Big Ten Recap: Wisconsin Edges Rival Minnesota

Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick

By the time Beata Nelson hit the final stretch of the women’s 400-yard freestyle relay, two things were true: the UW Natatorium was so uproarious that the bleachers were shaking and a win on the race would mean a victory against No. 13 Minnesota.

The Badgers men’s team (2-0) belted cheers from the pool deck, having already defeated the No. 18 Gophers, 170-130.

Neck-and-neck with Minnesota’s Zoe Avestruz, Nelson would will her way to an anchor leg that clocked the Badgers in at 3 minutes, 22.34 seconds, securing a win in the event and a sweep of their Border Battle rivals by a score of 157-143, over the Gophers.

Notable:

Nelson also claimed victory in the 200 backstroke with a time of 1:54.76 and notched first place in the 100 backstroke with a time of 52.57, both NCAA qualifying marks.

Junior Megan Doty won the 200-yard butterfly with a time of 1:58.88, good for a win and an NCAA qualifying bid. Doty also finished first in the 100-yard butterfly with a time of 54.45.

Senior Emmy Sehmann finished the 50-yard freestyle with a time of 23.26 to claim a win.

Senior Hazel Hertting finished her day with a 304.27 mark on the women’s 3-meter board, good for second place and an NCAA zone qualifying nod.

On the men’s side, senior Tyler Zelen cruised to victory in the 50 freestyle with a time 20.46.

Sophomore Matt Novinski and junior Justin Temprano delivered a 1-2 punch in the 100 backstroke, finishing with times of 48.75 and 49.98, respectively.

Junior Kevin Pomeroy leaped to a score of 393.15 on the men’s 1-meter board, securing second place and an NCAA zone qualifying nod.

Quotable:

Head Coach Yuri Suguiyama
On his team’s performance:
“What a fun way to honor our 17 seniors. We made it a point to make it a memorable night for them and to see our fans in Badger red genuinely excited about some some really good racing was pretty special.”

Senior Jess Unicomb
On the senior class’ legacy:
“I hope my legacy is one of working hard, impressing a culture of winning and setting big goals. The next goal for this team is a Big Ten championship and hopefully an NCAA championship.”

For Minnesota:

Gopher breaststrokers Lindsey Kozelsky and Rachel Munson finished first and second in multiple events during the dual. The breaststroke duo placed first and second in the 100-yard and 200-yard breaststroke. Kozelsky and Munson finished the 200-yard breast in 2:14.49 and 2:16.41 respectively, good for the 11^th and 24^th best times in the nation to date.

Chantal Nack and Mackenzie Padington finished first and second in the 200-yard freestyle. Their times of 1:48.45 and 1:48.62 are the eighth and tenth fastest times in the nation for the season. Nack additionally finished second in the 200 back and 500 free while Padington claimed first place finishes in the 100 free and 500 free.

Freshman Abbey Kilagallon started her collegiate career in style, winning the 1000-yard free in a time of 10:12.56.

In the diving well Kristen Hayden swept the women’s events. The junior for Hillsborough, N.J., won the 1-meter with a score of 291.45 and the 3-meter with a 308.70.

Michigan State women fall to Illinois, men win

Michigan State swimming and diving split on the road on Friday. The men defeated Illinois-Chicago, 176-124, and the women fell short at Illinois, 168-132.

The men started things off with three first-place finishes in the first five events. In the 100 freestyle, Weston Youngblood clocked a time of 9:36.10. Aidan Farley followed with a 1:40.42 time in the 200 freestyle. Jonathan Lee rounded the first five events out with a 57:80 time in the 100 breaststroke.

Farley picked up another first-place finish in the 500 freestyle with a time of 4:36.37.

The women battled a tough Illini team that resulted in a 36-point defeat.

Sam Villani captured the first win for the Spartans in the 100 backstroke with a time of 56.51.

Two Spartans ended in a tie for first place in the 100 breaststroke. Seniors, Ellie Roche and Ana Sortland, both finished with a time of 1:04.86.

Michigan State dominated the 1-meter dive as Amanda Ling placed first with a score of 288.05 and Morgan Wellenzohn placed second with a score of 271.72.

Penn State men, women win

The Penn State men’s swimming & diving team was dominant in its home opener, earning a 196-99 win over George Washington Friday afternoon in McCoy Natatorium. Penn State nearly swept the board, posting the top times and scores in all but the 200 backstroke.

Top Swims

Michael Daly, the reigning Big Ten Men’s Freshman of the Week, continued his strong start to his collegiate career with three top-two finishes, as he placed first in the 200 fly (1:52.27) and 500 free (4:32.92), while finishing second in the 200 free (1:40.91).

In addition to his two relay wins, Gabe Castano won a pair of individual races, touching first in the 200 (1:40.67) and 100 (45.07) freestyles. Sophomore Hayden Harlow posted a pair of top-two finishes, taking first in the 200 breast (2:07.41), second in the 1000 free (9:33.59) to teammate Eben Krigger (9:31.67), and fourth in the 200 fly (1:54.56). Will Roberson nearly won all of his races, finishing first in the 50 free (20.74) and coming 1.08 seconds behind first place in the 100 back (50.05) behind Veregin (48.97).

Sophomore Brad Johnson also had a strong home opener, winning the 100 breast (56.20), as well as assisting the 200 medley relay winner.

The Penn State women’s swimming & diving team posted top times and scores in all events, as it cruised past George Washington, 183-109, Friday afternoon in McCoy Natatorium.

Senior captain Ally McHugh, the reigning Big Ten Women’s Swimmer of the Week led the Penn State women taking first in three events. McHugh completed the 200 free, breaststroke and IM with times of 1:48.96, 2:19.84 and 2:05.79, respectively.

Freshman Marie Schobel led a Nittany Lion sweep of the 100 backstroke finishing the race with a time of 56.33. Brooke Matthias and Heather MacDougall followed suit with times of 57.36 and 58.16, respectively. Schobel also won the 200 back in 2:01.32.

Junior Maddie Hart also led the Penn State women in a winning trio in the 200 butterfly, as she touched first in 2:03.03 and was followed by Stephanie Szekley (2:06.13) and Madison Ledwith (2:08.50).

Reigning Big Ten Freshman of the Week award winner, Madison Murtagh came in on top in the 1000 free with a time of 10:00.53. She also finished the 200 backstroke in third place with a time of 2:04.50.

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