2021 Big Ten Women’s Championships: Day 3 Ups/Mids/Downs

2021 BIG TEN WOMEN’S CHAMPIONSHIPS

• When: Tuesday, February 23rd to Saturday, February 27th | Prelims 11am | Finals 6:30pm (5pm Tuesday) CT
• Where: Minneapolis, MN (Central Time Zone) / Diving @ Purdue University
• Defending Champion: Ohio State (1x) (results)
• Live Results
• Streaming: Big Ten Network
• Championship Central

CURRENT TEAM SCORES

1. Ohio State, 526
2. Michigan, 358.5
3. Indiana, 310.5
4. Northwestern, 258
5. Wisconsin, 237
6. Nebraska, 184
7. Iowa, 169
8. Minnesota, 164
9. Penn State, 149
10. Purdue, 120
11. Michigan State, 104
12. Illinois, 96
13. Rutgers, 30

For those unfamiliar with swimming terminology, the concept of “Ups” and “Downs” is a good way to track which teams performed best at prelims. In prelims, swimmers qualify for one of three finals heats: the top 8 finishers make the A final, places 9 through 16 the B final and places 17 through 24 the C final. In finals, swimmers are locked into their respective final, meaning a swimmer in the B heat (spots 9-16) can only place as high as 9th or as low as 16th, even if they put up the fastest or slowest time of any heat in the final.

With that in mind, we’ll be tracking “Ups,” “Mids” and “Downs” after each prelims session. “Up” refers to swimmers in the A final, “Mid” to swimmers in the B final and “Down” to swimmers in the C final.

The 2021 Big Ten Women’s Swimming & Diving Championships continue in Minnesota with the prelims of the 100 fly, 400 IM, and 200 free now in the books. The Ohio State Buckeyes look to maintain their lead from yesterday, however, the Michigan Wolverines will see some major finals points with 2 A-final swims in each individual event this session. Michigan has the most final swims this session with 13 total scoring swims, followed by Ohio State (12) and Indiana (8).

In the 100 fly, Michigan has the potential for a 1-2 finish, which is worth 60 points. Leading the way are junior Wolverines Maggie MacNeil (50.71) and Olivia Carter (51.44). The Iowa Hawkeyes also picked up #3 seed sophomore Mallory Jump (52.30) and #8 seed senior Kelsey Drake (53.21). Northwestern senior Maddie Smith, who broke out with sub-22 swim to place 3rd in the 50 free, qualified 4th in the 100 fly with a solid 52.43. She will be joined by junior teammate Miriam Guevara, who qualified 5th at 52.52.

The 400 IM is another big event for Michigan, with freshman Kathryn Ackerman swimming the lone sub-4:10 swim at 4:08.79 and junior Victoria Kwan qualifying 5th at 4:12.76. Ohio State will also see #3 seed Katherine Trace (4:11.91) and #6 Kristen Romano (4:13.23) in the 400 IM final tonight. The Indiana Hoosiers also have two of the top 4 seeds in the event, led by #2 seed senior Josephine Grote (4:11.70) and #4 seed junior Mac Looze (4:12.42). Sneaking in two swimmers for the long IM final tonight was Minnesota, featuring freshman Megan Van Berkom (4:13.66) and junior Kelli McCarthy (4:13.96).

Nebraska scored the top seed in the 200 free, with senior Autumn Haebig breaking 1:46 with a morning swim of 1:45.56. The Northwestern Wildcats also scored the #2 seed, sophomore Ally Larson (1:46.09), and the #8 seed, freshman Selena Ozbilen (1:46.89).

DAY 3 UPS/MIDS/DOWNS

Credit to Andrew Mering for running the numbers.

Day 3 SCORING BREAKDOWN

SCORED DAY 3 PRELIMS

1. Michigan, 248
2. Ohio State, 204.5
3. Indiana, 154
4. Northwestern, 131
5. Wisconsin, 92.5
6. Minnesota, 82
7. Iowa, 61
8. Nebraska, 43.5
9. Penn State, 29.5
10. Purdue/Illinois, 20

As a result, Michigan picked up the most day 3 projected points with 248, with Ohio State picking up 204.50 points and Indiana at 154 points. Northwestern’s big morning is worth 131 projected points. While Minnesota and Iowa picked up 2 A-final swims each, Minnesota’s 4 C-final swims in fact could boost their score and pass Iowa for 7th. Nebraska currently is running 6th in the team scores, yet Minnesota’s extra A-finalist over Nebraska could boost the Gophers two places.

Combining scored prelims and the current team scores, the entire top 5 remains unchanged, with Ohio State still leading over Michigan. While Indiana boosted from 8th to 3rd yesterday, they are now 142 points behind Michigan after the Wolverines’ solid morning session. The Minnesota Gophers are projected to jump Iowa and Nebraska for 6th place after picking up 82 potential points, which is 21 more points than Iowa and nearly half as many as Nebraska.

Keep in mind tonight there will be no relays, but there will still be the 3-meter diving final.

CURRENT TEAM SCORES + SCORED DAY 3 PRELIMS

1. Ohio State, 730.5
2. Michigan, 606.5
3. Indiana, 464.5
4. Northwestern, 389
5. Wisconsin, 329.5
6. Minnesota, 246
7. Iowa, 230
8. Nebraska, 227.5
9. Penn State, 178.5
10. Purdue, 140
11. Illinois, 113
12. Michigan State, 104
13. Rutgers, 30