Minnesota’s men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams responded to losses against a tough Florida team with convincing wins against Iowa Friday evening.
The men’s team won 13 of the 16 events to earn a 180.5-113.5 against the Hawkeyes.
Junior Colin Lee-To helped the Gophers to victory in the breaststroke events when he won the 100- and 200-yard breaststroke.
Entering the weekend Minnesota had concerns about the butterfly event, but senior Russ Payne stepped up and delivered a sweep in the butterfly competition.
Coach Dennis Dale took comfort that his team rebounded after a difficult Florida meet.
“This weekend was a case of bouncing back from Florida and we did that,” he said.
Women handle Hawkeyes
The women fared even better than the men Friday as they won 14 of the 16 events for a 179-111 victory.
“We performed very, very well,” co-head coach Terry Nieszner said.
The Gophers won every swimming event, leaving only the diving events to Iowa.
Meredith McCarthy stepped up for Minnesota and earned wins in the 50- and 100- yard freestyle events.
“Meredith’s wins were big for us, she is going to add a lot of depth to the freestyle event for us,” Nieszner said.
The Gophers have a difficult meet ahead of them when they face Norte Dame Oct. 26 but Nieszner believes the team is coming together nicely.
“We’ve got a very well-rounded team. This weekend gave us more confidence.” Nieszner said. “We’re very strong.”
-Nick Gerhardt
Former Gopher takes home title at Jack’s Run
Former Minnesota women’s cross country All-American Emily Brown took home the Jack’s Run title Saturday at Les Bolstad Golf Course.
Brown, who was a senior last season, finished the 5-kilometer course in 17:47.3. She edged out senior Katie Howery, Minnesota’s top finisher, who took second place by crossing the finish line in 19:34.0.
Freshman Laura Koch was the second finisher for the Gophers. She crossed the finish line fifth overall with a time of 20:02.07. Jaclyn Edmonds was sixth overall in 20:04.0.
Minnesota’s top runners rested in preparation for the Big Ten Championships next week in Columbus, Ohio.
Jack’s Run, in its second year, honors the Gophers’ longtime equipment manager who died in Feb. 2006 of cancer.
-Mark Remme
