Minnesota continued its winning ways against the Pioneers thanks to solid performances from junior Chantal Nack and sophomore Lindsey Kozelsky. Kozelsky finished first in the 100-yard and 200-yard backstroke, while Nack finished first in the 100-yard and 200-yard freestyle.

Head coach Kelly Kremer said Nack swam with an illness.

“To be an effective leader, you have to be reliable,” Kremer said. “She’s about as reliable as any student-athlete could be,” Kremer said. “Even now, she’s a little under the weather. She went out and [did] her best performances of the year.”

Nack said it was difficult to swim while she recovered from an illness. She said other swimmers were not 100-percent healthy during the meet. 

“A ton of us are tired,” Nack said. “I think our team did a great job of controlling what we could control. I’m proud of where we’re at right now. If we can do this tired, then it’s going to be exciting once we get some rest in.”

Men’s team wins 195-105

No. 22 Minnesota had its first meet at home since early December, which meant that it might take some time for the team to find their groove again.

There was no sign of that on Saturday. The men’s team defeated No. 23 Denver 195-105 for its third home win of the season. Junior Bowen Becker won four events — two individual and two team events.

Becker said the team’s flight from Hawaii last week was terrible and the team had to readjust to central time.

“We were still able to do well in the pool,” Becker said. “I’m really proud to call myself a Gopher.”

Senior Conner McHugh was the other Gopher to win multiple events. McHugh finished first in the 100-yard and 200-yard breaststroke.

Becker said he appreciated the chance the compete at home after the team’s meet in Hawaii last week. Minnesota won its meet on Jan. 7 over Hawaii.

“We had a lot of families show up today. It feels good to be home after a long train trip,” Becker said. “I was excited to see what people could do [after Hawaii].”