Season Review: 2019-20 Michigan Men's Swimming and Diving
6/22/2020 11:13:00 AM | Men's Swimming & Diving
Team Captains: Tommy Cope, Alex Martin, Jacob Montague, Rob Zofchak
Record: 6-1 overall, 4-1 Big Ten
Big Ten Championships: 1st of 10 teams (1,548 points)
NCAA Championships: Canceled
The University of Michigan men's swimming and diving team completed its 99th season of varsity competition in 2019-20. The Wolverines returned to the top of the Big Ten after a three-year drought, capturing their 41st Big Ten title in February.
Team Highlights
• The Wolverines recaptured the Big Ten championship in February, ending Indiana's three-year run atop the conference with a dominating wire-to-wire win in the Hoosiers' home pool. The win was extra sweet for the team's senior class, finally breaking through after three consecutive runner-up finishes. The seniors scored 36 percent of the team's total points (559 of 1,548).
• Prior to the NCAA Championships being canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Michigan was ranked No. 3 in the CSCAA/TYR Top 25 poll. Twelve swimmers had individually qualified for the NCAA Championships, the fourth-best total in the country.
• The Wolverines went 6-1 in dual meets, scoring wins over Navy (225-75), Miami University (253-45), Iowa (218-82), Indiana (160-14), Ohio State (190-110) and Michigan State (195-76).
• Thirty members of the team received the U-M Athletic Academic Achievement Award, given to student-athletes who maintain a cumulative grade-point average of 3.0 or higher. Of those 30, 21 also received Academic All-Big Ten honors.
Individual Highlights
• Senior Felix Auböck was Big Ten Men's Swimmer of the Year and the University of Michigan Male Athlete of the Year. He was a three-time Big Ten champion in 2020, winning individual titles in the 500-yard freestyle and 1,650-yard freestyle, while swimming a leg on the winning 800-yard freestyle relay. He became the fourth man in Big Ten history to sweep the 500- and 1,650-yard freestyles at four consecutive Big Ten Championships. He was a five-time CSCAA All-American this year.
• Senior Tommy Cope was the University of Michigan's male recipient of the Big Ten Medal of Honor, the highest honor in the conference. He was a two-time Big Ten champion, winning the 200-yard breaststroke and swimming a leg on the winning 800-yard freestyle relay. He also won bronze medals in the 200-yard IM and 400-yard IM. He had individually qualified for the NCAA Championships and became a three-time CSCAA All-American after the meet was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Cope was also the recipient of a Big Ten Postgraduate Scholarship and was a CoSIDA Academic All-American.
• Junior Ross Todd became the first man in program history to win the Big Ten Diver of the Year award. He won three medals at the Big Ten Championships and was named Big Ten Co-Diver of the Championships, sharing the award with Ohio State's Lyle Yost. Todd won gold on the one-meter springboard, the program's first Big Ten champion diver in any event in 16 years, in addition to a silver medal on three-meter and a bronze medal on platform. He was a three-time CSCAA All-American.
• Senior Miles Smachlo repeated as Big Ten champion in the 100-yard butterfly, the program's first back-to-back champion in the event since Chris Brady (2009-10). He also was second in the 200-yard butterfly and 10th in the 50-yard freestyle.
• Senior Charlie Swanson won the 400-yard IM at the Big Ten Championships for the fourth consecutive year, becoming only the third man in Big Ten history to win the event all four years. He also was fifth in the 200-yard IM and seventh in the 200-yard breaststroke.
Honors and Awards
Felix
Auböck
Tommy
Cope
Miles
Smachlo
Charlie
Swanson
Ross
Todd
Ricardo
Vargas
Jeremy
Babinet
Luiz Gustavo
Borges
Patrick
Callan
CSCAA All-Americans
Felix Auböck (200 FR, 500 FR, 1650 FR, 800 FR-R)
Jeremy Babinet (100 BR, 200 BR, 200 IM 400 ME-R)
Danny Berlitz (1650 FR)
Luiz Gustavo Borges (50 FR, 200 FR-R, 200 ME-R, 400 ME-R)
Kevin Bradley (1M, PL)
Patrick Callan (200 FR, 500 FR, 800 FR-R)
Chris Canning (1M, 3M, PL)
Will Chan (100 BR, 200 ME-R)
Tommy Cope (200 BR, 200 IM, 800 FR-R)
Jake Herremans (1M, PL)
Alex King (400 ME-R)
Nick Leavell (1M, PL)
Cam Peel (200 FR-R)
Will Roberts (1650 FR)
Miles Smachlo (100 FL, 200 FL, 200 FR-R, 200 ME-R, 400 ME-R)
Eric Storms (200 ME-R)
Charlie Swanson (200 BR, 200 IM, 400 IM, 800 FR-R)
Ross Todd (1M, 3M, PL)
Ricardo Vargas (500 FR, 1650 FR, 400 IM)
River Wright (200 FR-R)
Rob Zofchak (200 BK)
NOTE: Due to the cancellation of the NCAA Championships because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the CSCAA board adjusted the selection criteria for each division. For Division I, All-America honors were awarded to any swimmer on a relay that achieved the NCAA 'A' standard, any individual who had qualified for the NCAA Championships and any diver who had qualified for the NCAA Zone C Diving Championships (Michigan is in Zone C; the meet was canceled midway through the first day of competition).
Big Ten Champions
Felix Auböck: 500-yard Freestyle, 1650-yard Freestyle
Tommy Cope: 200-yard Breaststroke
Miles Smachlo: 100-yard Butterfly
Charlie Swanson: 400-yard IM
Ross Todd: One-Meter Diving
800-yard Freestyle Relay: Patrick Callan, Felix Auböck, Charlie Swanson, Tommy Cope
Big Ten Awards
Big Ten Swimmer of the Year: Felix Auböck
Big Ten Diver of the Year: Ross Todd
Big Ten Co-Diver of the Championships: Ross Todd
Big Ten Coach of the Year: Mike Bottom
Big Ten Medal of Honor: Tommy Cope
Big Ten Postgraduate Scholarship: Tommy Cope
All-Big Ten First Team: Felix Auböck, Patrick Callan, Tommy Cope, Miles Smachlo, Charlie Swanson, Ross Todd
All Big Ten Second Team: Luiz Gustavo Borges, Will Chan, Cam Peel, River Wright, Eric Storms, Ricardo Vargas
Big Ten Sportsmanship Honoree: Jacob Montague
Swimmer of the Week: Miles Smachlo (Sept. 25, Nov. 6), Tommy Cope (Jan. 15)
Diver of the Week: Ross Todd (Sept. 25, Dec. 11)
Freshman of the Week: River Wright (Sept. 25)
Academic All-Big Ten
Felix Auböck, Sr., History
Jeremy Babinet, Sr., Mechanical Engineering
Andrew Babyak, So., Business Administration
Luiz Gustavo Borges, Jr., Business Administration
AJ Bornstein, So., Business Administration
Patrick Callan, So., Business Administration
Chris Canning, Jr., Economics
David Cleason, So., LSA Undeclared
Tommy Cope, Sr., Electrical Engineering
Jared Daigle, So., Health & Fitness
Tim Hanson, Sr., Biology, Health & Society
Jake Herremans, Sr., Biology, Health & Society
Alex King, Sr., Musical Performance
Alex Martin, Sr., Business Administration
Ian Miskelley, So., Neuroscience
Jacob Montague, Sr., Sport Management
Miles Smachlo, Sr., Business Administration
Ross Todd, Jr., Psychology
Bora Unalmis, So., Engineering Physics
Ricardo Vargas, Jr., Economics
Leo Zabudkin, Sr., Economics
Players Mentioned
