Minnesota’s men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams competed last weekend to see how they stacked up against the best swimmers in the country in the Toyota Minnesota Grand Prix Invitational and the results showed the strength of both programs.
Olympic swimmers and U.S. national team members flocked to the University Aquatic Center to take part in the meet to swim against the Gophers and other top competitors.
The men’s squad advanced 14 swimmers to the final round of the meet with senior Mike Woodson leading the charge.
Woodson posted a lifetime best in the 100 freestyle event and finished third overall.
“Woodson was on fire all weekend,” coach Dennis Dale said.
Sophomore Alex Wold equaled Woodson’s third place finish in the 200 breaststroke.
“The team as a whole did a great job,” Dale said.
The Gophers dominated the 100 freestyle event and placed five swimmers in the final.
Woodson, freshman Curt Carlson and senior Tyler Schmidt finished third, fourth and fifth, respectively.
Divers finish strong
Freshman diver Drew Brown entered into uncharted waters when he competed in his first 10-meter diving competition in his collegiate career over the weekend.
The waters proved friendly when he won the platform competition Sunday for the Gophers, while teammates junior Cole Young and sophomore Tyler Jepsen finished second and third.
Brown notched a 330.675 point total after six diving events and that total ranks second best in school history.
Shaughnessy shines
Junior Jenny Shaughnessy and four other swimmers competed in the finals of the 200 backstroke for Minnesota in the Toyota Minnesota Grand Prix Invitational. Shaughnessy fared the best by finishing in second place with a time of 2:01.27 in the final.
Sophomore Deidre DeWall finished just behind Shaughnessy in the event with a time of 2:01.65 for third place.
Shaughnessy also helped lead the 400 free relay to a first-place finish as the team of freshman Jillian Tyler, junior Stacy Busack and senior Roxane Akradi combined for a time of 3:27.29.
