Minnesota Swimming and Diving Upsets Southern Cal; McHugh Blasts 52.9 100 Breast

max-mchugh-ncaa
Max McHugh. Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick

The NR/No. 24 Minnesota swimming & diving program secured an upset sweep of No. 20/9 USC on Friday afternoon, as both the men and women claimed impressive victories against their Pac-12 Conference foes.

Team Scores:

  • Men: Minnesota 149, Southern Cal 113
  • Women: Minnesota 136, Southern Cal 126
  • RESULTS

Minnesota Swimming and Diving Press Release

By the time it was all said and done, the Maroon and Gold won 16 of the dual’s 28 events, including 15 individual victories from nine different Gophers.

Sophomore Abbey Kilgallon jumpstarted the memorable day for the Gophers, winning the 1000 free with a time of 9:58.97. Minnesota placed one-two in the event, as Abbey Erwin touched the wall after Kilgallon to obtain second (10:14.50).

Just minutes later, senior Tevyn Waddell put the finishing touches on her first of three victories in the meet, winning the 100 back (54.55). Waddell’s performance marked another one-two result for the Gophers, with Emily Cook coming in second place (55.75).

Waddell also won the 200 back, speeding her way to a 1:58.83 time. It was ultimately a one-two-three sweep in the 200 back for the Maroon and Gold, as Patricia Van Law (2:01.76) and Cook (2:02.20) took the second and third spots.

The senior’s third win of the afternoon came in the 200 IM, which Waddell swam in 2:01.31.

After dominating the 1000 free earlier in the meet, Kilgallon powered Minnesota to a one-two-three-four finish in the 500 free.

Kilgallon’s winning time came in at 4:54.03, with Kate Sullivan touching shortly behind at 4:54.23. Erwin rounded out the sweep in third place (4:58.33), while Kelli McCarthy took fourth.

Senior Lindsey Kozelsky swept the 100 and 200 breast events on Friday, registering respective times of 1:00.47 and 2:13.21. In the 100 breast, Kozelsky led the charge in a dominant one-two-three-four finish, with the sweep being a signature moment in the soon-to-be upset.

Things might have begun even better for the Gopher men, as the afternoon kicked off with a big win in the 200 medley relay (1:29.07). The team of Gavin Olson, Max McHugh, Tuomas Pokkinen and Matthew Thomas combined to produce the winning time for the U.

Minnesota won the first two events of the night, thanks to Cameron Kelley, who touched first in the 1000 free (9:20.64). Kelley would also win the 500 free later in the dual with a time of 4:29.71.

As the upset began to take form for the Gophers, McHugh added fuel to the flame with a win in the 100 breast (52.93). McHugh would go on to sweep the breaststroke events following his first place finish in the 200 breast (1:56.84).

In both of McHugh’s victories, junior Eitan Yudashkin earned second place. Yudashkin delivered a 56.16 time in the 100 breast and a 2:03.03 mark in the 200 breast.

Senior Matthew Thomas also added two individual victories during the meet. The first came in the form of the 200 fly, which Thomas completed in 1:49.37. The Hollister, Calif. native won the 100 fly later in the dual, touching the wall in 48.71.

Also instrumental in Friday’s win over USC were junior Tim Sates and Olson. The former placed first in the 100 free (45.63), while the latter hauled in the top spot in the 200 back (1:48.44)

Senior Tevyn Waddell led the Gophers with three individual victories against USC. Overall, Minnesota saw nine swimmers combine for 15 individual first place finishes, as well as a key win in the men’s 200 medley relay.

“This was such a great way to finish up our training trip,” said Minnesota swimming and diving senior associate head coach Terry Ganley. “This group has put in solid training and come away with victories over Hawaii and USC — and now are so well prepared for the championship season.”

Southern Cal Press Release

Sophomores Laticia Transom and Alexei Sancov each posted a pair of wins against Minnesota as the Trojans fell to the Gophers on Friday (Jan. 17) at the Uytengsu Aquatics Center, as USC resumed the 2019-2020 schedule.

The Trojan women fall to 4-1 overall but remain unbeaten in the Pac-12. The men are now 0-3 on the season. The Gophers defeated the USC women’s squad 136-126. On the men’s side, the Trojans lost by 36 points.

Transom kicked off the meet with a win for the Trojans in the 200y free (1:49.18). Tatum Wade rounded out the USC 1-2 finish with a 1:50.07. Sancov took the event on the men’s side with a 1:38.07. Dom Margarino finished third in 1:39.13.

Jack Kirby championed the 100y back in 49.63, bringing in major points for the USC men’s team.

Marta Ciesla (22.92) led the USC sweep in the 50y free. Laticia Transom (23.07) and Jemma Schlicht (23.49) completed the USC 1-2-3 finish. Trojan senior Nikola Miljenic (20.60) led the USC sweep in the men’s 50y free. Joao Ama (21.12) took second, Thomas Finello third (21.17) and Jan Collazo Torres finished fourth (21.30).

In the 200y fly Catherine Sanchez out-touched teammate Louise Hansson by less than a second to record a Trojan 1-2 finish. Jackson Odgers (1:49.77) and Mark Jurek (1:52.59) finished 2-4.

The USC women’s sprint squad also impressed in both the 100y free and 100y fly. Transom (50.10), Ciesla (50.14) and Schlicht (50.88) finished 1-2-3 in the 100y free. In the 100y fly, Hansson (53.66) led the Trojan sweep followed by Schlicht (54.21) and Sanchez (55.24) who finished 2-3.

Sancov picked up his second individual win of the night in the 200y IM posting a 1:50.81. Tatum Wade missed first by .09 in the 200y IM, finishing in 2:01.40.

The Women of Troy swept both the 200y medley and free relays. The men finished just shy of first place in the 200y medley relay but took the 200 free relay.

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