Badgers Wrap Up Day Two of Big Ten Championships
February 17, 2007 | Men's Swimming & Diving
The Wisconsin men's swimming and diving team recorded five NCAA 'B ' times as it wrapped up day two of the Big Ten championships at the McCorkle Aquatic Pavilion in Columbus, Ohio.
The Badgers captured six top-10 finishes on the day as they find themselves sitting in eighth place for the second consecutive day.
Wisconsin's best race on the day proved to be the 100-yard breaststroke as the team posted two NCAA 'B' times and two top-10 finishes. Sophomore Eric Johnson had the Badgers best finish of the day as he came in sixth with a time of 54.27. Freshman Derrick O ' Donnell had the other top-10 time as he finished 10th with a time of 54.84.
Sophomore Scott Rice improved on a strong first day as he added another NCAA 'B ' time to the two he recorded on day one. In the 100-yard butterfly, Rice finished 10th with a time of 48.14.
In the 200-yard freestyle, senior Tom Molzahn finished 15th with a time of 1:39.40. Two Badgers followed right behind him as Sophomore Mike Desautels took 16th place (1:39.45) and junior Mike Swanson nabbed 17th place (1:38.70).
Junior Brett Koerten secured a 10th place finish in the 400-yard IM with a time of 3:54.11. Sophomore Ben Bruce followed that up with an 11th place finish in a time of 3:56.62.
The final individual race of the day saw the Badgers post two top-20 marks. Sophomore Mike Hopkins came in 15th with a time of 50.21. Fellow sophomore Nick Fulton's time of 50.52 was good to land him in 20th place.
Wisconsin's two other NCAA 'B' times came in the relay races. In the 800-yard freestyle relay, the team of Swanson, Rice, freshman Phil Davies and Molzahn took sixth place as they finished in a time of 6:33.50. The team of Rice, Johnson, junior Tommy Gregory and sophomore Kyle Sorensen came in seventh place in the 200-yard medley relay (1:28.83).
In the lone diving event, the Badgers best finish came from freshman Bryan Weinstein. Weinstein's score of 225.75 was good for 24th on the 3-meter board.
Michigan took over first place after the second day of competition. The Wolverines hold a narrow lead of 405-403 over second place Minnesota. Wisconsin finds itself in eighth place with a score of 172.5.
The Badgers return to action Sunday morning as they wrap up the Big Ten championships. Preliminary rounds begin at 11 a.m. (CT) with the finals set to start at 6 p.m. (CT).
