Minnesota’s eighth-ranked men’s swimming and diving team added two dual wins Saturday, defeating No. 24 North Carolina 227-138 and North Dakota 258-103.
Adam Mitchell dominated the competition with a 200-yard backstroke win clocking a time of 1:48.25. Mitchell, last week’s
collegeswimming.com national swimmer of the week, was also the first leg of the 400 medley relay team that won the event in 3:20.94. The winning relay team also included Sean Kelly, Lucas Peterson and Sean McCaffrey.
When adding his accomplishments of the weekend against the two schools, Mitchell won six individual races and was a member of four winning relays.
Minnesota followed its 400 relay win with a 200 free relay victory. Terry Silkaitis, Neil Osten, Ales Volcansek and Igor Cerensek combined for the top time of 1:21.76. The Gophers added a third-place finish in the event with Brian Gettelfinger, Kiel Ochalek, Christian Anguis and Scott Young in 1:25.00.
The Gophers finished the duals with a win in the 400 free relay as well. Cerensek, Osten, McCaffrey and Silkaitis earned the top spot with a finishing time of 3:00.80, just missing the provisional qualifying time of 3:00.31. During the two-day event, Minnesota won all five relays.
Minnesota also took 11 individual titles. Cerensek won his first race as Gophers swimmer in the 100 free, chipping in a time of :45.48, while Silkaitis added a second-place finish in :45.89. For the second time this season, freshman Alejandro Jacobo won the 200 breaststroke competition. Jacobo won the event in 2:05.19. His first win came against No. 6 Florida on Oct. 30. Peterson added a second-place finish in the 100 fly clocking a :49.68.
John Schmidt added his second first-place finish of the weekend, this time in the 3-meter diving event. Schmidt added a score of 522.85 in the 3-meter and won yesterday’s 1-meter event with a score of 302.65.
Women’s team splits
Minnesota’s women’s swimming and diving team completed a two-day double dual meet against No. 15 North Carolina and North Dakota at the University Aquatic Center. The Gophers fell 201-169 against the Tarheels but gained a 312-57 victory over UND.
The Gophers finished the two-day double dual with two first-place finishes and three second-place marks in relay competition.
Minnesota opened the day’s events with a win in the 400-yard medley relay. Megan Moore, Melissa Schold, Sarah Bohlsen and Katy Coombe combined for winning time of 3:49.16. Minnesota also took second place when Minnesota’s “B” team of Katie Wind, Julia Quinn, Juleen Rodakowski and Kate Hardt finished in 3:53.03.
Minnesota’s second relay win came in the 200 free relay. The team of Sara Vine, Jennifer Hasling, Sarah Perrott and Coombe won the event in 1:35.31. Minnesota took second place when Valerie Tukey, Bohlsen, Krista Kezbers and Sarah Solfelt chipped in a 1:37.27 time. The Gophers finished second in the 400 free relay. Tukey, Coombe, Hardt and Vine finished in 3:28.92, but UNC won the event with a time of 3:28.13.
Bohlsen won the 100 fly in :56.14, while Rodakowski took second in the event clocking a time of :56.88.
Minnesota also gained second-place finishes in three races. Coombe added a personal-best time of :51.52 in the 100 free, followed by a second-place showing from Moore in the 200 back (2:05.39) and Tukey in the 500 free (4:58.12).
Minnesota placed two divers in the top three spots. Rebecca Cornthwaite won the 3-meter diving competition with a score of 481.55, while Shannon Jackson added a score of 450.85 for third place.
