University of Minnesota Athletics
Big Ten Championships Day Two Recap
2/25/2011 12:00:00 AM | Men's Swimming & Diving
• Michigan has a slim 8.5-point lead over Indiana through two days of competition. Michigan leads with 259.5 points, followed by Indiana (251), Ohio State (183), Minnesota (159.5), Purdue (125.5), Penn State (102), Wisconsin (94), Iowa (87.5), Northwestern (86) and Michigam State (76).
• Michigan freshman Sean Ryan won the 500 freestyle in 4:17.91 in his first Big Ten Championships race. He held off his teammate, Dane Vanderkaay, who nearly won the race from lane 1 (4:18.53). The winning time of 4:17.91 is the slowest event champion since 2000.
• Michigan has won 14 of the last 15 conference titles in the 500 free. Ohio State’s George Markovic broke the streak last season.
• Michigan freshman Kyle Whitaker won the 200 individual medley in 1:43.28 giving Michigan four straight champions in the event. Michigan junior Dan Madwed made it 1-2 for the Wolverines in 1:44.41.
• Minnesota’s Michael Richards repeated as the Big Ten champion in the 50 freestyle in 19.19. Both of his times today shattered the conference record in the event that was set in 2009 by Purdue’s Andrew Langenfeld (19.34). He went a record 19.10 in the prelims. He is Minnesota’s fourth repeat champion in the event and the 10th overall.
• There were 17 sub-20 second times in the 50 freestyle during the prelims and finals (8 in the finals and 9 in the prelims).
• Purdue’s David Boudia won the 1-meter diving title for the second time and broke his own conference record in the process with a score of 467.40. His previous record of 446.65 was set in 2009. Purdue divers have won the last three 1-meter titles.
• Michigan won the 400 medley relay for the fourth straight year with a time of 3:09.23, touching out Ohio State’s effort of 3:09.52. The winning time was the slowest since 2004. The Wolverines have swept all three relays during the meet to this point.
• Indiana’s Eric Ress broke the Big Ten Championships record leading off the 400 medley relay with a time of 45.40.
• The day’s five events were all won by seniors or freshmen.
• Michael Richards (50 free) and Kyle Whitaker (200 IM) recorded NCAA ‘A’ times.
• There were 72 ‘B’ times recorded in tonight’s finals, including all 24 of the 500-free swimmers and all 10 of the 400-medley relay teams.
Event Winner Quotes
Sean Ryan, Michigan, 500 Free
On his race:
“I saw out in lane one that Dane Vanderkaay was out to a real quick start. I knew I just needed to stick to my race plan. I just stayed with it, and going into the last 200, I thought, ‘I could really catch him.’ So I just started going more to my legs. …Just tried to work slowly and catch him and at the end, just go for a big finish.”
Kyle Whitaker, Michigan, 200 IM
On his race and Michigan’s success thus far:
“Well Michigan today has really stepped it up through the individual events coming off a strong day yesterday from the relays. We’ve really been able to use that momentum and carry us into the day. We’ve had a lot of great swims, lot of lifetime bests so it’s definitely exciting and we’re planning on turning it for the rest of the meet. In the two IM today, that was a great rave. Really after this morning’s swim I saw a couple places for improvement. Worked on those in warm ups this afternoon and then came out tonight and really made those weaknesses in the morning my strengths tonight so I think it paid off in the end.”
Michael Richards, Minnesota, 50 Free
On winning back-to-back Big Ten championships:
“It’s great. Last year, I didn’t really expect to do that. This year, while I feel like I was expected to win, I never really took that for granted because anybody can do anything on a given day. What I certainly didn’t expect was to go as fast as I did. I really went a lot faster than my goal time was. I was extremely pleased with that.”
On breaking the Big Ten record in the 50 free:
“I’ve had my sights set on that for the last two years. I was a bit peeved that I didn’t get that last year, so this year I crushed it and I was pretty happy with that.”
On the difference between the prelims and finals:
“Prelims, I had a really great start. I feel like almost immediately I was out in front. Finals, that was definitely not the case. I had a pretty terrible start. I came up and I was like, ‘Oh, boy. I have some work to do.’ I guess the nine hundredths of a second doesn’t seem like a lot, but in a finals meet like this where you’re shaved and tapered and everything, you expect to swim pretty consistently. So the start was definitely responsible that little bit of additional time, but otherwise it felt good.”
David Boudia, Purdue, 1-Meter Diving
On winning his sixth Big Ten title:
“Tonight was especially special because it was my last Big Ten 1-meter competition, and I was there with two other teammates, and our whole crowd of Purdue fans were behind us the whole way. It’s just exciting to end my Big Ten 1-meter career that way.”
Players Mentioned
