University of Minnesota Athletics
Gophers Swim Past Iowa, 180.5-113.5
10/20/2007 12:00:00 AM | Men's Swimming & Diving
The Minnesota men’s swimming and diving team dominated Iowa this evening 180.5-113.5 in a Big Ten dual meet this evening in Iowa City, Iowa. The Gophers won 13 of 16 events and took at least the top three spots in eight events. Senior Russ Payne, freshman Curt Carlson and junior Colin Lee-To won two events apiece to lead the Gophers, who evened their dual meet record to 1-1.
The Gophers flexed their muscles from the outset, taking the top three spots in the 200 medley relay to open the meet. David Plummer, Colin Lee-To, Anthony Portela and Jon Roberts combined to give the Gopher A team a victory in 1:31.68. The Gopher B team of Jared White, Ivan Gutesa, Matt Engel and Michael Richards placed second in 1:33.66. The Gopher C team still managed to beat Iowa’s top team.
Payne starred for the Gophers, torching the field in the 200 butterfly. He touched the wall in 1:52.05, easily beating teammate Alex Wold, who placed second in 1:55.21. Portela touched third in 1:56/32 and Erich Welton was fourth in 1:57.20. Payne returned to capture first place in the 100 butterfly later in the evening with a time of 50.67. Portela was second in 51.07 and Welton was third in 52.16.
Carlson was equally impressive, winning the 100 and 200 freestyles. Carlson clocked a time of 46.15 in the 100 to sneak past senior Tyler Schmidt who finished in 46.45. Steve Miller was third in 47.12. In the 200, Carlson posted an easy win in 1:40.68 while Schmidt was second again in 1:42.05.
Lee-To swept the breaststroke events. He won the 100 in 55.99, beating Iowa’s Dragos Agache to the wall (57.01) while Gutesa was third in 58.60. Lee-To won the 200 with a time of 2:06.76 and Gutesa was second in 2:07.82.
Sophomores Ray Betuzzi and Nico Zebley had a strong race in the 1000 freestyle. Betuzzi finished with a strong kick and swam past Zebley in the final 100 to emerge with the win in 9:26.31. Zebley took second in 9:29.84 and freshman David Hawker was third in 9:39.67.
Plummer posted a win in the 100 backstroke, timing a 51.15 while White was second in 51.65. Mike Woodson took third in 52.06. Richards claimed first in the 50 free with a time of 21.40 while Engel (21.59) and Roberts (21.60) rounded out the top three.
Roberts blew past the field in the 200 individual medley with a time of 1:51.61 while Mark Solfelt was second in 1:55.42. Plummer was third in 1:55.94.
Mike Holmes gained the Gophers’ other individual win, taking the 500 free in 4:31.05. Wold was a distant second in 4:41.31.
Minnesota closed the evening with a victory in the 400 freestyle relay. The Gophers’ A team of Woodson, Betuzzi, Carlson and Schmidt won in 3:04.08.
Iowa sophomore Wil Whaley upset Plummer in the 200 back with a win in 1:51.68 while Plummer was just .11 seconds back in 1:51.79. White was third in 1:53.99.
Iowa’s Frank VanDijkhuizen swept the diving events. Drew Brown scored a strong 303.38 on the 3-meter to take second while Cole Young was fourth with a tally of 288.0. Young was second on the 1-meter with 257.70 points while Brown tied for third at 248.25.
Minnesota takes next week off from competition prior to hosting North Carolina in a two-day dual at University Aquatic Center, November 2-3.
Players Mentioned
