Michigan and Indiana Continue Duel At Men’s Big Ten’s; Ian Finnerty Swims 50 Point 100 Breast

michigan-team-big-ten
Photo Courtesy: Dave Wegiel

The Michigan Wolverines and the Indiana Hoosiers are continuing their duel at the Big Ten Championships as the Wolverines got the nod on the ups, mids and downs for the second straight day in the pool. Indiana still has diving later on and will get major points there, but Michigan got its job in the pool on Friday morning in Minnesota.

Indiana’s Vini LanzaBlake PieroniIan Finnerty and Gabriel Fantoni are all the top seeds in their respective events while Michigan got its lone top seed from Thomas Cope in the 400 IM. But the Wolverines have 12 A-finalists compared to the Hoosiers’ 10. Ohio State is safely in third place while Purdue, Minnesota and Wisconsin will be battling for fourth place.

Ups, Mids, Downs

  • Michigan, 12, 9, 2
  • Indiana, 10, 6, 5
  • Ohio State, 8, 6, 5
  • Purdue, 3, 4, 5
  • Minnesota, 2, 2, 5
  • Wisconsin, 3, 7, 6
  • Iowa, 2, 2, 4
  • Penn State, 0, 2, 5
  • Michigan State, 0, 1, 1
  • Northwestern, 0, 1, 2

100 Fly

Indiana got the morning started with Vini Lanza taking out the 100 fly prelims with a smooth 45.25. He is the only Hoosier in the A-Final however as Michigan got three swimmers in the championship final. The Wolverines will have Evan White (45.54), James Jones (46.05) and Miles Smachlo (46.37) swimming in the A-Final as they got their morning started on the right note.

Michigan’s rival Ohio State also had three swimmers in the championship final with Noah Lense (45.41), Michael Salazar (45.99) and Henrique Painhas (46.05) getting in the final for the Buckeyes.

Iowa’s Jerzy Twarowski (46.27) is the only swimmer from a non top three team in the A-final in the 100 fly.

 Event 8  Men 100 Yard Butterfly
==================================================================
  Meet Record: ! 44.91  2/24/2017 Matt McHugh, Ohio State
         Pool: # 44.57  3/16/2007 ALbert Subirats, ARIZ
                 45.49  A NCAA A Standard
                 48.29  B NCAA B Stanard
    Name           Year School               Seed    Prelims              
==================================================================
                      === Preliminaries ===                       
 
  1 Lanza, Vinicius  JR Indiana-IN          46.56      45.25 qA     
              9.74        21.27 (11.53)
          33.29 (12.02)       45.25 (11.96)
  2 Lense, Noah J    SO Ohio St-OH          46.17      45.41 qA     
             10.04        21.14 (11.10)
          33.15 (12.01)       45.41 (12.26)
  3 White, Evan S    SR Michigan-MI         46.03      45.54 qB     
             10.08        21.47 (11.39)
          33.37 (11.90)       45.54 (12.17)
  4 Salazar, Michae  JR Ohio St-OH          45.98      45.99 qB     
              9.86        21.17 (11.31)
          33.46 (12.29)       45.99 (12.53)
  5 Painhas, Henriq  JR Ohio St-OH          47.36      46.05 qB     
             10.21        21.67 (11.46)
          33.94 (12.27)       46.05 (12.11)
  5 Jones, James Wi  SO Michigan-MI         45.89      46.05 qB     
              9.74        21.04 (11.30)
          33.56 (12.52)       46.05 (12.49)
  7 Twarowski, Jerz  SR Iowa-IA             47.76      46.27 qB     
              9.80        21.38 (11.58)
          33.55 (12.17)       46.27 (12.72)
  8 Smachlo, Miles   SO Michigan-MI         46.19      46.37 qB     
              9.91        21.91 (12.00)
          34.18 (12.27)       46.37 (12.19)

400 IM

The only event of the morning that Indiana didn’t get a top seed in was the 400 IM where Michigan sophomore Thomas Cope swam the top time at 3:42.75. Cope is looking to add to the long tradition of Michigan 400 IMers that includes Olympic gold medalists and NCAA champions Tom DolanTyler Clary and Alex Vanderkaay among many others. Cope could be next in line.

Or maybe it could be fellow sophomore Charlie Swanson, who is third at 3:44.02. Swanson is the defending champion in the event and has a chance to repeat tonight. He is behind Wisconsin’s Joseph Milinovich (3:44.01). The Wolverines really showed their 400 IM strength with four total swimmers in the A-final, along with three more in the B.

The rest of the field is fairly wide open as any number of guys could sneak into the top three positions tonight. Purdue’s Adam Noens (3:45.81), Michigan’s PJ Ransford (3:46.20), Ricardo Vargas (3:46.30), Indiana’s Spencer Lehman (3:47.14) and Wisconsin’s Nicholas Hogsed (3:47.62) also placed in the top eight.

 Event 9  Men 400 Yard IM
==================================================================
  Meet Record: ! 3:38.03  2009      Tyler Clary, Michiigan
         Pool: # 3:39.19  3/25/2005 Ous Mellouli, USC
                 3:39.95  A NCAA A Standard
                 3:54.49  B NCAA B Stanard
    Name           Year School               Seed    Prelims              
==================================================================
                      === Preliminaries ===                       
 
  1 Cope, Thomas E   SO Michigan-MI       3:44.48    3:42.75 qB     
             22.64        49.69 (27.05)
        1:18.84 (29.15)     1:47.29 (28.45)
        2:17.28 (29.99)     2:48.02 (30.74)
        3:15.90 (27.88)     3:42.75 (26.85)
  2 Milinovich, Jos  SO Wisconsin-WI      3:53.33    3:44.01 qB     
             24.02        51.33 (27.31)
        1:19.81 (28.48)     1:47.56 (27.75)
        2:18.71 (31.15)     2:50.87 (32.16)
        3:18.09 (27.22)     3:44.01 (25.92)
  3 Swanson, Charle  SO Michigan-MI       3:41.53    3:44.02 qB     
             23.33        50.89 (27.56)
        1:19.69 (28.80)     1:47.90 (28.21)
        2:18.37 (30.47)     2:49.90 (31.53)
        3:17.44 (27.54)     3:44.02 (26.58)
  4 Noens, Adam T    SR Purdue-IN         3:51.31    3:45.81 qB     
             23.90        51.64 (27.74)
        1:20.84 (29.20)     1:49.02 (28.18)
        2:20.26 (31.24)     2:52.02 (31.76)
        3:19.26 (27.24)     3:45.81 (26.55)
  5 Ransford, Patri  SR Michigan-MI       3:51.09    3:46.20 qB     
             24.69        52.66 (27.97)
        1:21.60 (28.94)     1:49.67 (28.07)
        2:21.74 (32.07)     2:54.88 (33.14)
        3:20.83 (25.95)     3:46.20 (25.37)
  6 Vargas Jacobo,   FR Michigan-MI       3:51.58    3:46.30 qB     
             24.93        52.44 (27.51)
        1:21.08 (28.64)     1:49.37 (28.29)
        2:22.25 (32.88)     2:54.75 (32.50)
        3:21.14 (26.39)     3:46.30 (25.16)
  7 Lehman, Spencer  FR Indiana-IN        3:50.36    3:47.14 qB     
             24.07        52.11 (28.04)
        1:21.18 (29.07)     1:49.33 (28.15)
        2:22.31 (32.98)     2:54.92 (32.61)
        3:21.57 (26.65)     3:47.14 (25.57)
  8 Hogsed, Nichola  JR Ohio St-OH        3:54.08    3:47.62 qB     
             25.29        53.83 (28.54)
        1:24.24 (30.41)     1:52.88 (28.64)
        2:24.79 (31.91)     2:56.78 (31.99)
        3:23.08 (26.30)     3:47.62 (24.54)

200 Free

The 200 free will be perhaps the most hyped race of the night as two of the conference’s best swimmers Felix Aubock of Michigan and Blake Pieroni of Indiana will go at it in the middle of the pool. Pieroni specializes in the sprint events while Aubock goes longer so the 200 is the middle ground for both guys. Aubock had the top seed at 1:33.10 while Pieroni is third at 1:34.01. Indiana’s Mohamed Samy is second at 1:33.94.

The race could be crucial in the team race. Pieroni is also looking for his third straight Big Ten crown in the event while Aubock is looking for his second win of the meet. Both guys split 1:31.51 on Wednesday night in the 800 free relay on the second leg.

Ohio State’s Paul Delakis (1:34.29), Andrew Loy (1:34.47), Michigan’s Mokhtar Al-Yamani (1:34.72), Minnesota’s Nicholas Saulnier (1:34.88) and Wisconsin’s Ryan Stack (1:35.46) will also swim in the championship final.

 Event 10  Men 200 Yard Freestyle
==================================================================
  Meet Record: ! 1:32.13  2/24/2017 Blake Pieroni, Indiana
         Pool: # 1:32.21  3/25/2011 Brett Fraser, FLOR
                 1:32.54  A NCAA A Standard
                 1:37.99  B NCAA B Stanard
    Name           Year School               Seed    Prelims              
==================================================================
                      === Preliminaries ===                       
 
  1 Aubock, Felix   SO Michigan-MI       1:33.69    1:33.10 qB     
             22.20        45.87 (23.67)
        1:09.64 (23.77)     1:33.10 (23.46)
  2 Samy, Mohamed    SO Indiana-IN        1:34.43    1:33.94 qB     
             22.48        46.99 (24.51)
        1:10.37 (23.38)     1:33.94 (23.57)
  3 Pieroni, Blake   SR Indiana-IN        1:32.33    1:34.01 qB     
             21.47        45.37 (23.90)
        1:09.74 (24.37)     1:34.01 (24.27)
  4 Delakis, Paul J  FR Ohio St-OH        1:36.16    1:34.29 qB     
             22.65        46.37 (23.72)
        1:10.46 (24.09)     1:34.29 (23.83)
  5 Loy, Andrew D    SO Ohio St-OH        1:36.26    1:34.47 qB     
             22.02        45.98 (23.96)
        1:10.17 (24.19)     1:34.47 (24.30)
  6 Al-Yamani, Mokh  JR Michigan-MI       1:35.18    1:34.72 qB     
             21.82        46.10 (24.28)
        1:10.59 (24.49)     1:34.72 (24.13)
  7 Saulnier, Nicho  SO Minnesota-MN      1:37.04    1:34.88 qB     
             22.18        46.34 (24.16)
        1:10.77 (24.43)     1:34.88 (24.11)
  8 Stack, Ryan M    SR Wisconsin-WI      1:37.22    1:35.46 qB     
             22.64        46.42 (23.78)
        1:10.65 (24.23)     1:35.46 (24.81)

100 Breast

Indiana’s Ian Finnerty continued his strong meet after he split a 50.16 last night in the 400 medley relay. Finnerty came back this morning with a 50.82 for the top seed in the 100 breast. That swim breaks his meet record of 51.38 from last year and also breaks the pool record of 50.94 by Cal’s Damir Dugonjic. Finnerty’s race is below via Purdue’s Twitter account.

Finnerty is almost a full second ahead of second place Levi Brock of Indiana (51.81) as the Hoosiers are first and second going into tonight. Michigan and Ohio State each got two other A-finalists.

Minnesota’s Conner McHugh (52.04), Michigan’s Jacob Montague (52.40), Jeremy Babinet (52.61), Ohio State’s Connor Isings (52.79), Purdue’s Trent Pellini (52.88) and Ohio State’s Jack Barone (52.90) will also swim in the championship final.

 Event 11  Men 100 Yard Breaststroke
==================================================================
  Meet Record: ! 51.38  2/24/2017 Ian J Finnerty, Indiana
         Pool: # 50.94  3/25/2011 Damir Dugonjic, CAL
                 51.74  A NCAA A Standard
                 55.39  B NCAA B Stanard
    Name           Year School               Seed    Prelims              
==================================================================
                      === Preliminaries ===                       
 
  1 Finnerty, Ian J  JR Indiana-IN          51.99      50.82#qA     
             10.98        23.77 (12.79)
          37.31 (13.54)       50.82 (13.51)
  2 Brock, Levi B    SR Indiana-IN          54.75      51.81 qB     
             10.90        24.09 (13.19)
          37.64 (13.55)       51.81 (14.17)
  3 McHugh, Conner   SR Minnesota-MN        52.84      52.04 qB     
             11.22        24.39 (13.17)
          38.25 (13.86)       52.04 (13.79)
  4 Montague, Jacob  SO Michigan-MI         52.30      52.40 qB     
             11.09        24.42 (13.33)
          38.38 (13.96)       52.40 (14.02)
  5 Babinet, Jeremy  SO Michigan-MI         54.07      52.61 qB     
             11.48        25.08 (13.60)
          38.86 (13.78)       52.61 (13.75)
  6 Isings, Connor   FR Ohio St-OH          55.48      52.79 qB     
             11.30        24.85 (13.55)
          38.75 (13.90)       52.79 (14.04)
  7 Pellini, Trent   FR Purdue-IN           54.22      52.88 qB     
             11.46        24.69 (13.23)
          38.66 (13.97)       52.88 (14.22)
  8 Barone, Jack J   SR Ohio St-OH          54.90      52.90 qB     
             11.29        24.72 (13.43)
          38.36 (13.64)       52.90 (14.54)

100 Back

Indiana freshman Gabriel Fantoni had the fastest 100 back of the morning as he was the only swimmer under 46 seconds. Fantoni led off IU’s 400 medley relay last night with a 45.1 so he could be pushing the 45 second barrier in tonight’s final. Fantoni was a mid-season addition for the Hoosiers from Italy and he has showed his worth thus far.

The field is very wide open behind Fantoni as the seven behind him are separated by less than a second. He is joined in the final by three other IU swimmers in Mohamed Samy (46.52), James Beckman (46.87) and Jacob Steele (47.00).

Purdue’s Joe Young (46.59), Iowa’s Kenneth Mende (46.83), Wisconsin’s Matt Novinski (46.85) and Michigan’s Tristan Sanders (47.02) will also swim in the championship final.

 Event 12  Men 100 Yard Backstroke
==================================================================
  Meet Record: ! 44.65  2/24/2017 Shane P Ryan, Penn State
         Pool: # 44.83  3/16/2007 Albert Subirats, ARIZ
                 45.25  A NCAA A Standard
                 48.49  B NCAA B Stanard
    Name           Year School               Seed    Prelims              
==================================================================
                      === Preliminaries ===                       
 
  1 Fantoni, Gabrie  FR Indiana-IN          46.86      45.82 qB     
             10.57        21.94 (11.37)
          34.18 (12.24)       45.82 (11.64)
  2 Samy, Mohamed    SO Indiana-IN          47.28      46.52 qB     
             10.98        22.52 (11.54)
          34.79 (12.27)       46.52 (11.73)
  3 Young, Joseph A  JR Purdue-IN           48.78      46.59 qB     
             10.90        22.26 (11.36)
          34.36 (12.10)       46.59 (12.23)
  4 Mende, Kenneth   JR Iowa-IA             47.28      46.83 qB     
             11.13        22.61 (11.48)
          34.82 (12.21)       46.83 (12.01)
  5 Novinski, Matt   FR Wisconsin-WI        47.55      46.85 qB     
             10.94        22.55 (11.61)
          34.72 (12.17)       46.85 (12.13)
  6 Beckman, James   JR Indiana-IN          48.07      46.87 qB     
             11.05        22.64 (11.59)
          34.75 (12.11)       46.87 (12.12)
  7 Steele, Jacob A  FR Indiana-IN          48.08      47.00 qB     
             10.99        22.79 (11.80)
          34.96 (12.17)       47.00 (12.04)
  8 Sanders, Trista  SR Michigan-MI         47.72      47.02 qB     
             10.95        22.62 (11.67)
          34.75 (12.13)       47.02 (12.27)
Subscribe
Notify of
guest

Welcome to our community. We invite you to join our discussion. Our community guidelines are simple: be respectful and constructive, keep on topic, and support your fellow commenters. Commenting signifies that you agree to our Terms of Use

0 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
0
Would love your thoughts, please comment.x
()
x