University of Minnesota Athletics
University of Minnesota
NCAA Championships
Gophers Finish 25th at NCAA Championships
3/28/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Swimming & Diving
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IOWA CITY - The 2015 NCAA Men's Swimming and Diving Championships concluded tonight at the University of Iowa's Campus Recreation and Wellness Center as the Golden Gophers finished in 25th place. Texas claimed the NCAA crown, with California and Michigan rounding out the top three. Despite a much smaller group of men representing Minnesota at this year's NCAA Championships, the Gophers finished just three spots below last year's mark of 22nd.
This weekend's events were highlighted by three scoring divers and sophomores Jakub Maly and Matt Barnard breaking the Minnesota school records in the 200 breast and platform diving, respectively.Â
Sophomore Matt Barnard became an All-American in platform diving after taking home bronze in the event with 473.80 points. Last year Barnard was Minnesota's sole diver at the NCAA Championships, and after sustaining an injury in the three-meter competition, Barnard was unable to compete in his favorite event. 2015 proved to be a different year for Minnesota. Barnard not only secured All-American honors, but he competed with three of his teammates during prelims. Junior Dylan Zoe nabbed Honorable Mention All-American accolades by finishing 13th in the event with a total of 365.10 points. Manny Pollard finished 20th in the event with a score of 345.70, Pollard was a Honorable Mention All-American in one-meter diving, but suffered an injury on day two in the three-meter preliminaries. Senior Erik Larsen concludes his collegiate diving career at his first NCAA Championships, finishing 32nd on platform with 306.65 points.Â
Jakub Maly finished his sophomore season breaking another Minnesota school record, this time in the 200 breaststroke. With a time of 1:54.57, Maly placed 25th and beat previous record-holder Ivan Gutesa's best mark of 1:55.36 in 2011. Maly now holds the 200 breast and 400 IM records at the University of Minnesota, both captured in his second season as a Gopher. Maly will head to Canadian Nationals with head coach Kelly Kremer and some of the women's swim team, including 200 breast NCAA Champion Kierra Smith. Maly is hoping to qualify for this summer's World University Games and World Championships.
Distance swimmer CJ Smith finished his Minnesota career placing 22nd in the 1650 free with a time of 14:58.52. The senior closed out his time as a Gopher as a three-time Honorable Mention All-American in the 1650, and holds the third fastest time in Gophers history (14:46.09). The captain was Minnesota's Big Ten Sportsmanship Honoree this season.
With 13 seniors graduating in 2015, the Golden Gophers will welcome a large freshman class in September and will be ready to make waves.
Players Mentioned
