Minnesota Women, SMU Men Swim to Victories on Day 2

minnesota-smu-GREENSBORO, NC - MARCH 26: Swimmers compete during the Prelims of the Division I Men’s Swimming & Diving Championships held at the Greensboro Aquatic Center on March 26, 2021 in Greensboro, North Carolina. (Photo by Carlos Morales/NCAA Photos via Getty Images)
Photo Courtesy: Carlos Morales

The University of Minnesota swimming and diving programs split their two-day competition with the SMU Mustangs, wrapping up competition on Saturday afternoon at Robson & Lindley Aquatic Center in Dallas, Texas.

The Gopher women, ranked No. 24 in the CSCAA Preseason Poll, move to 3-0 after defeating the Mustangs 273-80. The Gopher men fall to 1-1 after dropping their matchup with Mustangs by a score of 166-185.

Senior Megan Van Berkom and freshman Katie McCarthy led the way for the Gophers, who led the Mustangs 137-49 after day one. Van Berkom recorded one individual win while McCarthy added two personal victories.

Paula Rodriguez Rivero, Grace Drabot, Ava Yabloski and Hannah Cornish combined for a time of 3:45.29 to take the crown on Saturday morning with a first-place finish in the 400 medley relay.

The women also swept the 1000 free, with McCarthy securing the win with a time of 10:01.67. Eliot Kennedy touched the wall just after McCarthy, finishing second by posting a time of 10:25.34. Jade Roghair came in third with a time of 10:32.06 and Katia Soudakova finished fourth to complete the Gophers’ sweep by posting a time of 10:36.87.

Van Berkom continued her strong start to the young season with a 2:01.48 time in the 200 IM, earning an individual win. Claire Reinke finished behind Van Berkom (2:07.92) to secure the top two spots for the Maroon and Gold.

The women completed another sweep in the 200 back, with Indy Jongman claiming the title with a time of 2:01.37. Jongman was followed by Faith Johnson (2:02.20), Paul Rodriguez Rivero (2:03.14) and Elisabeth Jacobs (2:03.61) as the Gophers dominated the event.

Cornish recorded an individual win in the 100 free by posting a time of 50.43. Morgan Thomas’ time of 50.86 earned her a second-place finish. To round out the top three in the event, Mina Kaljevic posted a time of 50.92.

The Maroon and Gold finished 1-2-3 in the 200 fly, with Van Berkom touching the wall first with a time of 1:59.75. McCarthy came in second with a time of 2:04.26, and Yablonski followed her by less than half of one second (2:04.61).

The Gopher women continued to impress near the end of the meet, with Drabot securing an individual win in the 200 breast (2:19.45). Ava Gustafson’s 2:21.30 earned her a spot in the top two, while Ava Goodno came in third with a time of 2:23.28.

To wrap up their day, the women took the crown in the 200 free relay with a time of 1:33.00. Thomas led off for Minnesota, with Cornish and Kaljevic going second and third, and Yablonski in fourth.

Freshman Elna Widerstrom earned a win in the 3-meter dive with a score of 340.95, while Megan Phillip’s score of 310.13 placed her in second. Av Osero rounded out the top three of all Gophers with a score of 275.85.

SMU Wins Men’s Meet

In the 100 free, SMU’s Sage Sungail beat his previous best time of 44.29, setting a new personal best time of 44:12 and finishing second in the event. The Mustangs’ Jack Hoagland once again won the 1,000 free — this time touching the wall with a final time of 8:57.03.

“Our guys really stepped up,” SMU coach Greg Rhodenbaugh said. “They showed themselves winning both days and then of course, the entire meet. A lot of people on our team stepped up, it was all the way down, through not just first and second places but also third, fourth and fifth places. Minnesota is a really good team and it was good to see our guys step up in a moment like this.”

The Mustangs started out session two with a first-place finish in the 400 medley, with Jack Easton, Russell Exum, Kristaps Mikelsons and Sungail combining to finish in 3:11.22.

Easton followed with another win in the 200 IM, finishing in 1:47.80. Teammates Angus Corbeau and Kristaps Mikelsons followed just behind him in second and third, with times of 1:47.98 and 1:48.48, respectively.

More College News

SMU had another win in the 200 back. Cotton Fields touched first with a time of 1:45.00. Teammate John Culver followed in third, with a time of 1:46.80.

Minnesota’s Kaiser Neverman secured two individual victories on Saturday, while freshman Davide Harabagiu defended his Big Ten Freshman of the Week honors by adding one personal title.

The Gopher men posted a time of 3:11.45 in the 400 medley relay, good for a second place finish. Casey Stowe, Joe Rudd, Davide Harabagiu and Lovro Serdarevic combined for the Gophers in the event.

Harabagiu claimed the crown in the 100 free after his time of 43.96 landed him in the top spot for the event.

Neveman snagged an individual title in the 200 fly by posting a time of 1:44.40. William Christenson finished third in the event with a time of 1:46.75.

Freshman and reigning Big Ten Diver of the Week YuTong Wang impressed in his second collegiate meet, earning a score of 358.43 in the 1-meter dive, good for the top spot in the event. Andrew Bennett followed behind Wang in the standings, as he earned a score of 327.68.

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