Big Ten Weekly Preview: Haughey-Comerford set for Another Showdown

Siobhan Haughey. Photo Courtesy: Dan D'Addona

By Dan D’Addona.

Didn’t get enough Mallory Comerford vs. Siobhan Haughey last week?

After two epic head-to-head showdowns at the SMU Classic, the two will square off again as Michigan heads to Louisville for a two-day meet.

On Saturday, Comerford won the 100-yard freestyle in 47.00, narrowly edging Haughey (47.22) in another battle of two of the best collegiate swimmers in the world. The times are the top two in the country this year.

That followed another epic battle in the 200 freestyle on Friday when Comerford won the event in 1:41.70, ahead of Haughey’s 1:42.44.

These two swimmers are both going to be vying for national titles. Comerford had the epic NCAA finish, tying Katie Ledecky to win the 200 freestyle as the duo held off Simone Manuel and Haughey, not to mention Leah Smith.

That 200 free is shaping up to be the event of the meet for the women once again, though the 100 free will likely see Comerford, Manuel and Haughey as well.

There were some other great performances for this early in the season, too.

Comerford won the 500 freestyle in 4:39.24, holding off Michigan All-American Rose Bi (4:40.37).

Comerford and Bi might get a rematch, too, in this two-day event.

There will be plenty of other great races with No. 6 Michigan and No. 9 Louisville.

In the men’s meet, Louisville is ranked No. 7 and Michigan is No. 12. The Cardinals have a lot of relay depth — a lot. The Wolverines have some distance depth and are moving in the right direction.

It all adds up to a memorable meet.

Here is a look at the other Big Ten meets this week:

On Thursday, Purdue hosts South Carolina and Wisconsin hosts Georgia.

On Friday and Saturday, Indiana swim with Texas at Florida (see SEC Weekly Preview).

On Friday, Illinois swims at Michigan State, Northwestern hosts Georgia and Penn State swims with NC State at Duke.

On Saturday, Northwestern hosts Georgia Tech, Nebraska hosts Iowa State and Purdue hosts the annual Indiana Intercollegiates meet.

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