Photo Courtesy: Xinhua/Fei Maohua
ANN ARBOR – Clara Smiddy and Dylan Bosch recorded three victories apiece to push the Michigan swimming and diving teams to dual meet wins over Ohio State on both the men’s (183-117) and women’s (190-110) sides on Saturday at Canham Natatorium.
Michigan Men’s Press Release
Senior Richard Funk and juniors Dylan Bosch and Anders Nielsen combined for seven individual-event wins to help the No. 5-ranked University of Michigan men’s swimming and diving team roll No. 12 Ohio State, 183-117, on Saturday (Jan. 24) inside Canham Natatorium.
Bosch won all three of his events, claiming first in the 100-yard butterfly (47.34), 200-yard butterfly (1:44.62) and 200-yard individual medley (1:47.82). Nielsen swept the mid-distance freestyles, winning the 200-yard freestyle (1:36.15) and 500-yard freestyle (4:25.19), while Funk, who was one of five seniors competing for the final time at Canham, swept the 100-yard breaststroke (53.15) and 200-yard breaststroke (1:59.38).
All told, U-M won 12 of the 16 events on the afternoon and claimed 15 NCAA ‘B’ times. Bosch had three of them, while Funk, seniors Justin Glanda and Bruno Ortiz and freshman Aaron Whitaker each picked up two.
Joining the aforementioned individual winners were Whitaker in the 100-yard backstroke (48.40), freshman Paul Powers in the 50-yard freestyle (19.88) and Glanda in the 100-yard freestyle (43.89). The Wolverines also won both relays, winning the 200-yard medley relay at the start of the meet (1:27.05) and the 400-yard freestyle relay at the end of it (2:55.86).
A pair of freshmen recorded second-place finishes, as well: PJ Ransford in the 1,000-yard freestyle (9:05.90) and Tristan Sanders in the 200-yard backstroke (1:46.06)
In the diving well, fifth-year senior Thomas Jahnke was the team’s best performer, taking fifth on both one-meter (270.35) and three-meter (280.65).
The Wolverines are back in action in two weeks for their dual meet of the season, making the short drive to East Lansing to take on Michigan State on Saturday, Feb. 7. The meet will begin at noon.
Michigan Women’s Press Release
The No. 9-ranked University of Michigan women’s swimming and diving team delivered a rousing victory over Ohio State on Saturday (Jan. 24), topping the Buckeyes on Senior Day, 190-110, inside Canham Natatorium.
The theme for the Wolverines throughout the meet was depth, as U-M amassed points in bunches up and down the lineup. In all, Michigan won 12 events. In five of those wins, U-M took at least second place as well.
Freshman Clara Smiddy led the way for Michigan with three event wins. Fellow freshman Emily Kopas claimed a pair of victories, as did senior Carey Chen.
Michigan turned in a pair of dominant races on the day, with the top four finishers all wearing Maize and Blue. First in the 200-yard freestyle, sophomore Claudia Goswell won, going 1:48.68, and then she was followed by three teammates in places 2-3-4. Freshman Gillian Ryan (1:49.87), freshman Gabby DeLoof (1:50.96) and junior Sharalynn Missiuna (1:51.55) all got to the wall before any of the four Buckeyes in the race.
U-M then claimed the top four spots in the 200-yard backstroke as well, this time led by Smiddy. The Miami, Florida, native overwhelmed the field, finishing nearly five seconds ahead of anyone else (1:55.69). Gabby DeLoof took second place at 2:00.43, and she was followed in third by senior Claudia Lau (2:00.71) and in fourth by junior Marie Georger (2:00.94).
Michigan’s depth continued to shine through. Smiddy won her second race of the day in the 100-yard backstroke at 53.84, and she was followed in second by junior Zoe Mattingly (55.65) and in third by Lau (55.79).
In addition to the 200-yard freestyle, U-M controlled the distances races. The 500-yard freestyle marked a 1-2-3 finish for the Wolverines. Ryan touched first at 4:49.58 to lead the pack, then fellow freshman Hannah Moore took second at 4:51.95, and Goswell was third at 4:52.67.
Even though Michigan did not win the 1,000-yard freestyle, the Wolverines went 2-3-4. Moore was U-M’s top finisher at 9:50.04, and she was followed by senior Kelsey Cummings (10:01.83) and junior Jessica Wolf (10:06.06).
In the sprints, junior Ali DeLoof turned in a pair of strong performances. She won the 100-yard freestyle at 49.77. Ryan took third, achieving a season best at 50.90. In the 50-yard freestyle, DeLoof finished second at 22.82. Senior Molly Schaefer placed fourth at 23.75.
Kopas delivered her pair of wins in the breaststrokes. She won both the 100-yard breaststroke (1:03.06) and the 200-yard breaststroke (2:16.10).
In the diving well, Chen capped her career at Canham with a pair of springboard victories. She won on one-meter with a score of 293.70 and took first on three-meter at 300.60.
Smiddy added her third individual win of the day in the 200-yard individual medley (2:02.67). Junior Marni Oldershaw finished in second with Kopas claiming fourth.
The Wolverines will complete their regular-season schedule against Michigan State on Friday, Feb. 7, in East Lansing, Mich. The meet is slated to kick off at 6 p.m.
Ohio State Men’s Press Release
The 12th-ranked Ohio State men’s swimming and diving team battled fifth-ranked Michigan in Ann Arbor, Mich. on Saturday afternoon, falling just shy of registering the upset. The Wolverines were victorious in the overall meet, 183-117; however, the Buckeye diving contingent swept Michigan in both events contested.
Veteran Shane Miszkiel and rookie Stephen Romanik posted wins on the 3- and 1-meter apparatuses, respectively. In the 3-meter event, Miszkiel earned the top score of 376.95, while senior Stephen Ettienne took runner-up honors with a 361.75 point total. Completing the Buckeye sweep was Romanik and his classmate, Clay White, claiming third and fourth in the event, respectively. In the 1-meter, Romanik was victorious with a score of 326.55 and White followed in second. Ettienne and Miszkiel rounded out the top-four spots.
On the swimming side, freshman Brayden Seal touched first in the 100 freestyle with a time of 9:05.46. Senior Steven Zimmerman also earned a win for the Scarlet and Gray. He finished first in the 200 backstroke in 1:45.97.
Ohio State claimed the runner-up positions in both relay events. The Buckeye 200 medley relay grouping of Zimmerman, DJ MacDonald, Matt McHugh and Josh Fleagle posted a time of 1:27.97, while the 400 freestyle relay quartet of Fleagle, Michael DiSalle, McHugh and Steffen Hillmer finished in 2:57.44.
In the 200 freestyle, DiSalle placed second (1:37.43), while McHugh touched runner-up in the 100 backstroke (48.43). MacDonald contributed two more second-place showings for the Buckeyes – 100 breaststroke (55.12) and 200 breaststroke (2:01.94) – and Fleagle added another in the 100 freestyle (44.00).
The Buckeyes return to McCorkle Aquatic Pavilion for a dual with West Virginia on Friday, Jan. 30. The meet is scheduled for a 6 p.m. ET start.
Ohio State Women’s Press Release
Facing off against ninth-ranked Michigan in Ann Arbor, Mich., the Ohio State women’s swimming and diving team dropped a hard-fought contest Saturday afternoon by a score of 190-110. Behind the efforts of Lindsey Clary, Amy Bopp, Zhesi Li and Aliena Schmidtke, the Buckeyes were victorious in four events overall.
Clary picked up Ohio State’s first win of the meet, claiming the 1000 freestyle in a time of 9:49.82. She followed a runner-up showing from the 200 medley relay contingent of Li, Ashley Vance, Annelise Sprau and Annie Jongekrijg (1:42.44).
In the 200 butterfly, Bopp finished on top the standings with a time of 2:01.51. A sophomore this season, Bopp also earned second in the 200 breaststroke (2:16.47). Li had a solid showing for the day, contributing a win in the 50 freestyle (22.77) and a second-place finish in the 200 breaststroke (2:16.47). Schmidtke posted her win in the 100 butterfly with a mark of 55.62.
Ohio State registered top-three finishes in three more swimming events, as sophomore Taylor Vargo earned second in the 100 breaststroke (1:03.21) and the 400 freestyle relay crew of Schmidtke, Jongekrijg, McNichols and Li took second in 3:24.08. It was Vance who rounded out the effort, with a third-place showing in the 200 inidvidual medley (2:06.00).
In diving, senior Taylor Ford had a successful return to her hometown of Ann Arbor with a second-place total in the 1-meter event. In the 3-meter, freshman Brittany Menninger earned the runner-up spot with a 297.10 total.
The Buckeyes return to McCorkle Aquatic Pavilion for a dual with West Virginia on Friday, Jan. 30. The meet is scheduled for a 6 p.m. ET start.
Aaron Whitaker younger brother of Michigan post-grad Kyle, who’s Big Ten record-holder in I believe the 200 IM and a potential Rio Olympian next year. Will be interesting to see how Aaron progresses over next four years and whether by time 2K19-’20 rolls around he too is a potential Tokyo Olympian.