University of Minnesota Athletics
Men's Swimming Looks to Take Back Big Ten Championships
2/25/2004 12:00:00 AM | Men's Swimming & Diving
Minnesota will head to West Lafayette, Ind., to compete at the 2004 Big Ten Championships, hosted by Purdue University, Thursday-Saturday. Preliminaries are set for noon each day, while the finals are slated for 7 p.m. The All-Big Ten teams and Swimmer, Diver and Coaches of the Year accolades will be announced directly following the meet. Live event scoring can be found on Purdue's website, purduesports.com.
Gophers in the Rankings
The Gophers enter the 2004 Big Ten Championships with a seventh-place ranking in the recent CSCAA poll. The Maroon and Gold are the highest-ranked Big Ten team in the Feb. 12 poll. Michigan holds the 10th spot, while Wisconsin is 11th. Northwestern follows in 18th, Indiana is 23rd, while Purdue is receiving votes.
Golden Gopher Events
The Gophers look to prove they are one of the best teams in the Big Ten this weekend. In every session, Minnesota has at least one event in which it is ranked in the top 50 of the country, according to Taper & Shave results. The Gophers open Thursday with the 500-yard freestyle event. Sophomore Travis Beckerle ranks 36th in the country. The 200 IM will showcase sophomore Adam Mitchell. With a time of 1:46.28, Mitchell is ranked fifth and has the fastest time in the Big Ten. Mitchell has already qualified for the NCAA Championships in the event, while competing at the Georgia Invite. Minnesota follows the 200 IM with one of its deepest events this season, the 50 free. Terry Silkaitis will look to defend his 50 free title of last year. He enters the championships with a time of 20.32, ranking 33rd in the nation. Also look to see Neil Osten, Ales Volcansek, Igor Cerensek and Mario Delac in the 50 free as well. The Gophers rank high in the 200 free relay and the 400 medley relay. The Gophers rank ninth in the 200 free relay, second to only Wisconsin in the conference. The Maroon and Gold also rank 13th in the 400 medley relay.
The Gophers' best events of Friday's session will be the 400 IM, the 200 free, the 100 back and the relays. Ryan Plummer ranks 13th in the nation in the 400 IM, while Mitchell is 18th. Silkaitis, who broke a pool record at last year's 100 free, will look to defend yet another Big Ten individual championship. Mitchell holds the second-fastest time in the 100 back and 14th fastest in the nation, clocking a time of 48.46. Minnesota's 200 medley relay ranks second in the Big Ten and 14th in the nation with a time of 1:29.70. The 800 free relay is ranked third in the conference and eighth in the country.
The Gophers close out the championships with talented swimmers in the 200 back, the 100 free and the 400 free relay. Mitchell, who ranks 11th in the nation, will compete in the 200 back. Silkaitis will look to break his 2003 Big Ten meet record of 42.87 in the 100 free. The Gophers' 400 free relay ranks sixth in the nation with a time of 2:58.05.
Gophers Perfect Against Big Ten Competition
Minnesota held a perfect 5-0 record against Big Ten teams this season. The Gophers earned their first conference dual win against Northwestern, Nov. 1, in a 203-95 win. The team competed back-to-back weekends, facing four from the Big Ten. Minnesota defeated Iowa (167-133) and Indiana (172-126) in a triple dual. The Gophers followed with another triple-dual win against Purdue and Wisconsin. The Maroon and Gold defeated the Boilermakers, 234-118 and the Badgers by a score of 219-131.
Golden Gopher Captains
Minnesota's captains well represent the Maroon and Gold with leadership and a variety of knowledge about the sport. Brian Gettelfinger, Ryan Plummer and Ben Herdt take over the captain roles for the 2003-04 season. Gettelfinger earned his second All-America honor as a member of the last year's 200 free relay. Gettelfinger also earned first-team All-Big Ten as a member of the 200 free Big Ten champion relay in 2003. Ben Herdt was a 2003 Big Ten finalist in both the platform and the 1-meter diving events after a medical red-shirt in the 2001-02 season. Plummer is no stranger to the Big Ten or the NCAA Championships scene. Plummer earned a 10th-place finish in the 400 individual medley at nationals last year. It was his second All-America accolade in the past two seasons. Plummer was a second-team All-Big Ten selection when he finished second in the 400 IM at the 2003 conference meet.
Gophers at Big Tens Last Year
Minnesota finished second at the 2003 Big Ten Men's Swimming and Diving Championships at Michigan's Canham Natatorium. The host Wolverines took home the team title, ending Minnesota's two-year reign as conference champs. Michigan finished with 727 points to edge the Golden Gophers, who ended the three-day meet with 689. Indiana finished third with 455 points, followed by Northwestern with 378. Overall, Minnesota won three relay titles and six individual crowns.
Terry Silkaitis was named the Big Ten Swimmer of the Year at last year's conference championship. Silkaitis had a stellar performance at the Big Ten Championships, winning three individual events along with being a member of two first-place relay teams. He is the first person in school history to win the 50, 100 and 200 free in the same season at the Big Ten Championships. He broke the Big Ten Championships record in the 100, swimming a time of 42.87. Silkaitis was also a member of the 400 medley relay that broke the meet record in 3:09.76. His 200 free time of 1:34.42 set a new pool record and automatically qualified for NCAA Championships.
The Gophers had nine members named First Team All-Big Ten, the most by any other school. In order to receive first-team accolades, swimmers must finish first in their individual events or in relays. Brian Gettelfinger, Jeff Hackler, Bjorn Lundin, Justin Mortimer, Allen Ong, Neil Osten, Terry Silkaitis, Todd Smolinski and Matt Taylor were all first-team selections. Mike Brown, Sean McCaffrey and Ryan Plummer garnered Second Team All-Big Ten honors, finishing second in their events, respectively.
Head Coach Dennis Dale
Dennis Dale is in his 19th season at the helm of the Golden Gopher program. Minnesota is firmly entrenched as one of the nation's finest programs, finishing in the nation's top 15 for 12 consecutive seasons and the top 10 in each of the last four years. His squads finished eighth at the 2002 NCAA Championships, ninth at the 2001 NCAA Championships, seventh at the 2000 NCAA Championships in their own pool, 15th at the 1999 NCAA Championships, 14th at the 1998 NCAA Championships and 12th at both the 1997 and 1996 NCAA Championships, after taking ninth (1995), seventh (1994), 11th (1993) and sixth (1992) the previous four seasons. In addition, Dale led Minnesota to back-to-back Big Ten titles for the first time in school history in 2001 and 2002. His squads have placed among the top three in the Big Ten team race each of the past 13 seasons. He also directed the Gophers to conference titles in 1996 and 1998. Prior to winning the title in 1996, Minnesota had not won the conference title since 1926.
Gophers Earn Four Big Ten Weekly Honors
The Golden Gophers had three members earn Big Ten weekly honors this season. Adam Mitchell won the award twice, followed by diver Ben Herdt and Terry Silkaitis. Mitchell went on to earn Collegeswimming.com National Swimmer of the Week in the same weeks he did for the Big Ten. Mitchell earned four individual wins and a second-place finish in the duals against Florida and Northwestern. His second award came when he led Minnesota in the Georgia Invite. In the meet, he automatically qualified in the 200 IM. Herdt won two events in the meet against Northwestern and finished second and third against Florida. Silkaitis won two events at the Minnesota Challenge and helped two relays, also to first-place finishes.
On the Starting Blocks
The Golden Gophers will host the GOPHER-IT Invite, March, 7 and then travel to the Diving Zones, March 12-14, hosted by Indiana. The Gophers look to compete in the NCAA Championships, Mar. 25-27. This year the national championships will be held in Long Island, N.Y. Gophers Head to Big Ten Championships
Minnesota will head to West Lafayette, Ind., to compete at the 2004 Big Ten Championships, hosted by Purdue University, Thursday-Saturday. Preliminaries are set for noon each day, while the finals are slated for 7 p.m. The All-Big Ten teams and Swimmer, Diver and Coaches of the Year accolades will be announced directly following the meet. Live event scoring can be found on Purdue's website, purduesports.com.
Gophers in the Rankings
The Gophers enter the 2004 Big Ten Championships with a seventh-place ranking in the recent CSCAA poll. The Maroon and Gold are the highest-ranked Big Ten team in the Feb. 12 poll. Michigan holds the 10th spot, while Wisconsin is 11th. Northwestern follows in 18th, Indiana is 23rd, while Purdue is receiving votes.
Golden Gopher Events
The Gophers look to prove they are one of the best teams in the Big Ten this weekend. In every session, Minnesota has at least one event in which it is ranked in the top 50 of the country, according to Taper & Shave results. The Gophers open Thursday with the 500-yard freestyle event. Sophomore Travis Beckerle ranks 36th in the country. The 200 IM will showcase sophomore Adam Mitchell. With a time of 1:46.28, Mitchell is ranked fifth and has the fastest time in the Big Ten. Mitchell has already qualified for the NCAA Championships in the event, while competing at the Georgia Invite. Minnesota follows the 200 IM with one of its deepest events this season, the 50 free. Terry Silkaitis will look to defend his 50 free title of last year. He enters the championships with a time of 20.32, ranking 33rd in the nation. Also look to see Neil Osten, Ales Volcansek, Igor Cerensek and Mario Delac in the 50 free as well. The Gophers rank high in the 200 free relay and the 400 medley relay. The Gophers rank ninth in the 200 free relay, second to only Wisconsin in the conference. The Maroon and Gold also rank 13th in the 400 medley relay.
The Gophers' best events of Friday's session will be the 400 IM, the 200 free, the 100 back and the relays. Ryan Plummer ranks 13th in the nation in the 400 IM, while Mitchell is 18th. Silkaitis, who broke a pool record at last year's 100 free, will look to defend yet another Big Ten individual championship. Mitchell holds the second-fastest time in the 100 back and 14th fastest in the nation, clocking a time of 48.46. Minnesota's 200 medley relay ranks second in the Big Ten and 14th in the nation with a time of 1:29.70. The 800 free relay is ranked third in the conference and eighth in the country.
The Gophers close out the championships with talented swimmers in the 200 back, the 100 free and the 400 free relay. Mitchell, who ranks 11th in the nation, will compete in the 200 back. Silkaitis will look to break his 2003 Big Ten meet record of 42.87 in the 100 free. The Gophers' 400 free relay ranks sixth in the nation with a time of 2:58.05.
Gophers Perfect Against Big Ten Competition
Minnesota held a perfect 5-0 record against Big Ten teams this season. The Gophers earned their first conference dual win against Northwestern, Nov. 1, in a 203-95 win. The team competed back-to-back weekends, facing four from the Big Ten. Minnesota defeated Iowa (167-133) and Indiana (172-126) in a triple dual. The Gophers followed with another triple-dual win against Purdue and Wisconsin. The Maroon and Gold defeated the Boilermakers, 234-118 and the Badgers by a score of 219-131.
Golden Gopher Captains
Minnesota's captains well represent the Maroon and Gold with leadership and a variety of knowledge about the sport. Brian Gettelfinger, Ryan Plummer and Ben Herdt take over the captain roles for the 2003-04 season. Gettelfinger earned his second All-America honor as a member of the last year's 200 free relay. Gettelfinger also earned first-team All-Big Ten as a member of the 200 free Big Ten champion relay in 2003. Ben Herdt was a 2003 Big Ten finalist in both the platform and the 1-meter diving events after a medical red-shirt in the 2001-02 season. Plummer is no stranger to the Big Ten or the NCAA Championships scene. Plummer earned a 10th-place finish in the 400 individual medley at nationals last year. It was his second All-America accolade in the past two seasons. Plummer was a second-team All-Big Ten selection when he finished second in the 400 IM at the 2003 conference meet.
Gophers at Big Tens Last Year
Minnesota finished second at the 2003 Big Ten Men's Swimming and Diving Championships at Michigan's Canham Natatorium. The host Wolverines took home the team title, ending Minnesota's two-year reign as conference champs. Michigan finished with 727 points to edge the Golden Gophers, who ended the three-day meet with 689. Indiana finished third with 455 points, followed by Northwestern with 378. Overall, Minnesota won three relay titles and six individual crowns.
Terry Silkaitis was named the Big Ten Swimmer of the Year at last year's conference championship. Silkaitis had a stellar performance at the Big Ten Championships, winning three individual events along with being a member of two first-place relay teams. He is the first person in school history to win the 50, 100 and 200 free in the same season at the Big Ten Championships. He broke the Big Ten Championships record in the 100, swimming a time of 42.87. Silkaitis was also a member of the 400 medley relay that broke the meet record in 3:09.76. His 200 free time of 1:34.42 set a new pool record and automatically qualified for NCAA Championships.
The Gophers had nine members named First Team All-Big Ten, the most by any other school. In order to receive first-team accolades, swimmers must finish first in their individual events or in relays. Brian Gettelfinger, Jeff Hackler, Bjorn Lundin, Justin Mortimer, Allen Ong, Neil Osten, Terry Silkaitis, Todd Smolinski and Matt Taylor were all first-team selections. Mike Brown, Sean McCaffrey and Ryan Plummer garnered Second Team All-Big Ten honors, finishing second in their events, respectively.
Head Coach Dennis Dale
Dennis Dale is in his 19th season at the helm of the Golden Gopher program. Minnesota is firmly entrenched as one of the nation's finest programs, finishing in the nation's top 15 for 12 consecutive seasons and the top 10 in each of the last four years. His squads finished eighth at the 2002 NCAA Championships, ninth at the 2001 NCAA Championships, seventh at the 2000 NCAA Championships in their own pool, 15th at the 1999 NCAA Championships, 14th at the 1998 NCAA Championships and 12th at both the 1997 and 1996 NCAA Championships, after taking ninth (1995), seventh (1994), 11th (1993) and sixth (1992) the previous four seasons. In addition, Dale led Minnesota to back-to-back Big Ten titles for the first time in school history in 2001 and 2002. His squads have placed among the top three in the Big Ten team race each of the past 13 seasons. He also directed the Gophers to conference titles in 1996 and 1998. Prior to winning the title in 1996, Minnesota had not won the conference title since 1926.
Gophers Earn Four Big Ten Weekly Honors
The Golden Gophers had three members earn Big Ten weekly honors this season. Adam Mitchell won the award twice, followed by diver Ben Herdt and Terry Silkaitis. Mitchell went on to earn Collegeswimming.com National Swimmer of the Week in the same weeks he did for the Big Ten. Mitchell earned four individual wins and a second-place finish in the duals against Florida and Northwestern. His second award came when he led Minnesota in the Georgia Invite. In the meet, he automatically qualified in the 200 IM. Herdt won two events in the meet against Northwestern and finished second and third against Florida. Silkaitis won two events at the Minnesota Challenge and helped two relays, also to first-place finishes.
On the Starting Blocks
The Golden Gophers will host the GOPHER-IT Invite, March, 7 and then travel to the Diving Zones, March 12-14, hosted by Indiana. The Gophers look to compete in the NCAA Championships, Mar. 25-27. This year the national championships will be held in Long Island, N.Y.
Players Mentioned
