Oct. 30, 2009
Complete Results | Complete Results 
MADISON, Wis. -- Wins were hard to come by for the Wisconsin men's swimming and diving team Friday, and that meant a dual-meet loss for the Badgers at the hands of Minnesota.
The Badgers piled up nine runner-up finishes but managed just a single event win against the Gophers -- freshman Michael Ross took top honors in the 1-meter diving competition - and suffered a 198-101 loss to their Border Battle rival at the UW Natatorium.
"There were some bright spots," said UW head coach Eric Hansen, whose team was without several swimmers due to illness. "Especially on the men's side, the meet was a reflection of the week we had, because it was a rough week in terms of our health and the way we practiced."
Ross came up big for the Badgers on the 1-meter springboard, scoring a 326.93 to lead a sweep of the top two spots that also saw junior Caleb Percevecz (324.83) take second. In all, the Badgers claimed four of the top five spots to rack up 16 team points before the swimming events even got under way.
Percevecz also claimed the runner-up spot on the 3-meter board with a score of 347.10, with Ross taking third (334.95).
"We got some solid performances out of our divers, which gave us a nice boost before our swimmers even hit the water," Hansen said.
Once the Badgers did hit the water, it was the trio of senior Derrick O'Donnell, junior Chuck Allison and sophomore Brett Nagle leading the way.
O'Donnell scored a pair of runner-up finishes in the 100-yard backstroke (51.40) and the 200-yard individual medley (1:54.48), while also grabbing third in the 200 back (1:55.23).
He also was part of the Badgers' runner-up effort in the 200 medley relay, leading off for the UW entry that also included Allison and seniors Eric Johnson and Phil Davies. The foursome combined to clock a time of 1:33.05, the Badgers' second-best mark of the season.
Allison and Davies contributed to UW's second-place showing in the 400 freestyle relay, as well, an entry that finished in 3:07.25 and also included sophomore Wes Lagerhausen and freshman Michael Weiss.
Individually, Allison also claimed a runner-up finish in the 100 butterfly with a time of 50.92 and was third in the 200 fly in 1:54.11.
Nagle was strong in the distance freestyle events for the Badgers, bringing home second in the 200 free in a season-best time of 1:41.59 and also claiming a runner-up finish in the 500 free in 4:39.13.
The Badgers face another stiff challenge next weekend, as they travel to Tucson, Ariz., to face perennial power Arizona and UNLV in a pair of duals on Nov. 6.
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Brian Mason
Wisconsin Athletic Communications
