University of Minnesota Athletics
Gopher Swimmers Defeat Hawaii 176-107.5
1/13/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Swimming & Diving
The No. 10 Minnesota men's swimming team defeated Hawaii 176-107.50 this afternoon at the Duke Kahanamoku Aquatics Complex in Honolulu. The meet served as the culmination of the Gophers' two-week winter training trip in Hawaii. Senior Russ Payne led Minnesota with three individual victories while Jason Timmer won two events. Hawaii also competed against Wisconsin but the two Big Ten teams did not score the meet since they will meet in two weeks in a triple dual with Purdue.
The Gophers began the meet with a 1-2 finish in the 200 medley relay. Minnesota's winning team of David Plummer, Jon Roberts, Colin Lee-To and Mike Woodson captured first with a time of 1:31.08. In the 1000 freestyle, Nico Zebley swam a strong race to touch first with a time of 9:24.18. Michael Daup was just behind in second place with a time of 9:26.19.
Woodson posted a victory in the 200 freestyle with a time of 1:39.00. Freshman Curt Carlson, who later won the 100 free, placed second with a time of 1:39.61. Payne won his first event in the 100 backstroke, finishing with a time of 50.01, beating Plummer's second place time of 50.65. Jared White also took third in 50.78.
Timmer picked up his first win in the 100 breaststroke, timing a 54.92 while Lee-To was second in 55.28. Ivan Gutesa was third in 57.39. In one of the closest events of the afternoon, Wisconsin's Scott Rice won the 200 butterfly in 1:50.20, touching just ahead of Minnesota's Alex Wold (1:50.41).
Lee-To was back in the pool to win the 50 freestyle in an impressive 20.26 while Hawaii's Davis Kane was second in 20.85. Carlson took the 100 free in 45.37 and Woodson was second in 45.48.
Payne completed a sweep of the backstroke events, easily winning the 200 in 1:47.95 while Wisconsin's Mike Hopkins was second in 1:49.63. Timmer also completed a sweep of the breaststroke events, destroying the field in the 200 with a time of 2:00.73. Wisconsin's Eric Johnson was over four seconds behind in second with a time of 2:05.23.
Mike Holmes captured first place in the 500 freestyle with a time of 4:32.69 while Kevin Baseheart was the Gophers' top finisher in the 100 butterfly with a time of 50.48. Payne picked up his third win of the meet, taking the 200 individual medley in 1:49.93. Wold was a distant second in 1:52.85. The Gophers finished the meet with a win in the 200 freestyle relay. The team of Woodson, Carlson, Michael Richards and Tyler Schmidt posted a time of 1:22.39.
Minnesota returns to Minneapolis on Wednesday, January 16 and hosts Arizona State on Saturday, January 19 in a dual meet that begins at noon at University Aquatic Center. Admission to the event is free.
Players Mentioned
