Michigan
Big Ten Championships - Day 1
Michigan Opens Big Tens With Two Gold Medal-Winning Swims
3/2/2021 7:14:00 PM | Men's Swimming & Diving
» After one day of the Big Ten Championships, Michigan sits in fourth place (223 points). Diving results from last week were factored into the team race at the start of the meet.
» The Wolverines won both relays to begin the meet, claiming gold in the 200-yard medley relay and 800-yard freestyle relay.
» The 200-yard medley relay team of Wyatt Davis, Will Chan, River Wright and Luiz Gustavo Borges posted the No. 1 time in the nation (1:22.35). It was just .08 seconds off the school record.
Site: Columbus, Ohio (McCorkle Aquatic Pavilion)
Event: Big Ten Championships (Day 1 of 5)
U-M Team Standing: 4th place of 10 Teams (223 points)
Next U-M Event: Wednesday, March 3 -- at Big Ten Championships - Day Two (Columbus, Ohio), 11 a.m./6:30 p.m.
• Complete Results (PDF)
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- The No. 11-ranked University of Michigan men's swimming and diving team won gold medals in both relays to open the Big Ten Championships on Tuesday (March 2) at the McCorkle Aquatic Pavilion. After one day of action, the Wolverines sit in third place (223 points). Points from last week's diving competition were factored into the team race at the start of the meet.
Michigan opened the meet with a bang, winning gold in the 200-yard medley relay behind freshman Wyatt Davis, junior Will Chan, sophomore River Wright and senior Luiz Gustavo Borges. The foursome had Indiana's time of 1:23.35 to beat from the previous heat and did it with ease, touching at 1:22.35 for a new Big Ten Championships record.
It stands as the top time in the country this year and is only .08 seconds off the school record of 1:22.27, set by Miguel Ortiz, Bruno Ortiz, Sean Fletcher and Zack Turk during their NCAA title-winning swim in 2013.
WATCH: Wyatt Davis, Will Chan, River Wright and Gus Borges bring home GOLD in the 200 Medley Relay, coming with a tenth-of-a-second of the school record to open the Big Ten Championships! #GoBlue pic.twitter.com/lxBuVed2V3
— Michigan Swimming & Diving (@umichswimdive) March 2, 2021
"It was pretty amazing. No way did I see that coming," said head coach Mike Bottom. "Now, we've got a long way to go. This team has gone through so much together. I told them, 'It's not about swimming. It's about this team. It's about supporting each other just like you have all year. Swimming is just the medium.' And they're doing it."
Thirty minutes later, Michigan was back in the water and captured another gold, as the foursome of junior Patrick Callan, freshman Jake Mitchell, sophomore Danny Berlitz and Davis won the 800-yard freestyle relay (6:13.00). Like in the 200-yard medley relay, the Wolverines knew what time they needed to beat -- a 6:14.51 from Ohio State in the previous heat -- and got it, beating the Buckeyes by more than a second and a half. Callan led off in 1:32.67, followed by Mitchell (1:32.95), Berlitz (1:33.71) and Davis (1:33.67), who anchored after leading off the medley relay earlier in the night.
It is the seventh-fastest time in the country this season. Callan's leadoff time of 1:32.67 makes him the fourth-fastest performer in school history for a 200-yard freestyle.
The Big Ten Championships continue Wednesday (March 3) in Columbus. Preliminaries begin at 11 a.m. with finals following at 6:30 p.m.
Career Bests
200-yard Freestyle -- Patrick Callan (1:32.67 -- No. 4 at U-M)
Players Mentioned
