By Dan D’Addona.
The Big Ten Championships is shaping up to be an intriguing meet. Plenty of teams are swimming well, but it will really be interesting because most of the teams have not faced each other.
While the SEC and Pac-12 have had weeks loaded with rivalry dual meets, there have been fewer in the Big Ten.
Michigan-Indiana was one, Wisconsin-Minnesota was one and this weekend, Purdue-Indiana was another.
Next week, Michigan swims against Ohio State.
But that is it for signature meets. In fact, next week’s meet against Michigan will be just the second — and final — meet Ohio State swims against a Big Ten opponent at all. The Buckeyes defeated Michigan State this weekend.
That means Ohio State swam nearly its entire season without facing a conference opponent. Seems strange … but it is not just the Buckeyes. The Big Ten is short on conference duals. Indiana will have a total of three Big Ten duals this season. Michigan has had two (Penn State and Indiana) and still faces OSU and Michigan State, and with four, is one of the heaviest conference schedules in the Big Ten.
What the lack of conference duals has done is make some of the big rivalries even bigger. The Michigan-Indiana meet was huge. So was the Wisconsin-Minnesota meet, though it was one of the first of the season and seems so long ago.
This weekend, the Big Ten had another signature meet with Indiana-Purdue, one of the oldest rivalries in the country.
Here are some of the highlights:
The Indiana University men’s and women’s swimming & diving teams swept rival Purdue on Saturday in West Lafayette, Ind.
The No. 4-ranked Indiana men’s team moved to 10-0 on the dual-meet season with a 182.5-117.5 win over Purdue. The No. 14 IU women’s team improved to 7-3 on the year in dual meets with a 155-139 victory.
For the first time this season, the Hoosiers competed in the platform dive. Jessica Parratto, the 2015 NCAA Champion in the event, won for the Hoosiers with a score of 300.00.
On the men’s side, James Connor, a two-time Olympian for Australia, gave 2015 NCAA Champion and Olympian Steele Johnson all he could handle, placing second with a score of 423.30. Johnson squeaked out the win with a total of 436.60.
The Hoosier men continued to dominate in the 200 freestyle, with Marwan Elkamash leading a 1-2 finish. Elkamash won with a NCAA B cut time of 1:37.30, while Jackson Miller was second in 1:39.12.
Indiana won both the men’s and women’s 100 backstroke, with Ali Rockett taking first in a time of 55.41 and Bob Glover winning it with a mark of 48.68.
Lilly King, the defending NCAA and Olympic champion in the 100 breaststroke, continued to dominate, winning the event with a NCAA B cut time of 1:00.93. King, also the defending NCAA champion in the 200 breaststroke, won the event against Purdue with a NCAA B cut time of 2:13.33.
Purdue’s Kaersten Meitz was victorious in all four events in which she competed, sweeping the 200, 500 and 1,000 free while also anchoring the 400 free relay to victory. She won the 1,000 vs. IU for the third year in a row. Danielle Auckley was victorious in the 50 and 100 free while also contributing to the victory in the 400 free relay.
Along with Johnson, Marat Amaltdinov (200 breast) and Nick McDowell (1,000 free) won events for Purdue.
Check out the full results here.
A fascinating matchup and preview of NCAAs will be at the Bug Ten wonen’s Championshios in the 200 breast where defending NCAA champ King will be up against — among the others — Minnesota’s 2K15 NCAA CGs,p Kuerra Smith.
The Golden Gopher star sat out last season to train for Rio. King us defending Cosmo/ American record- holder but I think she just might be Rie for plucking.
Stranger things have happened like the finals of the men’s 100. fly at the Mintreal Olympics or the winner of the men’s 100 free at thatbsumner’s AAUs in Philky,– and the time!