5 Takeaways From the Week That Was in the Big Ten

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A lot of Big Ten teams were back in action this last weekend. There were good performances across the board as teams are starting up classes again and getting back in the swing of things after tough, tropical training trips. Here are five things to take away from this last weekend in the Big Ten.

Michigan proved they are the team to beat: The Wolverines swam in a quad meet in Atlanta and swam against conference foe Indiana along with Duke and Georgia Tech. With the aim of the meet as getting accustomed to the same pool that will host the NCAA championships in March, Michigan also sent a message to Indiana that they have their hands full if they want to get the conference crown in both genders.

The swim of the meet came from Michigan sophomore Clara Smiddy. She won the 200 back with a 1:55.60, a time that would’ve placed top eight at last year’s Big Ten Championships. Smiddy also won the 100 back (53.60, B cut) and swam the butterfly leg on the winning 200 medley relay team (24.62) for Michigan as well swimming the lead off leg for the winning 400 free relay team (50.72).

On the men’s side, Dylan Bosch had the best performance with a 1:44.91 in the 200 fly for the win. That time also would have been top eight at last year’s Big Ten’s. The senior was third at the NCAAs last year and he is trying to win back his national crown that he won in 2014. Bosch also won the 100 fly (48.04) and finished second in the 200 IM (1:48.22) behind sophomore teammate Evan White (1:47.99).

Indiana’s young guns: I said Michigan will be tough to beat but Indiana was no slouch in the meet in Atlanta, particularly its underclassmen. Lilly King keeps getting better and better. She swam a 27.12 in the 200 medley relay, out splitting all the other breaststrokers by over a second. King later won the 100 breast with a 1:00.91 ahead of teammate Miranda Tucker (1:01.94) and reigning Big Ten swimmer of the week in Michigan sophomore Emily Kopas (1:02.11). King then demolished Kopas and Tucker in that order in the 200 with a 2:11.97, some two and a half seconds ahead of Kopas. King has to be one of the favorites for NCAAs in those events and is definitely moving into the talks of making the Olympic team in either the 100 or 200. She is one to watch in the future.

Sophomore Blake Pieroni also shined on the day, winning a pivotal matchup in the 200 free (1:35.85) against Michigan senior Anders Nielsen (1:35.91). Pieroni also won the 100 free at 44.11.

Women’s meet could come down to Minnesota and Michigan: The Golden Gophers are four-time defending champions in the Big Ten for the women. They will try to send out a second straight perfect senior class this year. But the meet is in Ann Arbor and Michigan won’t go down without a fight. Both teams have solid young guns. Minnesota has Zoe Avestruz, Danielle Nack and Brooke Zeiger that will be a force to be reckoned with. Michigan has Siobhan Haughey, Clara Smiddy and Gillian Ryan that will be tough to beat in the coming years. This could be a solid rivalry that will be fun to watch for the years to come.

Penn State is dangerous: Last year’s seventh place team for the women is quietly flying under the radar. With a nucleus of seniors Alyson Ackman and Kaitlin Jones, Penn State has a team that could make a good run at Big Tens. Ackman served on relay duty in a weekend meet against Rutgers and Yale winning two of the relays for the Nittany Lions. Jones also won the 200 free in the meet (1:49.64).

The Penn State men are having a rebuilding year. They were seventh last year at Big Tens and have a young team this year. They are a team to look out for in the future if their young guys pan out. Don’t count out the Nittany Lions, particularly international freshman Tomer Zamir.

Bottom Half Teams are catching up: The usual suspects in the conference are still dominating with the likes of Michigan, Indiana, Minnesota and Ohio State. But the teams that aren’t always getting mention are slowly moving their way up. It might not be this year that we see those teams break into the top five, but it could be soon. Teams like Rutgers, Iowa, Illinois, Purdue and Northwestern are rapidly improving and could turn some heads. They are already quietly building solid teams that could challenge in the future. We already saw Michigan turn its women’s team around with a top five recruiting class last year and now they are the team to beat in the conference. Who will step up next?

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