Minnesota Returns Home from Hawaiian Islands with Two Wins

The University of Hawai'i men's and women's swimming teams closed the home portion of its schedule on Saturday against Minnesota at the Duke Kahanamoku Aquatic Complex

The swimming and diving teams from the University of Minnesota traveled all the way to Hawaii to take on the University swimmers. The Golden Gopher men and women came away with victories over the hometown Rainbow Warriors.

Scores

Minnesota men – 133, Hawaii men – 129

Minnesota women – 178, Hawaii women – 84

RESULTS

Minnesota Recap

MINNEAPOLIS – The RV/No. 24 Minnesota swimming & diving program secured two dual meet victories Saturday afternoon, as both the men and women opened up their 2020 dual meet seasons with road wins against RV/NR Hawaii.

10 Gophers swam their way to at least one first place finish, with junior Cameron Kelley leading the way with three individual victories (200 free, 500 free, 1000 free).

Women | Gophers 178 – Rainbow Warriors 84

Starting 2020 off in fitting fashion, seven different Gophers delivered at least one first place finish for the women’s team: Grace Bennin, Rachel Butler, Abbey Kilgallon, Lindsey Kozelsky, Jordan McGinty, Kate Sullivan and Tevyn Waddell. Kozelsky, McGinty and Waddell each secured two individual victories.

Winning both the 100 free and 200 free, McGinty touched the wall with respective first place times of 51.08 and 1:50.85. In the 200 free, Minnesota finished 1-2-3-4, as Kelli McCarthy, Butler and Abbey Erwin completed the event behind McGinty.

In what should be no surprise to Gopher fans, Kozelsky dominated the 100 and 200 breast yet again. Kozelsky sped her way to first place in both events with times of 1:01.88 and 2:14.40. The 200 breast also represented a 1-2-3 result for the Maroon and Gold, as Bennin (2:18.98) and Emma Lezer (2:20.32) also achieved podium finishes.

As for Waddell, the senior won both the 100 back and 200 back for Minnesota. Waddell touched in 54.99 in the 100 back and finished the latter in 2:01.21.

Minnesota’s remaining first place finishes came via Bennin in the 50 free (23.83), Butler in the 400 IM (4:24.23), Kilgallon in the 500 free (4:57.19) and Sullivan in the 200 fly (2:05.05). In the 500 free, Kilgallon led the Gophers to a 1-2-3 finish, with Sullivan (4:58.55) and Maggie Erwin (5:02.62) placing second and third, respectively.

The Gopher women polished off their victory with a win in the 200 free relay (1:34.87). The first place team consisted of McGinty, Bennin, Olivia Bloomer and Kozelsky.

Men | Gophers 133 – Rainbow Warriors 129

On the men’s side, Kelley was clear-cut highlight of the afternoon with his three first place finishes. Kelley won the 200 free (1:39.53), 500 free (4:32.19) and 1000 free (9:34.22) to help power Minnesota to an impressive dual meet victory.

Each of Kelley’s wins showcased 1-2-3-5 finishes for the Maroon and Gold. Two of the second place finishes came from Aidan Dillon, who touched behind Kelley in the 500 free (4:34.94) and 1000 free (9:37.08)

Also for Minnesota, Max McHugh swept the 100 breast (52.60) and 200 breast (1:55.56). Senior Matthew Thomas also added a first place finish on Saturday, completing the 200 fly in 1:49.06.

In the 200 back, the Gophers finished 2-3-4-5, led by Will Brenton’s second place finish (1:52.38). Cale Berkoff, Gavin Olson and Desmon Sachtjen touched the wall behind Brenton.

Notable
10 different Gopher swimmers notched first place finishes on Saturday afternoon, with Kelley pacing Minnesota with three (200 free, 500 free, 1000 free). Including Kelley, five Gophers hauled in multiple individual victories: Kozelsky, McGinty, McHugh and Waddell.

Up Next
Minnesota’s next dual meet will not come until the team departs Hawaii, as Minnesota is scheduled to travel to USC to swim against the Trojans on Jan. 17. Two weeks thereafter, the Maroon and Gold will trek to West Lafayette, Ind. to take on Purdue and Northwestern in a Big Ten Conference tri-dual (Jan. 31-Feb. 1).

Hawaii Recap

Honolulu—The University of Hawai’i swim and dive team honored a combined 12 seniors before its meet against the University of Minnesota Saturday at the Duke Kahanamoku Aquatic Center.

The senior class has seen tremendous success notching three consecutive MPSF Championships on the women’s side and one on the men’s side. During the class’ tenure, UH has climbed up in national recognition by having multiple student-athletes competing at the NCAA Championship and making it know that UH is evolving into a swimming and diving powerhouse.

The Gophers won both sides of the meet, narrowly beating the Rainbow Warriors at 133-29, while Rainbow Wahine fell short at 178-84.

“The team’s energy, effort, and enthusiasm were awesome,” said head coach Elliot Ptasnik. “Today was a win regardless.”

Saturday’s meet with Minnesota was the last tune-up of the season, and the program will now look towards the MPSF Championships in mid-February.

Men’s Swimming

Mirroring the same success as they did on Thursday, the Rainbow Warriors took first place in both relay races. Seniors Kane Follows, Olli Kokko and Mateusz Chaba teamed with junior ‘aukai Lileikis for a time of 3:13.50 in the 400-medley relay. The time moves UH into the top-50 nationally, placing them at No. 43 overall.

Later on in the afternoon, Mateusz teamed up with Lileikis again, along with a pair of juniors in Franz Adamand Micah Masei to claim the 200 free relay at 1:20.81.

On top of his relay victories, Lileikis added a first-place finish in the 100 free, touching the wall at 44.28. Lileikis wasn’t the only one to see success from the relay squads as Follows claimed victories in both the 100 and 200 backstroke, while Adam claimed the No. 1 position in the 50 free.

Sophomore Talon Lindquist joined in on the day with a win in the 400 individual medley at 3:57.94.

Women’s Swimming

The Rainbow Wahine claimed a victory in the 400 medley relay with a foursome of juniors in Karolina Hajkova, Kionna Clayton, Lucia Lassman, and Anna Kotonen. Earlier this season, the team recorded a time of 3:38.81, Saturday fell short of the mark, but the group still ranks at 38th nationally.

While UH had a productive day, Lassman claimed the only individual win on the afternoon, clocking in at 54.65 in the 100 butterfly against the Gophers. Her time narrowly beat out Tevyn Waddell at 54.66.

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