By Dan D’Addona.
The Michigan swim team unofficially kicked off the Big Ten swimming & diving season with its Water Carnival last week.
The meet was packed with all kinds of fun events, including football coach Jim Harbaugh jumping off the diving board into the water, khakis and all.
The Big Ten season continues this week with more teams in action.
Here is a look at this week’s meets:
Minnesota at Florida St.
The marquee meet of the week is Minnesota at Florida State.
The Golden Gophers have had some dominant swimmers in years passed and will look to continue that trend. Nick Plachinski is coming off three first-place finishes in the Speedo Sectionals in August. He will be a key figure for the Golden Gophers this season as Minnesota looks to hang with teams like Michigan, Indiana, Ohio State and Wisconsin.
Michigan State, Northern Iowa at Iowa
After an extremely close football game between Michigan State and Iowa this week, the swim teams square off to open Big Ten competition.
The meet is Oct. 5-6 and will provide a good start for the conference.
Iowa is a team looking to rise from the middle to the top of the Big Ten, while Michigan State is aiming to get out of the bottom rung of the Big Ten.
Rutgers at the Florida Gulf Coast Classic
Rutgers will head south for the Florida Gulf Coast Classic on Oct. 6-7.
The Scarlett Knights will use the experience of this opening classic as a springboard into the season.
Let’s Go Gophers!