University of Minnesota Athletics
Gophers Set to Host NCAA Championship
3/20/2018 12:00:00 AM | Men's Swimming & Diving
| NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS | |
| Dates | Wednesday, March 21-Saturday, March 24 |
| Time | Prelims: 10 a.m. CT | Finals: 6 p.m. CT |
| Location | Minneapolis, Minn. | Jean K. Freeman Aquatic Center |
| Meet Information | Championship Central | Parking Info |
| Live Stats | Live Stats | Diving Live Scoring |
| Live Video | BTN2Go | WatchESPN (Friday & Saturday Finals also on ESPNU) |
| Psych Sheets | Psych Sheet | Qualified Divers | Relays |
| Social Media | @GopherSwimDive | Facebook | Instagram |
MINNEAPOLIS -- For the eighth time in program history Minnesota is set to host the men's NCAA Championship that will take place inside the Jean K. Freeman Aquatic Center. The Gophers close the season with the event running Wednesday, March 21-Saturday, March 24. Preliminary sessions (every day except Wednesday) begin at 10 a.m. CT with the finals proceeding at 6 p.m. CT. Four individuals and five relays were invited to compete for Minnesota at home.
"The NCAA men's championship is the fastest swim meet in the world. If you think about it, the `worst' swimmer at this meet is incredibly great," said head coach Kelly Kremer. "There are no swimmers here that are in any way not the best. When you put them all in the same pool to compete against each other, it's magical. I can't wait to see what that means in term of performances for every one and it's awesome to let the eyes of the Minneapolis swimming community see it all."
Hosting a NCAA meet for the 11th time between the men and women, Minneapolis will host a men's NCAA Championship meet for the first time since 2011 and in sold out fashion.
"There is very few swimming venues that are sold out," said Kremer. "There won't even be standing room only because they sold those spaces. That's a venue that so fun for these student-athletes that don't get to experience it every day."
Individually, junior Bowen Becker and Conner McHugh are set to participate in the lanes against the best swimmers in the world.
Becker, the Big Ten champion in the 50 freestyle, enters in as a top-five seed in both the 50 free and 100 free. In the 50 free, Becker holds the number two seed behind Florida's Caeleb Dressel with a time of 18.69 which is just three-hundredths of a second behind Dressel's seed time. In the 100 free, Becker holds the number five seed in a time of 41.61.
"For Bowen [Becker] it is a culmination of a growth spurt for him in terms of maturity as a swimmer and an athlete," said Kremer of Becker's NCAA opportunity.
Senior Conner McHugh is set for his last NCAA meet as a Golden Gopher competing in the 100 and 200 breaststroke. McHugh faces a rematch in the 100 breast with Indiana's Ian Finnerty and Levi Brock. At the Big Ten meet McHugh finished third with his seed time of 51.68, which is also a school record time. Posting another school record time of 1:51.41 in the 200 breast, McHugh holds the three seed behind Finnerty and California's Andrew Seliskar.
"For Conner [McHugh] it is a culmination of a just a brilliant collegiate career," said Kremer with a smile.
On the diving board, Minnesota sends a pair of juniors in Alan LeBlang and Nick Yang to compete on their home boards. On the outside looking in, LeBlang found his bid to the NCAA Championship on the final day of the Zone D Diving event. LeBlang qualified following a fifth place finish on the Platform, while also qualifying for the 3-meter following a top-12 finish. Nick Yang is scheduled to participate in all three diving events after punching his NCAA ticket on the first day of zone diving on the 3-meter board. Yang secured a spot in the 1-meter and platform placing in the top-12.
On top of the individual events, the Gophers also posted automatic qualifying times in all five relays.
"We are one of the few teams to qualify all five [relays]. The points that relays produce are critical for team success and hopefully we can keep that momentum going from Big Ten's."
Matthew Thomas, Conner McHugh, Tuomas Pokkinen and Bowen Becker swam the 200 medley relay at the Big Ten meet in a time of 1:24.25 to finish second while posting it as a school record time. In the 400 medley relay, Tom Donker joins McHugh, Thomas and Becker where they swam a school record time of 3:06.90 in a second place finish.
The Gophers have decided to scratch in the 800 freestyle relay, which means the Gophers kick off their NCAA meet bright and early in Thursday's prelims.
NCAA Selections and Seed Times
Bowen Becker
50 Free -- 18.69
100 Free -- 41.61
Alan LeBlang
1-meter -- 731.35 (12 dives)
Platform -- 703.30
Conner McHugh
100 Breast -- 51.68
200 Breast -- 1:51.41
Nick Yang
1-meter -- 717.00
3-meter -- 764.55
Platform -- 682.20
200 Free Relay -- 1:17.02
400 Free Relay -- 2:52.50
800 Free Relay -- 6:21.96
200 Medley Relay -- 1:24.25
400 Medley Relay -- 3:06.90
Players Mentioned
