NCAA Div. I Men: Minnesota Takes Second-Straight Big-10 Crown in Super-fast Meet

BLOOMINGTON, Ind., March 2. MINNESOTA'S Golden Gophers more than lived up to their nickname, splashing to their second-consecutive Big 10 Swimming
and Diving Championship at the Counsilman/Billingsley Aquatioc Cenmter Pool here.

Coach Dennis Dale's Gophers outpointed Coach Jon Urbancek's Michigan Wolverines for the top spot (711.5-636.5). with Penn State (442.5) third.

Minnesota was led by junior backstroker Todd Smolinski, who defended his 100 title and also led off the Gophers' winning 200-400 medley relays.

Teammate Jeff Hackler also picked up golds in the 100-200 breast.

Swimmer of the Meet honors went to Northwesern sophomore Anthony Sweanson, a Minnesota native no less(!), who won a pair of golds in the 200 IM-200 back and was third in the 100 back.

Swanson's 200 IM clocking (1:45.77, a Big 10 meet and Wildcat school-record) is fastest nationally. However, the previous leader, Stanford's Markus Rogan, will swim at the Pac-10 Championships starting Thursday at the Belmont Plaza Olympic Pool.

Swanson's old IM pr was a 1:46.56 from last season's NCAAs.

His 100 back clocking (48.15 leading off the medley relay, 48.00 in the race itself) is a pr by a second-plus. In the 200 back his winning time — 1:42.94 — is a two-second drop from his old pr of 1:44.94.

Swanson said he wasn't fully rested for the meet and believes he "has more in me." That could make it veeeeerrrrrrryyyyyy interesting for Stanford's Rogan, Peter Marhshall, Jayme Cramer & Co. in three weeks at Athens, Ga., site of this year's men's NCAA Division I Championships.

Rogan, last year's NCAA runner-up, leads the country in the 200 back with his mind-boggling 1:41.58 against Cal at Stanford two weeks ago in the annual Big Meet.

That time is fastest-ever in a dual meet, his pr and only a second and-a-half off the American/NCAA record of 1:40.06 by former Cardinal Brian Retterer from the 1995 NCAAs. Retterer did his time in the prelims; at
night he was 1:40.61, then history's No. 2 performance but now No. 3 as USC's Lenny Krayzelburg has been 1:40.59.

The Big 10 Swimmer of the Year went to Michigan soph Dan Ketchum, a prodcut of the famed Cincy Marlins' club program. Ketchum won the 500 free in a nation-leading and pr 4:16.40 (but again, defending champ Klete Keller of SC has yet to swim in the Pac-10s); went another nation-leading and pr 1:34.19 to win the 200 free; and was runner-up in the 200 butterfly (1:45.79, with a pr 1:45.43 in the prelims).

That race was won by another Wildcat up-and-comer, junior Kellan O'Connor, who won the 200 fly last summer at the Mission Viejo Meet of Champions. He's an Arizona native.

Urbancek must have had a smile on his face and a flashback to a certain "miler" of a few years ago who's more noted for his 400 IM exploits — where he holds the world-record and has won the last two Olympic golds — a certain Mr. Dolan, when freshman Brendan Nelligan won the 1650 free with a nation-leading and pr 14:53.94.

Dolan, of course, held the American-NCAA record from 1995 until just last year, when fellow Wolverine Chris Thompson went an astounding 14:26.62 at NCAAs in
College Station, Texas. to break Dolan's old record of 14:29.31.

Will Nelligan someday top those times? "I'm hoping," says Urbancek with a twinkle in his eye.

Nelligan, who swims for the Long Island Aquatic Club, had never before been under 15:05.

Penn State's Eugene Botes, a junior, had a fine meet too, winning the 100 free, taking second to teammate Bob Molettiere in the 50 free (pr 19.89, a time he did in both the prelims and finals); and runner-up in the 100 fly (with a pr and meet-record 47.01 from the heats).

In the 100 he won in 43.30 but his prelim time — 43.05 — broke the meet-record of 43.14 by Michigan's Gustavo Borges, who's the only man ever to win the NCAA 100 free four-consecutive years.

And in the final race on the final day Botes was even faster, leading off the Nittany Lions' Big 10 record-setting 400 free relay team in 42.90. That time is a mere .01 off the nation-leading 42.89 by South Carolina's Zsolt Gaspar (also swum leading off the Gamecocks' 400 FR) at the Southeastern Conference Championships in Fayetteville, Arkansas the third weekend of February. (Gaspar, however, was recently declared ineligible by the SEC.)

Borges holds the Big 10 record with a 42.46 from the '94 NCAAs in Minneapolis.

— Bill Bell

2002 MEN'S BIG 10 SWIMMING & DIVING CHAMPIONSHIPS
COUINSILMAN/BILLINGSLEY AQUATIC CENTER
INDIANA UNIVERSITY
BLOOMINGTON, IN., March 2

25 Yd. Pool

FINAL TEAM RANKINGS (Through Event 21)

1. University of Minnesota 711.5
2. University of Michigan 636.5
3. Penn State University 442.5
4. Northwestern University 341
5. University of Wisconsin 335.5
6. The Ohio State University 306
7. Indiana University 304
8. Purdue University 243
9. The University of Iowa 195
10. Michigan State University 122

* Meet Record

Event 15 Men 1650 Yard Freestyle
===============================================================================
Big Ten Meet: @ 14:31.15 2001 Chris Thompson, Michigan
Pool: $ 14:43.95 1997 Chris Thompson, Michigan
NCAA: % 14:26.62 2001 Chris Thompson, Michigan
15:01.39 A
15:28.43 B
Name Year School Seed Finals
Points
===============================================================================
1 Neligan, Brendan C FR Michigan 15:26.19 14:53.94 A
20
2 Hurd, Andrew G FR Michigan 15:15.84 15:04.23 B
17
3 Drake, Justin S JR Michigan 15:17.41 15:05.21 B
16
4 Mortimer, Justin B SO Minnesota 15:09.45 15:05.36 B
15
5 Siciliano, Timothy SR Michigan 15:34.45 15:07.59 B
14
6 Kirk, Paul B FR Penn State 15:55.48 15:19.13 B
13
7 Epping, Rion G FR Purdue 15:29.16 15:21.22 B
12
8 Tiernan, Robert M FR Ohio State 16:00.42 15:24.97 B
11
9 L'Roy, Ryan S JR Minnesota 15:29.40 15:25.91

Event 16 Men 200 Yard Backstroke
===============================================================================
Big Ten Meet: @ 1:42.24 1998 Derya Buyukuncu, Michigan
Pool: $ 1:42.80 1997 Buyokunos, Michigan
NCAA: % 1:40.06 1995 Brian Retterer, Stanford
1:44.30 A
1:47.42 B
Name Year School Prelims Finals
Points
===============================================================================
Championship Finals
1 Swanson, Anthony M SO Northwestern 1:44.79 1:42.94 A
20
2 Bartell, Ben J SR Minnesota 1:44.84 1:45.57 B
17
3 Hartner, Andrew M SO Penn State 1:46.26 1:45.65 B
15.5
3 Urreta, Diego SO Minnesota 1:46.69 1:45.65 B
15.5
5 Smolinski, Todd F JR Minnesota 1:46.91 1:45.74 B
14
6 Petrovic, Ivan SR Ohio State 1:46.38 1:46.45 B
13
7 Earhart, Ryan T JR Michigan 1:47.03 1:46.50 B
12
8 Weaver, Joshua D SR Penn State 1:46.99 1:47.05 B
11

Event 17 Men 100 Yard Freestyle
===============================================================================
Big Ten Meet: @ 43.14 1992 Gustavo Borges, Michigan
Pool: $ 43.91 1999 Bob Molettier, Penn State
NCAA: % 41.80 1987 Matt Biondi, California
43.64 A
44.94 B
Name Year School Prelims Finals
Points
===============================================================================
Championship Finals
1 Botes, Eugene X JR Penn State 43.05* 43.30$A
20
2 Mangieri, Garrett JR Michigan 43.73 43.66$B
17
3 Silkaitis, Terry M FR Minnesota 43.66 43.71$B
16
4 Molettiere, Robert SR Penn State 43.60 43.78$B
15
5 Ong, Allen JR Minnesota 43.93 44.04 B
14
6 Minnier, Todd J SO Penn State 44.10 44.26 B
13
7 Kurth, Tony A JR Michigan 43.99 44.61 B
12
8 Watland, Jordan SR Michigan 44.44 45.40
11

Event 18 Men 200 Yard Breaststroke
===============================================================================
Big Ten Meet: @ 1:55.87 1993 Eric Wunderlich, Michigan
Pool: $ 1:56.94 1997 Vilmos Kovacs, Purdue
NCAA: % 1:53.77 1990 Mike Barrowman, Michigan
1:57.68 A
2:01.21 B
Name Year School Prelims Finals
Points
===============================================================================
Championship Finals
1 Hackler, Jeff C JR Minnesota 1:56.65 1:56.56$A
20
2 Hopwood, Jeffrey C JR Michigan 1:59.29 1:57.25 A
17
3 Bessenyei, Tamas SO Purdue 1:57.46 1:57.37 A
16
4 Schulze, David R JR Indiana 1:58.46 1:58.15 B
15
5 Forrest, Chris M SR Minnesota 1:59.59 1:58.68 B
14
6 Jones, Lance C SR Wisconsin 1:59.77 1:59.52 B
13
7 McCracken, Aaron M SO Northwestern 2:00.09 2:00.06 B
12
8 Malnik, Dov SR Minnesota 2:00.41 2:00.11 B
11

Event 19 Men 200 Yard Butterfly
===============================================================================
Big Ten Meet: @ 1:44.25 2001 Keam Ang, Minnesota
Pool: $ 1:45.06 1997 Tom Malchow, Michigan
NCAA: % 1:41.78 1991 Melvin Stewart, Tennessee
1:44.93 A
1:48.07 B
Name Year School Prelims Finals
Points
===============================================================================
Championship Finals
1 O'Connor, Kellan P JR Northwestern 1:45.10 1:44.35$A
20
2 Ketchum, Daniel J SO Michigan 1:45.43 1:45.79 B
17
3 Taylor, Matt M JR Minnesota 1:45.86 1:46.02 B
16
4 Hamming, Mark G SO Northwestern 1:46.59 1:46.06 B
15
5 Halasz, Murph S FR Indiana 1:47.08 1:47.36 B
14
6 Zuiderhof, Matt K JR Wisconsin 1:47.43 1:47.43 B
13
7 Vanderkaay, Christ SO Michigan 1:47.03 1:48.07 B
12
8 Krastins, Chad S SR Minnesota 1:47.25 1:49.86
11

Event 20 Men Platform Diving Exhibition
===============================================================================
Big Ten Meet: @ 821.20 1995 P.J. Bogart, Minnesota
Pool: $ 518.40 1999 Mike Collier, Indiana
Name Year School Prelims Finals
===============================================================================
Finals
1 Coben, Jason J SO Michigan 514.65 528.35$
2 Carlton, Marc R SO Indiana 495.90 490.85
3 Klami, Timo W SO Iowa 409.95 464.85
4 Chrisander, Simon C SR Iowa 442.40 461.25
5 Gutierrez, Roberto JR Iowa 421.70 435.20
6 Warrick, Eric C FR Purdue 370.55 383.25
7 Garwood, Dustin SO Michigan 350.00 376.65
8 Baumann, Ben J SO Minnesota 302.00 340.00

Event 21 Men 400 Yard Freestyle Relay
===============================================================================
Big Ten Meet: @ 2:54.25 2001 Penn State
Molettiere, Botes, Minnier, Retrum
Pool: $ 2:55.40 1999 Minnesota
NCAA: % 2:49.80 2001 Texas
2:55.06 A
3:00.31 B
School Seed Finals
Points
===============================================================================
1 Penn State University 2:59.85 2:53.68*A
40
1) Botes, Eugene X JR 2) Molettiere, Robert J SR
3) Schierhorn, Martin X SR 4) Minnier, Todd J SO
2 University of Michigan 2:58.37 2:54.47$A
34
1) Mangieri, Garrett I JR 2) Kurth, Tony A JR
3) Watland, Jordan SR 4) Ketchum, Daniel J SO
3 University of Minnesota 2:58.28 2:55.84 B
32
1) Taylor, Matt M JR 2) Silkaitis, Terry M FR
3) Gettelfinger, Brian T SO 4) Ong, Allen JR
4 University of Wisconsin 2:57.77 2:56.57 B
30
1) Marshall, Matt T SO 2) Rogers, Dale E SO
3) Anderson, Chris A SO 4) Jones, Lance C SR
5 Northwestern University 3:03.30 2:58.67 B
28
1) Kennedy, Adam S SR 2) Swanson, Anthony M SO
3) Clark, Shelby T SO 4) Barnes, Nicholas A SR
6 Indiana University 3:03.10 2:59.21 B
26
1) Montgomery, Heath A SR 2) Schulze, David R JR
3) Andersson, Claes M SO 4) Ramsy, Dale SO
7 The Ohio State University 3:03.28 2:59.30 B
24
1) Carver, Dale T SR 2) Seay, Tommy C FR
3) Cheney, Nick A SR 4) Petrovic, Ivan SR
8 Purdue University 3:02.50 2:59.31 B
22
1) Duncan, Jonathan L SR 2) Wright, Jeremy R JR
3) Diaz, Javier SR 4) Sayce, Edward W JR
9 Michigan State University 3:03.86 3:02.05
18

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