Numerous Minnesota swimmers competed at the TYR Meet of Champions during the weekend in Mission Viejo, Calif., and Justin Mortimer took home four top-three finishes.
Mortimer finished second in the 400-meter freestyle, second in the 800 free, third in the 1,500 free and third in the 400 free relay. He also was fourth in the 400 individual medley and 200 free.
Other top Gophers finishers included Sean McCaffrey, who finished 10th in the 200 free, and Terry Silkaitis, who finished 11th in the 100 butterfly.
Big Ten Medal of Honor
Seniors Guillermo Alvarez and Lindsey Taatjes received the Big Ten Conference Medal of Honor for the 2004-05 academic year Friday.
The award, which is handed out to a female and a male student-athlete of the graduating class at each university, honors leaders who demonstrate both athletic and academic accomplishments throughout the year.
Alvarez, a gymnast, and Taatjes, a volleyball player, both recently completed their undergraduate degrees in psychology.
Albert Academic All-Am
Minnesota men’s track and field high jumper John Albert was named an Academic All-American on Tuesday by ESPN the Magazine.
Albert won his second Big Ten title this year and is a business student with a 3.818 grade point average.
Hockey camp invitees
Incoming Minnesota men’s hockey players Jeff Frazee, Phil Kessel and Blake Wheeler and returning sophomore Nate Hagemo have been invited to the 2005 U.S. National Junior Evaluation Camp in Lake Placid, N.Y., August 5-14.
Kessel, the nation’s No. 1 recruit, played with Hagemo for the 2004 U.S. Under-18 Team that took second at the 2004 International Ice Hockey Federation World Under-18 Championships, and Frazee and Kessel led the 2005 U.S. Under-18 Team to a first place finish this year.
Women’s track recruits
Minnesota’s women’s track and field program announced that five athletes have signed national letters of intent to compete for the Gophers next season.
Jamie Cheever, Heather Dorniden, Megan Duwell, Brianna Polus and Amanda Solberg have signed on to be part of the future of Gophers women’s track and field.
They will join Julie Schwengler, who will be transferring to Minnesota from Montana.
Rombough state title
Future Minnesota men’s track athlete Chris Rombough won two state titles and set a new state record earlier this month in the Wisconsin State Division I Track and Field Championships in La Crosse, Wis.
Rombough’s record-breaking time of 8:57.73 in the 3,200-meter race, along with his title in the 1,600, were nearly outdone by his third-place finish in the two-mile run Friday at the Nike Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Greensboro, N.C.
U of M hockey gear
Minnesota’s men’s and women’s hockey teams teamed up with Easton on Monday, agreeing to a five-year deal that will see Easton be the on-ice apparel supplier for the Gophers.
The programs will also receive Zamboni No. 8,000 from Frank J. Zamboni & Co., Inc. A Zamboni Model 540 will be delivered to Mariucci Arena and Ridder Arena, marking a milestone for the Zamboni Company.
Golfer to beauty queen
Former women’s golfer Karyn Stordahl was named Miss Minnesota on Saturday at the Fitzgerald Theater in St. Paul.
Stordahl was a senior in 2003, leading the team with a 77.27-stroke average.
