The No. 15 Gophers menâÄôs swimming and diving team returned from West Lafayette with a 1-1 record in the weekendâÄôs dual meets, defeating Wisconsin, and falling to Purdue, but head coach Dennis Dale was content with his teamâÄôs performance.
âÄúWell it was a two-day meet, and we were very happy with how we performed on Saturday,âÄù Dale said. âÄúWe did a great job, we responded well.âÄù
The Gophers had a 123-77 lead over Wisconsin after FridayâÄôs portion of the meet, but found themselves trailing host Purdue by a score of 133-70.
The Boilermakers had a strong showing Friday, sweeping the diving competitions and winning four other events.
Senior All-American Curt Carlson put Minnesota on the board early with a win in the 200-yard freestyle. Teammate and fellow All-American Michael Richards followed that with a win of his own in the 50-yard freestyle in a time of 20.32.
Gophers swimmers took second, third and fourth in the 100-yard breaststroke. Sophomore Josh Hall finished runner-up with a season best time of 55.87, followed by senior Ivan Gutesa and sophomore Jared Anderson.
Senior Kevin Baseheart finished second in the 200-yard butterfly in 1:50.88 and fellow senior Nadav Kochavi was right behind him in a season-best 1:51.67.
Sophomore Matt Benecki rounded out the list of top finishes for the Gophers by coming in second in the 1,000-yard freestyle.
âÄúWe were okay Friday night. We just werenâÄôt ready for the kind of performance that Purdue put on the table,âÄù Dale said. âÄúWe wanted to outscore Purdue on Saturday. We wanted to close the gap.âÄù
Minnesota did just that, capturing four event titles and closing the gap by 44 points. It wasnâÄôt enough to defeat Purdue, as the Gophers still lost 185-166, but it was enough to finish off Wisconsin by a score of 226-126.
Minnesota swimmers took four of the top five spots in the 200-yard breaststroke, with Ivan Gutesa winning in 2:01.70.
Carlson captured the 100-yard freestyle in 44.97, edging Richards by .08 seconds. The two also teamed with junior Zach Bolin and freshman Kyler Van Swol to win the 400-yard freestyle relay in 2:59.01.
Benecki followed his runner-up performance in the 1,000-yard freestyle with a win in the 500-yard freestyle in 4:29.10.
Minnesota currently possesses a 5-2 dual meet record, with a 3-1 record in Big-Ten competition.
Women sweep, finish Big Ten season undefeated
The No. 13 womenâÄôs team improved its dual meet record to 9-1, including a 7-0 finish in the Big Ten. The Gophers took down Purdue by a score of 194-159, knocked off Wisconsin 203-150, and crushed Illinois 293-60.
Defending NCAA champion Kelci Bryant won both the 1-meter 3-meter dives Friday to give Minnesota an early lead. Junior Ashley Steenvoorden took the 1,000-yard freestyle in 9:43.74, more than nine seconds faster than the second place finisher.
Senior Jillian Tyler won the 100-yard breaststroke in 1:00.35, and senior Molly Belk gave Minnesota their fifth individual win of the day with a win in the 200-yard butterfly.
The GopherâÄôs finished the evening with a win in the 800-yard freestyle relay as junior Hannah Whitehead, sophomore Lauren Weis, junior Marissa Davies, and Steenvoorden swam to a victory in 7:18.14.
The women sealed the sweep Saturday with three individual wins.
Sophomore Haley Spencer won the 400-yard individual Medley in 4:23.79. Senior Kaylee Jamison won the 100-yard butterfly in 54.75.
Steenvoorden took her second long-distance freestyle title of the weekend, winning the 500-yard event in 4:47.16.
âÄúThis was a great way to end the dual-meet season, 7-0 in Big Ten competition,âÄù Gopher co-head coach Terry Nieszner said. âÄúNow we need to focus on details and performing our best in the championship season.âÄù
