconds clear of the third-place finisher. Schmidt (15:49.90) got to the wall just ahead of Sims (15:51.06), though both officially booked their trips to the NCAA Championships with 'A' cuts. They now rank second and third in the NCAA this season, and sit third and fourth, respectively, in school history.
Senior Miranda Tucker saved her best swim for finals, taking three-and-a-half seconds off her preliminaries performance to win the 200-yard breaststroke (2:08.01). She touched the wall two-tenths of a second ahead of California's Ema Rajic, posting the third-fastest time in the NCAA this season. Tucker was joined in the final by sophomore Caroline Sisson, who finished eighth (2:15.78).
The divers closed out their week with a sharp showing on platform, headlined by junior Christy Cutshaw, who took the title by more than 50 points and earned an NCAA Zone Diving qualifying score (286.40). Freshman Lucy Hogan (fourth, 222.40), freshman Paige Sundermann (fifth, 216.25), junior Camryn McPherson (sixth, 210.75) and junior Nikki Canale (seventh, 203.80) rounded out the team's top-eight finishers.
Senior Chloe Hicks capped a great week in Minneapolis with another personal best, finishing second in the 200-yard backstroke. She touched at 1:53.12, almost a second under last year's invited time for the NCAA Championships. Freshman Mariella Venter got an NCAA 'B' cut in preliminaries, clocking in at 1:56.53.
Like Hicks, junior Daria Pyshnenko also swam to a personal best and runner-up finish, this time in the 100-yard freestyle (48.12). It is the sixth-best time in program history, surpassing last year's invited time by over four-tenths of a second.
Senior Vanessa Krause led the way in the 200-yard butterfly, finishing third (1:55.99) and getting under last year's invite time. Junior Emma Cleason joined her in the final, taking seventh (1:57.89 in preliminaries). Sophomore Victoria Kwan took more than a second-and-a-half off her time from preliminaries to finish 10th (1:58.23), getting an NCAA 'B' cut. Junior Kate Krolikowski was 13th (2:00.11).
Michigan ended the meet with a third-place finish in the 400-yard freestyle relay, snagging an NCAA 'A' cut. The foursome of sophomore Maggie MacNeil, Pyshnenko, Tucker and Hicks were clocked at 3:13.85, the eighth-best time in the NCAA this season. MacNeil did not swim in the 100-yard freestyle earlier in the day, but led off in 47.16, claiming her fourth individual NCAA 'A' time of the week.
Select swimmers will be back in the water Sunday morning (Dec. 8) for a non-scored long course time trial. Racing will begin at 9 a.m. CST.
NCAA Qualifying Times/Scores
Preliminaries - p
400-yard Freestyle Relay
A - Maggie MacNeil, Daria Pyshnenko, Miranda Tucker, Chloe Hicks (3:13.85)
1,650-yard Freestyle
A - Sierra Schmidt, 15:49.90 (No. 3 at U-M)
A - Kaitlynn Sims, 15:51.06 (No. 4 at U-M)
200-yard Backstroke
B - Chloe Hicks, 1:53.12 (No. 3 at U-M)
B - Mariella Venter, 1:56.53p
100-yard Freestyle
A - Maggie MacNeil, 47.16 (leading off 400-yard Freestyle Relay)
B - Daria Pyshnenko, 48.12 (No. 6 at U-M)
200-yard Breaststroke
B - Miranda Tucker, 2:08.01
200-yard Butterfly
B - Vanessa Krause, 1:55.99
B - Emma Cleason, 1:57.89p
B - Victoria Kwan, 1:58.23
Platform Diving
Christy Cutshaw, 286.40
Players Mentioned
