Minnesota Sweeps Arizona State

Photo Credit: Peter H. Bick

TEMPE, Arizona, October 4. THE Minnesota swimming and diving teams kicked off the 2014-2015 season on a winning note, sweeping Arizona State today in Tempe. Several swimmers won multiple events, including Samantha Harding, CJ Smith, Lauren Votava, Paul Fair, Kierra Smith, Carl Newenhouse, Danielle Nack and Brooke Zeiger.

Minnesota Press Release

The Golden Gophers began the 2014-15 season against Arizona State today in Tempe, Arizona.

RELAY REPORT

The Gopher women started the meet claiming both first and second place in the 400 medley relay. The relay team of Tori Simenec, Kierra Smith, Becca Weiland and Lauren Votava went a 3:43.40 for the gold.

The Minnesota men grabbed second place in the 400 medley relay. Carl Newenhouse, Jakub Maly, Nick Orf and Paul Fair had the top Minnesota time of 3:21.99. The Gophers went 2-3-4 in the event.

In the 400 free relay, the team of Blake Zeiger, Lauren Votava, Becca Weiland and Tori Simenec finished first with a time of 3:24.20 over Arizona State.

The Gopher men finished second in the 400 free relay against the Sun Devils. Paul Fair, Carl Newenhouse, Ryan Miksch and Erick Huft finished with a time of 3:03.63.

DIVE IN

Freshman Yu (Shelly) Zhou dominated on the three-meter totaling 337.50 points for first place. Lexi Tenenbaum followed with 274.88 points and Katy Etterman finished with 261.38 for the Gophers to go 1-2-3 in the three-meter event.

Manny Pollard captured first for the men on the three-meter board with a total of 356.55 points. Sophomore Matt Barnard finished with a 337.13 for second.

Sophomore Lexi Tenenbaum finished with 271.05 points for second place in one-meter diving. She was followed by rookie Yu Zhou who finished third with 268.20 points.

The Gopher men took first, second and third on the one-meter board. Junior Manny Pollard took the most points for the men on the one-meter, finishing with a total of 327.08 points. Dylan Zoe finished second with 323.10 points, followed by sophomore Matt Barnard with 317.33 points. Senior Garrett Larson took fifth.

DISTANCE FREE

In the 1000 freestyle, junior Samantha Harding took first with a time of 10:03.32. Freshman Brooke Lorentzen had a 10:09.77 for third place.

Familiar-face CJ Smith claimed the gold in the 1000 free for the men. His time of 9:17.27 was nearly 30 seconds faster than ASU’s best, Juhan Hong. Logan Redondo finished with a 9:34.75 for the Gophers to go 1-2 in the event.

Samantha Harding took first in the 500 free also, finishing with a time of 4:55.60.

Similar to Harding, CJ Smith took home the gold in the 500 free in addition to his 1000 free win earlier in the day. Smith finished with a time of 4:33.51. Senior Brandon Hatanaka (4:38.27) and Logan Redondo (4:40.64) followed for the Gophers to finish 1-2-3 in the event.

SPRINT FREE

Senior Becca Weiland placed first in the 50 free with a time of 23.12. Blake Zeiger was the next Gopher with a time of 23.90 for fourth place, followed by Abigail Raatz and Heidi Busack.

NCAA relay team members and fellow sophomores Paul Fair and Ian Gordon had the top two Gopher times in the 50 free. Fair finished with a 21.05 for second place, Gordon with a 21.29 for fourth.

In the 100 free, junior Lauren Votava finished first with a time of 50.88. Senior Tori Simenec followed for second with a 51.64.

Paul Fair sprinted his way to a 45.72 in the 100 free for first place. Ryan Miksch (46.51) and Erick Huft (47.45) followed for third and fourth place.

In the 200 freestyle, junior Lauren Votava finished first with a time of 1:49.22. Sophomore Maddie Hoch (1:49.29) and Kiera Janzen (1:49.50) followed allowing Minnesota to go 1-2-3 in the event.

BREASTSTROKE

B1G Champion Kierra Smith took first in the 100 breast with a time of 1:03.11. The junior also claimed the gold in her best event, the 200 breast with a time of 2:12.66.

Freshman Conner McHugh touched-out ASU for first with a time of 56.26. The rookie also took second in the 200 breast with a time of 2:03.44. Sophomore Jakub Maly (2:04.42) and Nick Hatanaka (2:04.89) followed for the Gophers to go 2-3-4 in the event.

BACKSTROKE

Senior Tori Simenec placed first in the 100 back with a time of 56.53. Rookie Brooke Zeiger followed with a time of 57.00 for second.

Carl Newenhouse finished first for the Gophers in the 100 back with a time of 50.76. Chris Johnson placed second with a time of 51.20.

Freshman Brooke Zeiger went on to win the 200 back with a time of 1:59.52.

Newenhouse picked up his second first-place finish in the 200 back, finishing with a time of 1:49.16.

BUTTERFLY

Freshman Danielle Nack placed first in the 200 butterfly, finishing with a time of 2:01.48. Senior Devin Ste. Marie finished with a time of 2:03.18 for second. Breanne Siwicki (2:08.64) finished fourth.

Sophomore Nick Orf out-touched ASU to finish first in the 200 fly with a time of 1:50.14. Andrew Hartbarger finished with a time of 1:50.67 for third, followed by Jakub Maly (1:51.09) for fourth.

Danielle Nack picked up her second first-place finish in the 100 fly. The rookie finished with a time of 55.32.

Nick Orf placed second in the 100 fly with a time of 50.43. Freshman Chase Bublitz finished with a time of 51.40 for fourth place.

The 200 IM, freshman Brooke Zeiger picked up her second first-place finish with a time of 2:01.86, nearly five seconds faster than the second-place finisher.

Jakub Maly took home the gold in the 200 IM. The sophomore finished with a time of 1:51.88.

KREMER’S NOTES

We caught up with head coach Kelly Kremer at the end of the meet to get his opinion on the Gophers first meet of the season.

“The freshmen really stood out to me,” Kremer said. “Brooke Zeiger had an amazing start to her collegiate career with two first place finishes and a second place finish. Danielle Nack also finished first in both the 100 and 200 fly. Conner McHugh took the 100 breast and really put up a fight for his second place finish in the 200 breast. It was outstanding.”

“The upperclassmen were amazing leaders today, it was great to see,” Kremer said. “The entire team was connecting – we couldn’t have asked for a better start to the season.”

JOIN THE CONVERSATION

Are you following the Gophers on the road or from home? Make sure to follow @GopherSwimDive on Twitter. You can also check for updates on Facebook and Instagram.

MARK YOUR CALENDARS

The annual Alumni meet is coming. Make sure to join us at the University Aquatic Center on Friday, Oct. 10 at 6:00 p.m. to see current and former Gophers compete. Immediately following the meet, there will be an alumni gathering at the Buffalo Wild Wings located at 2001 University Ave SE. Free food, beverages and swag will be provided for alumni that attend.

Arizona State Press Release

The second day of back-to-back home meets came to a close Saturday afternoon, with both the Arizona State men (0-2) and women’s (0-2) swim and dive teams dropping their meets to Minnesota. The Devils used their first two meets against Big Ten opponents as a tune-up for a long season ahead as they aim to get key swimmers back from injury and into the pool moving forward.

The ASU men dropped its contest by a final score of 181-117, while the women went fell 191-101.

Coming off two relay victories yesterday against Wisconsin, the men’s Sun Devil relay team won both relays again on Saturday, making it four consecutive victories in relays to begin the season.

In the 400 medley relay, sophomore Thomaz Martins, junior Thibaut Capitaine, sophomore Tadas Duskinas, and freshman Patrick Park combined for a time of 3:21.22, touching in .77 seconds ahead of Minnesota’s A relay team.

In the 400 freestyle relay, the final event of the day, Park, Duskinas, Martins, and sophomore Barkley Perry came out on top with a time of 3:00.96, almost three seconds ahead of Minnesota in second.

“We’re really excited that our men’s relays have been able to get wins each time out,” said Arizona State associate head coach Greg Earhart. “For us, getting those relays to nationals, getting them into the top 16 in the country, is going to be what determines the success of our program this year.”

For the second-straight day, Duskinas proved to be a force in the pool. As well as swimming in every winning relay, he won the 50 freestyle for the second time in as many days with a time of 20.87. He also won the 100 butterfly, finishing with a time of 49.52.

Capitaine also scored an individual victory, his coming in the 200 breaststroke, swimming a time of 2:03.36.

For the women, a consistent bright spot came from senior diver Hailey Casper, who secured first-place in the 1-meter dive for the second-straight day. After recording a score of 280.80 against Wisconsin, Casper improved on that mark and secured a 302.18, over 30 points ahead of the next finisher.

As for the women’s team, Earhart has a message to send.

“We’re only going to get better,” said Earhart. “We’ll be a lot better when we get our swimmers off the bench from injury and into the water. Until then, we’ll need those in the water to pull their weight, and then some.”

While the Sun Devils won’t host another meet until January, they still will be in action. They are set to travel to Seattle, Wash. for meets on Oct. 24-25 against Seattle University.

Results: Minnesota vs. Arizona State

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