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Photo by: Walt Middleton Photography 2020
Men's Swimming and Diving Kicks Off Season Friday at Purdue
10/14/2021 12:49:00 PM | Men's Swimming & Diving
MINNEAPOLIS – One week after the Minnesota's women's swimming and diving team opened its season with a dominant win at Iowa, it's the men's turn this week as the Golden Gophers travel to Purdue for a dual meet Friday.
The meet, which is the season opener for both teams, is scheduled to start at 4 p.m. with streaming coverage on Purdue's Facebook page and live scoring on PurdueSports.com.
Minnesota is looking for its dual meet first win over the Boilermakers since the 2018-19 season when the Gophers prevailed 203.5-149-5 in Evanston, Ill. Purdue has taken the head-to-head matchup with Minnesota in each of the last two years, including at last year's tri-dual that also featured Wisconsin. Since 2010, however, the Golden Gophers own an 8-3 advantage in the series.
After finishing 21st at last year's NCAA Championships, Minnesota returns a veteran roster in 2021-22 as the Golden Gophers bring back the fastest swimmer in every event and the top diver in two of the three events.
Highlighting the returnees is senior Max McHugh, a team captain and five-time All-American who won NCAA titles last season in both the 100 breast and 200 breast, the first men's swimming titles at Minnesota in 57 years. In addition, he was a two-time Big Ten champion last season, giving him three in his career, and he was named the unanimous Big Ten Men's Swimmer of the Year.
McHugh is not the only returning All-American though, as redshirt senior Tom Donker earned honorable mention recognition as part of the 400 medley relay in 2019. Donker, who will be a team captain for the second year in a row, posted a 'B' cut in the 100 fly last season and qualified for finals in two individual events at the 2021 Big Ten Championships, finishing 13th in the 100 fly and 19th in the 200 back.
Joining McHugh and Donker as men's captains is fifth-year swimmer Cameron Kelley. The Cedar Rapids, Iowa, native has been a force for the Gophers in the distance freestyle events over his career, with 16 event wins and 33 top-three finishes to show for it. He has two individual Big Ten 'A' finals appearances in the 500 and 1650 free events and five total finals appearances in the past three seasons.
Sophomore James Freeman is coming off an appearance at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, where he competed for his home country of Botswana. He finished 35th in the 400m free and 38th in the 200m free. Competing for the Gophers last year, Freeman was the team's top performer in the 500 free and also posted a 'B' cut in the 1650 free.
Fellow sophomores Lucas Farrar and Sawyer Grimes led the way in sprint events last season. Farrar, who was named as one of the team's "Most Improved" at the team's end-of-season banquet last year, had NCAA 'B' cuts in both the 50 and 100 free events and qualified for the Big Ten Championship finals in both. Grimes, meanwhile, showcased his versatility with 'B' cuts in the 500 and 1650 free and 400 IM. A Big Ten Freshman of the Week honoree last season, Grimes also took home the team's W.I.N. (Whatever is Needed) Award.
Junior Gavin Olson is back as the team's top performer in the backstroke, posting 'B' cuts in the 100 and 200 back last season and qualifying for the final in both at the Big Ten Championships.
Sophomore Kaiser Neverman is coming off a freshman season in which he was the team's top finisher in both the 200 fly and 200 IM, posting 'B' cuts in each. He shared the team's "Most Improved" honor last year with Farrar.
One additional 'B' cut from a year ago belonged to sophomore Chris Nagy, who did so in the 1650 free. Like Farrar and Neverman, he was also named as "Most Improved" and additionally took home the team's "Hardest Worker" Award.
Minnesota also welcomes in seven freshmen for the upcoming season, including Jack Brown (free), Andrew Garner (free/breast/IM), Josh Johnston (breast), Drew Kaelin (breast), Tommy McCarthy (fly) Chris Morris (free/fly/IM) and Bar Soloveychik (free). In addition, sophomore diver Matthew Mitchell is in his first season with the Gophers after transferring from Wisconsin.
In diving, junior Jake Butler and senior Ryan Phillip were the team's top finishers on both the 1- and 3-meter boards, respectively. Butler qualified for the 2021 NCAA Championships, placing 26th on the 3-meter board, while Phillip scored for the Gophers in both at the Big Ten Championships a year ago.
The meet, which is the season opener for both teams, is scheduled to start at 4 p.m. with streaming coverage on Purdue's Facebook page and live scoring on PurdueSports.com.
Minnesota is looking for its dual meet first win over the Boilermakers since the 2018-19 season when the Gophers prevailed 203.5-149-5 in Evanston, Ill. Purdue has taken the head-to-head matchup with Minnesota in each of the last two years, including at last year's tri-dual that also featured Wisconsin. Since 2010, however, the Golden Gophers own an 8-3 advantage in the series.
After finishing 21st at last year's NCAA Championships, Minnesota returns a veteran roster in 2021-22 as the Golden Gophers bring back the fastest swimmer in every event and the top diver in two of the three events.
Highlighting the returnees is senior Max McHugh, a team captain and five-time All-American who won NCAA titles last season in both the 100 breast and 200 breast, the first men's swimming titles at Minnesota in 57 years. In addition, he was a two-time Big Ten champion last season, giving him three in his career, and he was named the unanimous Big Ten Men's Swimmer of the Year.
McHugh is not the only returning All-American though, as redshirt senior Tom Donker earned honorable mention recognition as part of the 400 medley relay in 2019. Donker, who will be a team captain for the second year in a row, posted a 'B' cut in the 100 fly last season and qualified for finals in two individual events at the 2021 Big Ten Championships, finishing 13th in the 100 fly and 19th in the 200 back.
Joining McHugh and Donker as men's captains is fifth-year swimmer Cameron Kelley. The Cedar Rapids, Iowa, native has been a force for the Gophers in the distance freestyle events over his career, with 16 event wins and 33 top-three finishes to show for it. He has two individual Big Ten 'A' finals appearances in the 500 and 1650 free events and five total finals appearances in the past three seasons.
Sophomore James Freeman is coming off an appearance at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, where he competed for his home country of Botswana. He finished 35th in the 400m free and 38th in the 200m free. Competing for the Gophers last year, Freeman was the team's top performer in the 500 free and also posted a 'B' cut in the 1650 free.
Fellow sophomores Lucas Farrar and Sawyer Grimes led the way in sprint events last season. Farrar, who was named as one of the team's "Most Improved" at the team's end-of-season banquet last year, had NCAA 'B' cuts in both the 50 and 100 free events and qualified for the Big Ten Championship finals in both. Grimes, meanwhile, showcased his versatility with 'B' cuts in the 500 and 1650 free and 400 IM. A Big Ten Freshman of the Week honoree last season, Grimes also took home the team's W.I.N. (Whatever is Needed) Award.
Junior Gavin Olson is back as the team's top performer in the backstroke, posting 'B' cuts in the 100 and 200 back last season and qualifying for the final in both at the Big Ten Championships.
Sophomore Kaiser Neverman is coming off a freshman season in which he was the team's top finisher in both the 200 fly and 200 IM, posting 'B' cuts in each. He shared the team's "Most Improved" honor last year with Farrar.
One additional 'B' cut from a year ago belonged to sophomore Chris Nagy, who did so in the 1650 free. Like Farrar and Neverman, he was also named as "Most Improved" and additionally took home the team's "Hardest Worker" Award.
Minnesota also welcomes in seven freshmen for the upcoming season, including Jack Brown (free), Andrew Garner (free/breast/IM), Josh Johnston (breast), Drew Kaelin (breast), Tommy McCarthy (fly) Chris Morris (free/fly/IM) and Bar Soloveychik (free). In addition, sophomore diver Matthew Mitchell is in his first season with the Gophers after transferring from Wisconsin.
In diving, junior Jake Butler and senior Ryan Phillip were the team's top finishers on both the 1- and 3-meter boards, respectively. Butler qualified for the 2021 NCAA Championships, placing 26th on the 3-meter board, while Phillip scored for the Gophers in both at the Big Ten Championships a year ago.
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