The No. 9 Gophers men’s swimming and diving squad hopes to turn back the clock this weekend.
A year ago, Minnesota defeated Kansas 139-104 on the road for its sixth dual meet victory of the season. That team went on to finish 10-1 and won the Big Ten Championship.
Minnesota hosts Kansas today and then competes against the No. 22 Jayhawks and six other teams at the Gold Country Invitational on Saturday at the University Aquatic Center. Carleton, Mankato State, St. Cloud State, St. Mary’s and St. Olaf will also swim with Minnesota and Kansas at the Invitational.
A repeat of last year would bolster the Gophers 4-0 record and could also point to a second consecutive conference crown for the team.
“I think right now we’re in better shape than we were last year at this time,” said junior swimmer Jeremy Rients. “Everyone’s looking for a repeat of the Big Ten Championship.”
But before Minnesota starts to look forward to the Big Tens, they first have to get past Kansas twice this weekend and compete in four other meets.
“We are expecting it to be a very close meet against Kansas,” Gophers coach Dennis Dale said. “They are going to pose some challenges for us.”
Gophers drop in national rankings
Minnesota fell from eighth to ninth place in the latest Speedo America Top 25 swimming poll despite going 1-0 since the last poll.
The Gophers’ 66-47 victory over No. 24 Miami on Dec. 22 during their winter training trip to Florida wasn’t enough for them to remain at No. 8, even though they were without their divers during the meet.
Georgia leap-frogged the Gophers in the rankings over winter break, moving from 13th to 8th in the last top 25 poll.
No. 6 Michigan is the only Big Ten team ranked ahead of Minnesota, while Indiana is 21st and Ohio State is 23rd. Iowa just missed making the top 25 as it was picked 26th.