Senior Colin Lee-To led the way for the Minnesota menâÄôs swimming and diving team this weekend at the Big Ten Championships, claiming an individual title in the 100 breaststroke and contributing to the GophersâÄô record-breaking win in the 200 medley relay. Minnesota tallied 449.5 points to finish third in the three-day competition behind Ohio State in second and MichiganâÄôs first-place performance with 829 points. In FridayâÄôs first event, Lee-To teamed up with sophomore Nadav Kochavi, senior Anthony Portela and senior Steve Miller to post a 1:24.41 time in the 200 medley relay, breaking NorthwesternâÄôs 2007 record by over a second and a half. âÄúIt was amazing,âÄù Portela said in a release. âÄúIt was a magical moment. We were talking beforehand, and we knew if we had a chance it would set the tone for everyone’s swims tonight.âÄù For Lee-To, it did. The senior was back in the pool Friday evening when he became MinnesotaâÄôs first individual title winner since 2006, with a winning time of 53.17 in the 100 breaststroke. âÄúI think the medley relay helped,âÄù Lee-To noted. âÄúI took that win and carried it over. It put me in the right mindset.âÄù The Gophers broke four school records in the conference championships and extended their streak of top-three finishes to 21 consecutive years. But the fourth-ranked Wolverines clearly dominated the meet. Sophomore Tyler Clary racked up two individual medals and competed on another pair of winning relay teams. Clary earned both Big Ten Swimmer of the Year and Swimmer of the Championships as the Wolverines claimed 13 wins at the event to capture their second-straight title âÄî the 34th in the schoolâÄôs history. âÄúI think everybody, including the other coaches, acknowledged that he was the swimmer of the meet,âÄù Michigan coach Mike Bottom said. âÄúHe broke records in everything he swam, and that was exciting.âÄù Texas A&M will host the NCAA championships from March 26 to 28. The University Aquatic Center will host the NCAA Zone C Diving Championships from March 13 to 15, when the Gophers divers will compete for a chance to move on to nationals.
Lee-To takes care of business for the Gophers
Published March 1, 2009
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