University of Minnesota Athletics
Players Mentioned
Breaststroke
/ Men's Swimming & Diving
Sprint Freestyle
/ Men's Swimming & Diving
Freestyle/Butterfly
/ Men's Swimming & Diving
Diving
/ Men's Swimming & Diving
Freestyle/Butterfly/IM
/ Men's Swimming & Diving
Distance Freestyle
/ Men's Swimming & Diving
Backstroke/Butterfly
/ Men's Swimming & Diving
Distance Freestyle
/ Men's Swimming & Diving
Sprint Freestyle
/ Men's Swimming & Diving
Diving
/ Men's Swimming & Diving
Freestyle
/ Men's Swimming & Diving
Freestyle/Butterfly
/ Men's Swimming & Diving
Freestyle/Backstroke/IM
/ Men's Swimming & Diving
Freestyle
/ Men's Swimming & Diving
Backstroke
/ Men's Swimming & Diving
Butterfly/IM
/ Men's Swimming & Diving
Diving
/ Men's Swimming & Diving
Freestyle/IM
/ Men's Swimming & Diving
Freestyle/Backstroke/IM
/ Men's Swimming & Diving
Breaststroke/Freestyle
/ Men's Swimming & Diving
Diving
/ Men's Swimming & Diving
Distance Freestyle
/ Men's Swimming & Diving
Freestyle/Butterfly/IM
/ Men's Swimming & Diving
Breaststroke/Butterfly
/ Men's Swimming & Diving
Backstroke
/ Men's Swimming & Diving
Diving
/ Men's Swimming & Diving
Diving
/ Men's Swimming & Diving
Sprint Freestyle
/ Men's Swimming & Diving
Backstroke
/ Men's Swimming & Diving
Backstroke/Butterfly/IM
/ Men's Swimming & Diving
Breaststroke
/ Men's Swimming & Diving
Breaststroke
/ Men's Swimming & Diving
Photo by: Walt Middleton Photography 2020
Gopher Men's Swimming & Diving 2020-21 Season Preview
1/14/2021 6:19:00 PM | Men's Swimming & Diving
After months of uncertainty surrounding the Gopher Men's Swimming and Diving program's upcoming season, the time is finally here to preview the 2020-21 crew in advance of the Saturday, Jan. 23 opener. With a plethora of strong returning student-athletes and 12 very capable newcomers filling the ranks, senior associate head coach Terry Ganley believes this Minnesota roster could make some serious waves throughout the year.
2019-20 Recap
The last time out for the Maroon and Gold came at the 2020 Big Ten Conference Championships after the 2020 NCAA Championships were canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Now-junior Max McHugh's performances in the individual breaststroke events were a clear highlight of the event for the Maroon and Gold. The Sturgeon Bay, Wis. native took home gold in the 100 breast with the nation's fastest time of 50.67 and bronze in the 200 in a time of 1:51.80, both of which had earned McHugh a bid to the 2020 NCAA Championships before they were ultimately canceled.
McHugh was not the only returner to impress at the Championships though. Now-sophomore diver Jake Butler earned himself a pair of 'A' final appearances on the one-meter and three-meter springboard events, capitalizing with a fourth place finish and lifetime-best score of 359.85 in the one-meter. Now-senior distance freestyler Cameron Kelley earned an 'A' finals appearance as well, notching a seventh place finish in the 500 freestyle.
Although official All-American status could not be awarded in 2020 with the NCAA Championships being canceled, McHugh (100 breast, 200 breast) and Butler (one-meter) were two of three Gophers to earn the recognition from the CSCAA. The pair were joined by now-senior diver Duncan Lester (one-meter) in garnering All-American Status.
Roster Breakdown
Backstroke
With returning redshirt-junior and team captain Tom Donker back into the mix of things for the Gophers, backstroke could potentially be the deepest stroke in Minnesota's arsenal after adding freshman Casey Stowe to the group. Sophomores Gavin Olson, Sam Kennedy and Desmon Sachtjen round out the group, and all five swimmers have shown the ability to make an impact at the collegiate level.
Breaststroke
With arguably the nation's best breaststroker in McHugh, the breaststroke will likely be one of Minnesota's strongest strokes. In fact, McHugh will be leading an even deeper breaststroke group in 2021 than in 2020 with the additions of newcomers Antonio Octaviano and Brock Aune to the already solid group containing the likes of Eitan Yudashkin and Evan Yoder.
Butterfly
As it sits right now, butterfly seems to be an area where the Gophers are looking for someone to take that next step. Donker's presence back in the lineup definitely adds some leadership to the Gophers' roster, and the additions of newcomers Kaiser Neverman, Nathan Kim, Leo Goldblatt, William Christenson, and Octaviano add significant depth to the group as well. With returners Isaac Barrera and Kennedy tacking on some extra experience to the young squad, Minnesota should be primed to see significant growth throughout the year.
Sprint Freestyle
The sprint freestyle group should be a strong one for the Gophers this season. Sophomore Shane Rozeboom, redshirt freshman Lucas Farrar and true freshman Neverman figure to add exciting depth behind team captain and redshirt junior Donker, whose experience and prowess in the sport should boost the core as a whole. Junior sprint freestyler Tommy Barr will provide some more upperclassman experience as well, filling out what could be one of the most explosive collections on the 2020-21 roster.
Distance Freestyle
Distance freestyle seems to be yet another category in which the Gophers have excellent depth, especially with the additions of newcomers James Freeman, Cameron Linder, Chris Nagy and Sawyer Grimes, all four of which are expected to make their presences known immediately. Senior Kelley returns to the group after an excellent junior season, as well as senior Max Lezer and juniors Aidan Dulaney and Aidan Dillon to round out what could be a very promising group of student-athletes.
Diving
Although the loss of Jeremy Moser will undoubtedly be felt in the diving well, the Gophers still return a strong set of divers. Seniors Lester and Maxim Royzen bring the most seniority out of the pack, with junior Ryan Phillip, sophomore Butler and freshman Josiah Fick rounding out the group. All five have the potential to make a serious impact for the Maroon and Gold right out of the gate.
2020-21 Schedule
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the schedule for the upcoming season is much shorter than in previous years. Therefore, the Gophers will only have two regular season meets before the Big Ten Conference Championships kick off in late February, the first of which will be a tri-meet held in Madison, Wis. on Saturday, Jan. 23.
The Gophers' much anticipated Jan. 23 meet will be hosted by the Wisconsin Badgers, with the Purdue Boilermakers filling in the third spot of the match-up. Their next and final regular season match-up will be their only home meet of the season, when Minnesota hosts the Iowa Hawkeyes in dual-meet format on the weekend of Feb. 5-6.
Championship season will look a little differently in 2021 as well. The Big Ten has decided to split the diving and swimming segments of the Big Ten Championships into two different dates for the 2021 season. Therefore, the Minnesota divers will head to Purdue from Feb. 24-27 for the diving segment, while the swimmers will head to Ohio St. on March 3-6 for the swimming segments. The NCAA Championships are still set to be held in Greensboro, N.C. from March 24-27.
2019-20 Recap
The last time out for the Maroon and Gold came at the 2020 Big Ten Conference Championships after the 2020 NCAA Championships were canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Now-junior Max McHugh's performances in the individual breaststroke events were a clear highlight of the event for the Maroon and Gold. The Sturgeon Bay, Wis. native took home gold in the 100 breast with the nation's fastest time of 50.67 and bronze in the 200 in a time of 1:51.80, both of which had earned McHugh a bid to the 2020 NCAA Championships before they were ultimately canceled.
McHugh was not the only returner to impress at the Championships though. Now-sophomore diver Jake Butler earned himself a pair of 'A' final appearances on the one-meter and three-meter springboard events, capitalizing with a fourth place finish and lifetime-best score of 359.85 in the one-meter. Now-senior distance freestyler Cameron Kelley earned an 'A' finals appearance as well, notching a seventh place finish in the 500 freestyle.
Although official All-American status could not be awarded in 2020 with the NCAA Championships being canceled, McHugh (100 breast, 200 breast) and Butler (one-meter) were two of three Gophers to earn the recognition from the CSCAA. The pair were joined by now-senior diver Duncan Lester (one-meter) in garnering All-American Status.
Roster Breakdown
Backstroke
With returning redshirt-junior and team captain Tom Donker back into the mix of things for the Gophers, backstroke could potentially be the deepest stroke in Minnesota's arsenal after adding freshman Casey Stowe to the group. Sophomores Gavin Olson, Sam Kennedy and Desmon Sachtjen round out the group, and all five swimmers have shown the ability to make an impact at the collegiate level.
Breaststroke
With arguably the nation's best breaststroker in McHugh, the breaststroke will likely be one of Minnesota's strongest strokes. In fact, McHugh will be leading an even deeper breaststroke group in 2021 than in 2020 with the additions of newcomers Antonio Octaviano and Brock Aune to the already solid group containing the likes of Eitan Yudashkin and Evan Yoder.
Butterfly
As it sits right now, butterfly seems to be an area where the Gophers are looking for someone to take that next step. Donker's presence back in the lineup definitely adds some leadership to the Gophers' roster, and the additions of newcomers Kaiser Neverman, Nathan Kim, Leo Goldblatt, William Christenson, and Octaviano add significant depth to the group as well. With returners Isaac Barrera and Kennedy tacking on some extra experience to the young squad, Minnesota should be primed to see significant growth throughout the year.
Sprint Freestyle
The sprint freestyle group should be a strong one for the Gophers this season. Sophomore Shane Rozeboom, redshirt freshman Lucas Farrar and true freshman Neverman figure to add exciting depth behind team captain and redshirt junior Donker, whose experience and prowess in the sport should boost the core as a whole. Junior sprint freestyler Tommy Barr will provide some more upperclassman experience as well, filling out what could be one of the most explosive collections on the 2020-21 roster.
Distance Freestyle
Distance freestyle seems to be yet another category in which the Gophers have excellent depth, especially with the additions of newcomers James Freeman, Cameron Linder, Chris Nagy and Sawyer Grimes, all four of which are expected to make their presences known immediately. Senior Kelley returns to the group after an excellent junior season, as well as senior Max Lezer and juniors Aidan Dulaney and Aidan Dillon to round out what could be a very promising group of student-athletes.
Diving
Although the loss of Jeremy Moser will undoubtedly be felt in the diving well, the Gophers still return a strong set of divers. Seniors Lester and Maxim Royzen bring the most seniority out of the pack, with junior Ryan Phillip, sophomore Butler and freshman Josiah Fick rounding out the group. All five have the potential to make a serious impact for the Maroon and Gold right out of the gate.
2020-21 Schedule
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the schedule for the upcoming season is much shorter than in previous years. Therefore, the Gophers will only have two regular season meets before the Big Ten Conference Championships kick off in late February, the first of which will be a tri-meet held in Madison, Wis. on Saturday, Jan. 23.
The Gophers' much anticipated Jan. 23 meet will be hosted by the Wisconsin Badgers, with the Purdue Boilermakers filling in the third spot of the match-up. Their next and final regular season match-up will be their only home meet of the season, when Minnesota hosts the Iowa Hawkeyes in dual-meet format on the weekend of Feb. 5-6.
Championship season will look a little differently in 2021 as well. The Big Ten has decided to split the diving and swimming segments of the Big Ten Championships into two different dates for the 2021 season. Therefore, the Minnesota divers will head to Purdue from Feb. 24-27 for the diving segment, while the swimmers will head to Ohio St. on March 3-6 for the swimming segments. The NCAA Championships are still set to be held in Greensboro, N.C. from March 24-27.
Jacob Johnson - B1G Silver Medal
Saturday, March 01
YuTong Wang Wins 2024 Big Ten 1M Title
Monday, March 04
Max McHugh Wins Two B1G Titles
Monday, February 27
Jean K. Freeman Aquatic Center
Saturday, May 21