Max McHugh Posts 1:57 200 Breast As Minnesota Falls To Wisconsin

MINNESOTA vs WISCONSIN

• Friday, October 12th
• UW Natatorium, Madison, WI
• Short Course Yards
• Results

TEAM SCORES

WOMEN

1. Wisconsin – 157
2. Minnesota – 143

MEN

1. Wisconsin – 170
2. Minnesota – 130

Wisconsin swept Minnesota in a Big Ten showdown in Madison on Friday night. Bowen Becker was noticeably absent from the meet, and we have not yet heard the reason for his absence.

Beata Nelson swam to a decisive vistory in the women’s 200 back, posting a speedy 1:54.76. She took the race out in 55.87, coming home in 58.89.  Nelson also posted a 52.57 en route to victory in the 100 back. She also anchored the winning 400 free relay with a 48.9. Both of Nelson’s backstroke times are currently ranked 3rd in the nation this season.

Minnesota’s Lindsey Kozelsky took the women’s breaststroke events, with teammate Rachel Munson coming in 2nd in both. Kozelsky posted a 1:02.24 in the 100 breast, compared to Munson’s 1:03.31. She then swam a 2:14.49 in the 200, beating Munson (2:16.41) by 2 seconds. Kozelsky also split 28.18 in the breast leg of the medley relay.

Minnesota freshman Max McHugh delivered for the Golden Gophers, winning the men’s breast events in decisive fashion. McHugh first split 23.99 on the men’s medley relay, marking the fastest split in the field by a whopping 1.15 seconds. He then swam a 54.44 in the 100 breast, one of the fastest times in the NCAA this season. He also posted a 1:57.91, which is the 3rd fastest time so far this season nationally.

Mackenzie padington posted winning times in the women’s 100 and 500 free, but came in 2nd in the 200 free. In the 100, Padington swam a 50.86, coming home in a quick 25.99. She took the 500 in 4:50.68, beating out Chantal Nack (4:51.93) by over a second. Nack had gotten the better of Padington earlier in the meet, however, touching her out in the 200 free to post a winning time of 1:48.45. Padington swam a 1:48.62.

PRESS RELEASE – WISCONSIN:

MADISON, Wis. — By the time Beata Nelson hit the final stretch of the women’s 400-yard freestyle relay, two things were true: the UW Natatorium was so uproarious that the bleachers were shaking and a win on the race would mean a victory against No. 13 Minnesota.

The Badgers men’s team (2-0) belted cheers from the pool deck, having already defeated the No. 18 Gophers, 170-130.

Neck-and-neck with Minnesota’s Zoe Avestruz, Nelson would will her way to an anchor leg that clocked the Badgers in at 3 minutes, 22.34 seconds, securing a win in the event and a sweep of their Border Battle rivals by a score of 157-143, over the Gophers.

Notable:

Nelson also claimed victory in the 200 backstroke with a time of 1:54.76 and notched first place in the 100 backstroke with a time of 52.57, both NCAA qualifying marks.

Junior Megan Doty won the 200-yard butterfly with a time of 1:58.88, good for a win and an NCAA qualifying bid. Doty also finished first in the 100-yard butterfly with a time of 54.45.

Senior Emmy Sehmann finished the 50-yard freestyle with a time of 23.26 to claim a win.

Senior Hazel Hertting finished her day with a 304.27 mark on the women’s 3-meter board, good for second place and an NCAA zone qualifying nod.

On the men’s side, senior Tyler Zelen cruised to victory in the 50 freestyle with a time 20.46.

Sophomore Matt Novinski and junior Justin Temprano delivered a 1-2 punch in the 100 backstroke, finishing with times of 48.75 and 49.98, respectively.

Junior Kevin Pomeroy leaped to a score of 393.15 on the men’s 1-meter board, securing second place and an NCAA zone qualifying nod.

Quotable:

Head Coach Yuri Suguiyama
On his team’s performance:
“What a fun way to honor our 17 seniors. We made it a point to make it a memorable night for them and to see our fans in Badger red genuinely excited about some some really good racing was pretty special.”

Senior Jess Unicomb
On the senior class’ legacy:
“I hope my legacy is one of working hard, impressing a culture of winning and setting big goals. The next goal for this team is a Big Ten championship and hopefully an NCAA championship.”

PRESS RELEASE – MINNESOTA:

Madison, Wis. – The University of Minnesota swimming and diving teams fell in their first dual of the season against Wisconsin Friday in Madison, Wis. The Gophers swept multiple events and posted competitive national times while facing their border rivals.

“Every day we need to fight for our culture” head coach Kelly Kremer said. “Make sure that we are doing the things that championship teams do. To me that is where we need to keep working, and we will get better and we will be where we want to be ultimately.”

Women| Gophers 143 – Badgers 157

The Gopher women battled till the very end against the Badgers with final event of the evening, the 400 yard free relay, ultimately deciding the result of the dual. The Gopher relay of Chantal Nack, Mackenzie Padington, Tevyn Waddell, and Zoe Avestruz placed second with a time of 3:22.93, beaten to touch by less than a second.

Gopher breaststrokers Lindsey Kozelsky and Rachel Munson finished first and second in multiple events during the dual. The breaststroke duo placed first and second in the 100-yard and 200-yard breaststroke. Kozelsky and Munson finished the 200-yard breast in 2:14.49 and 2:16.41 respectively, good for the 11^th and 24^th best times in the nation to date.

Nack and Mackenzie Padington finished first and second in the 200-yard freestyle. Their times of 1:48.45 and 1:48.62 are the eighth and tenth fastest times in the nation for the season. Nack additionally finished second in the 200 back and 500 free while Padington claimed first place finishes in the 100 free and 500 free.

Freshman Abbey Kilagallon started her collegiate career in style, winning the 1000-yard free in a time of 10:12.56.

In the diving well Kristen Hayden swept the women’s events. The junior for Hillsborough, N.J., won the 1-meter with a score of 291.45 and the 3-meter with a 308.70. Xiao Fu and Mariam Khamis each finished the day with a third place finish, Fu in the 1-meter with a score of 283.88 and Khamis in the 3-meter, scoring 278.55.

Men| Gophers 130 – Badgers 170

The Gopher men posted top times and swept the 1000-yard free during the dual against the Badgers but could not overcome and early deficit to their border rivals Friday evening.

Gopher freshman Max McHugh grabbed a pair of first place finishes at the Natatorium in Madison, taking the top spot in the 100 and 200-yard breast. The Sturgeon Bay sped to a 54.44 finish in the 100, the sixth fastest time in the nation, and a provisional qualifying time of 1:57.91 in the 200. Eitan Yudaskin provided a second place finish in the 200 breast, touching in 2:02.83.

In the second swimming event of the meet, the Gopher trio of Michael Messner, Nick Plachinski and Cam Kelley swept the 1000-yard free. Gopher captain, and Cedarburg, Wisc., native, Plachinski went on to secure a first place finish of his own in the 500-yard free, touching in 4:34.53, with Messner touching second shortly thereafter. Toumas Pokkinen secured 12 team points against Wisconsin and won the 200-yard fly in 1:51.30.

Nick Yang dominated the diving well, winning both the 1-meter and 3-meter events. Yang posted a 421.88 on the 1-meter board and a 356.62 on the 3-meter. Jeremy Moser, a Milwaukee, Wis., native, took third on the 1-meter board in his home state

Next Up: 

The Gophers will next face Florida State University at Jean K. Freeman Aquatic Center on Saturday, Oct., 20^th on “Senior Day”.