Gophers Dominate Dual Meet With Arizona State, 173-110

The ninth-ranked University of Minnesota men's swimming diving team improved to 4-1 in dual meet action with a dominating 173-110 victory over Arizona State this afternoon at University Aquatic Center. The Gophers were led by Curt Carlson, Colin Lee-To and Russ Payne, who each won two individual events. Minnesota won 11 of 16 events overall including both relays.

"I am very, very happy with our performance," head coach Dennis Dale said. "Many of our guys performed well. I felt like our distance guys were a little tired from training trip but several guys from that group swam well. Our divers did an excellent job. They have been training hard and did a great job.

"Curt Carlson was fantastic. He won two races and had three lifetime bests. I was really happy with Russ Payne, Jason Timmer and Colin Lee-To as well. Mike Richards also had a nice meet for us."

Event-by-event recap
200 Medley Relay
Minnesota cruised to an easy win in the 200 medley relay. David Plummer opened a slight lead for the Gophers and Colin Lee-To opened a nice lead on the breaststroke leg to give the essentially put away the race. Anthony Portela and Jason Timmer finishsed off the race in 1:28.63. The Gophers finished 1-2-3 with the B team of Jared White, Jon Roberts, Russ Payne and Steve Miller finishing in 1:31.29 and the C team of Peter Mullee, Ivan Gutesa, Matt Engel and Michael Richards was third in 1:31.84. The Gophers’ strong finish gave them a large 15-2 lead after one event.

1000 Freestyle
Two of the top distance freestylers in the nation set up one of the most anticipated races of day in the 1000 free. Holmes took an early lead but Nuess pulled ahead at the 400-yard mark, taking a second lead at the halfway point. Nuess gradually expanded his lead the remainder of the race, beating Holmes by just over four seconds. Nuess finished in 9:15.98 and Holmes took second in 9:20.06. Michael Daup took third for the Gophers in 9:37.99 and Nico Zebley was fourth in 9:46.99.

200 Freestyle
The Gophers dominated the 200 freestyle, taking the top three spots. Curt Carlson posted a strong time of 1:38.09 to take first. Mike Woodson placed second in 1:38.50 and Tyler Schmidt was third in 1:40.15. At this point, Minnesota had taken at 40-15.

3-Meter Diving
Minnesota’s three divers all posted strong scores but it wasn’t enough to topple Arizona State’s Bill Sweeney, who won with a score of 309.68. Cole Young tallied a 293.10 to take second and Drew Brown was third with 288.07 points. Tyler Jepsen had 247.27 points to finish fourth.

"Drew’s day started with a little but of disappointment on 1-meter," diving coach Jason Baumann said. "Being a freshman, he has made multiple changes in his technique. Between performances, I wanted Drew to list things about each of his dives that he was going to attempt on 3-meter. We reviewed them and simplified. On 3-meter, he did a good job of putting that all together and he could have actually done better if he hit all of his dives to what he is capable of. He has the potential to score 400 points. He can be an elite diver.”

100 Backstroke
Russ Payne made a strong final turn to pull ahead of teammate David Plummer in the final lap to win in 49.35. Plummer was second in 49.49 and Arizona State’s Ante Cvitkovic was third in 50.39.

100 Breaststroke
The Gophers put three All-Americans on the blocks for the 100 breaststroke and junior Colin Lee-To turned in a blazing 54.17, just .08 off his career-best time to win the event. His time was easily an NCA B cut standard. Jason Timmer also posted an NCAA B cut in 54.90 place second.

200 Butterfly
In the 200 butterfly, sophomore Alex Wold held off a late burst by ASU’s Sean Boyle to post the victory. Wold clocked a time of 1:48.86. Adam Weis placed third for the Gophers in 1:51.56.

50 Freestyle
Lee-To completely dominated the 50 freestyle to post his second win in the last three events. He took an immediate lead off a great start and blew away the field off his turn. His time of 20.15 was a career-best and is the 29th-fastest time in the nation this year. Michael Richards was a distant second in 20.70 and ASU’s Steve Neuwert was third in 20.75. The Gophers 1-2 finish afforded them a 108-41 lead.

100 Freestyle
Carlson continued a strong afternoon in the 100 freestyle, clocking a season-best time of 44.74 to pull away for the win. Woodson was a distant second in 45.39 and Arizona State’s Neuwert was third in 45.65.

200 Backstroke
Payne and Plummer faced off again in the 200 backstroke with Payne opening a body-length lead after 100 yards. Payne was able to pull away down the stretch for the victory with a time of 1:47.33. Plummer hung on to second place by touching out ASU’s Ante Cvitkovic by .02 seconds with a time of 1:50.88.

200 Breaststroke
The trio of Lee-To, Timmer and Roberts hit the blocks again for the Gophers in the 200 breaststroke. Timmer took a large lead in the first 100 yards and closed well, posting an easy victory with a time of 2:01.98. Ivan Gutesa took second for Minnesota in 2:05.15 and Lee-To was third in 2:06.04. Minnesota received first place points only the rest of the meet after securing the victory. Minnesota led 135-61 after the 200 breast.

500 Freestyle
An exciting race in the middle lanes took place in the 500 free between Nuess, Holmes and Ray Betuzzi. Nuess took a slim lead by the halfway point. Holmes made a brief burst at the 350-yard mark but Nuess found another gear and extended his lead. Holmes put forth another burst in the final 100 but Nuess was able hold off the Gopher junior on the final lap for the win. Nuess clocked a 4:30.97 and Holmes touched in 4:32.32. Betuzzi was third in 4:35.27.

100 Butterfly
Sean Boyle held off a strong kick from Woodson in the 100 butterfly to win in 49.39. Woodson was second in 49.54. The Gopher senior made up almost a body length on the final lap but was unable to overtake Boyle. Portela placed third with a time of 50.30.

400 Individual Medley
Payne and Wold exchanged leads several times early in the 400 individual medley but Payne surged ahead by a body length in the backstroke leg but Nuess made a run in the breaststroke. The nation’s top-ranked swimmer in the event pulled ahead of Payne by a body in the breaststroke and was able to hold off Payne in the freestyle. Nuess finished in 3:53.66. Payne touched second in 3:57.06 and Wold was third in 3:58.32.

3-Meter Diving
The Gophers received a huge boost on the 3-meter board as Drew Brown tallied a career-best 343.80 to clinch the win. His score was easily an NCAA Zone qualifier. Cole Young took second with a solid score of 328.88 and Sweeney was third for Arizona State with a score of 311.55. Jepsen scored a career-high 291.75 to placed fourth.

200 Free Relay
Minnesota’s B relay team held off the A team down the stretch to secure the win in 1:21.77. Michael Richards almost caught Jon Roberts on the final leg but Roberts was able to hold off the late surge. The B team finished in 1:21.93. Minnesota’s winning team consisted of Woodson, Timmer, Schmidt and Roberts.

Minnesota travels to Purdue to take on Wisconsin and the Boilermakers February 1-2.

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