Big Ten Conference, Men: Day Two

IOWA CITY, Iowa, February 23. THE No. 4-ranked University of Michigan men's swimming and diving team retained its lead over the field with two individual wins — junior Ryan Feeley (Rye, N.Y./Rye) in the 500-yard freestyle and sophomore Kyle Whitaker (Chesterton, Ind./Chesterton) in the 200 individual medley — as well as a title in the 400-yard medley relay on Thursday (Feb. 23) at the Big Ten Championships. The Wolverines hold a 253-218 lead over second-place Ohio State after the first full day of competition at Iowa's Campus Wellness and Recreation Center.

Feeley led a 1-2-3 Michigan finish in the 500-yard freestyle, posting a career-best and pool-record time of 4:15.12 that earned him the the first Big Ten championship of his career and the top time in the nation. He was followed in second by sophomore Connor Jaeger (Rumson, N.J./Rumson-Fair Haven) with an NCAA 'A' qualifying time of 4:15.65 to improve on his season-best time, while 2011 Big Ten 500 free champion sophomore Sean Ryan (Hixson, Tenn./McCallie School) took third with a 4:16.47 to help U-M earn 43 points in the event.

Michigan made it back-to-back wins in the 200 IM, as Whitaker successfully defended his 2011 title by clocking a pool-record, NCAA 'A' cut time of 1:43.40. Senior Dan Madwed (Stamford, Conn./Towson) placed second in 1:44.47, while sophomore John Wojciechowski (Scottsdale, Ariz./Phoenix Brophy) took seventh (1:46.20).

The 50-yard freestyle proved to be the lone individual swimming event U-M did not win during the final session of day two, as junior Miguel Ortiz (Tokyo, Japan/St. Mary's International) took second with a career-best 19.63. Two Wolverines swam in the 'B' final, as freshman Bruno Ortiz (Tokyo, Japan/St. Mary's International) clocked a 19.91 for a 10th-place finish, while junior Evan Gregg (Blacksburg, Va./Blacksburg) took 11th (19.92).

Michigan sealed day two with an impressive win in the 400-yard medley relay, as the quartet of Miguel Ortiz, freshman Richard Funk (Edmonton, Alberta/Stratchcona), junior Sean Fletcher (Vienna, Va./James Madison) and Madwed clocked a pool-record 3:07.32 to notch the fifth straight Big Ten championship in the event for the Wolverines.

Michigan rolls into day three of the Big Ten Championships tomorrow (Friday, Feb. 24) at Iowa's Campus and Recreation Center. Preliminaries will begin at 11 a.m. CST, with the finals set to begin at 6:30 p.m.

The above article is a press release submitted to Swimming World Magazine. It has been posted in its entirety without editing. Swimming World offers all outlets the chance to reach our audience by contacting us at Newsmaster@swimmingworldmagazine.com. However, Swimming World reserves the right to choose what material is posted.

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