2023 Men’s Big Tens Fan Guide: Indiana Primed to Repeat as Champions

2023 MEN’S BIG TEN SWIMMING & DIVING CHAMPIONSHIPS 

• Wednesday, February 22 – Saturday, February 25, 2023
• Canham Natatorium, Ann Arbor, MI
• Defending Champions:
  • Men: Indiana (1x)
• Live Results
• Live Video
• Championship Central
• Fan Guide

EVENT SCHEDULE

WEDNESDAY – 2/22

• 200 medley relay
• 800 free relay

THURSDAY – 2/23

• 200 IM
• 50 freestyle
• 500 freestyle
• 400 medley relay

FRIDAY – 2/24

• 100 butterfly
• 400 IM
• 200 freestyle
• 100 breaststroke
• 100 backstroke
• 200 freestyle relay

SATURDAY – 2/25

• 200 backstroke
• 100 freestyle
• 200 breaststroke
• 200 butterfly
• 1650 freestyle (timed finals)
• 400 freestyle relay

2022 REVIEW

2022 FINAL STANDINGS

1. Indiana – 1499.5
2. Ohio State – 1406.5
3. Michigan – 1056.5
4. Wisconsin – 869.5
5. Purdue – 821
6. Northwestern – 796
7. Minnesota – 637
8. Penn State – 626

Indiana won the men’s Big Ten title last year by 93 points over Ohio State. Defending champion Michigan came in third, 350 points behind Ohio State. Wisconsin, Purdue, and Northwestern were tightly packed in the middle of the standings, while Minnesota and Penn State had a close finish in seventh and eighth respectively.

SWIMMERS TO WATCH

Indiana: Brendan Burns (Sr. – Fly/Back), Tomer Frankel (Jr. – Free/Fly), Rafael Miroslaw (So. – Free), Andrew Capobianco (5th – Diving), Josh Matheny (So. – Breast)

Brendan Burns was the swimmer of the meet last year, winning the 100 back, 200 back, and 200 fly. Burns also helped two relays to victory. He’s a versatile swimmer who could excel in a number of events, but it seems like he’ll stick with his lineup from last year.

Andrew Capobianco is back for his final year with the Hoosiers. The Diver of the Meet last year, Capobianco swept the diving events. Perhaps the top diver in the NCAA this season, Capo will be looking to repeat his sweep from last year.

Last year Tomer Frankel had a great meet as well, taking second in both the 100 fly and 200 free. He also finished eighth in the 200 fly.

As a freshman, Rafael Miroslaw was one of Indiana’s highest scorers last year. He won the 200 free, also finishing fourth in the 100 free and 14th in the 50 free. He also competed on four relays for the Hoosiers.

Josh Matheny was another freshman who showed up big for the Hoosiers last year. The breaststroke specialist came in second in the 200 breast and third in the 100 breast. He posted a Big Ten-leading 1:51.68 in the 200 breast at mid-season.

Michigan: Gal Groumi (So. – Fly/IM), Nikola Acin (5th – Free), Wyatt Davis (Jr. – Back), Jared Daigle (5th – IM/Back), Bence Szabados (Jr. – Free/Fly)

The Wolverines have two key swimmers to rely on this year that they didn’t last year. One, Wyatt Davis, isn’t new to the team, rather he’s in his third season at Michigan. Davis didn’t compete at Big Tens last year, however, as he went home in the winter semester and trained at his home club team Carmel Swim Club. The top backstroker on the roster, Davis is currently the second-fastest 100 backstroker in the conference so far this season. As a freshman at the 2021 Big Ten Championships, Davis finished second in the 200 back, fourth in the 100 back, and sixth in the 200 free.

The other addition is 5th year transfer Nikola Acin, who spent his four years of undergrad at Purdue. Acin finished sixth in the 100 free at last year’s Big Tens after posting a second-place finish in the event in 2021. He was also a 50 free ‘A’ finalist in 2021, then won the ‘B’ final of the 50 last year.

Michigan sophomore Gal Groumi won the 200 IM last year as a freshman, also posting a second-place finish in the 200 fly and third in the 100 fly. Groumi currently leads the conference in the 200 fly this season.

Fifth-year Jared Daigle was one of Michigan’s top scorers last year, winning the 400 IM, finishing third in the 200 IM, and taking seventh in the 200 back.

Bence Szabados came in sixth in the 50 free last year, also swimming in the ‘B’ final of the 100 free and 100 fly.

Minnesota: Max McHugh (5th – Breast), Desmon Sachten (Sr. – Back), Bar Soloveychik (So. – Free), Kaiser Neverman (Jr. – Free/Fly/IM)

Max McHugh has returned to Minnesota for his final season with the Golden Gophers. McHugh has been the top breaststroker in the Big Ten for the last few years, having swept the breaststroke events the last two years at Big Tens.

Bar Soloveychik was awesome for Minnesota last year as a freshman, taking fourth in the 500 free, fifth in the 200 free, and eighth in the 1650 free. He currently leads the Big Ten in the 500 free this season heading into the championships.

Desmon Sachtjen made the ‘A’ final in the 100 back last year, also earning ‘B’ finals appearances in the 200 IM and 200 back.

Kaiser Neverman was a ‘B’ finalist for the Golden Gophers in the 200 IM and 200 fly last year, also scoring in the 100 fly.

Northwestern: Kevin Houseman (Sr. – Breast), Tyler Lu (So. – IM/Back), Marcus Mok (Sr. – Breast/IM), Connor Morikawa (So. – Breast/IM)

Northwestern’s Kevin Houseman is looking to lead his team into these Big Ten Championships. Last year, Houseman took second in the 100 breast and won the ‘B’ final of the 200 breast. He’s currently ranked second this season within the Big Ten in the 100 breast.

Tyler Lu had a terrific freshman season for the Wildcats last year and will be looking to build on that this year. Lu competed in the ‘B’ final of the 200 IM, 400 IM, and 200 back last year.

Marcus Mok had a good meet for Northwestern last year as well. He came in sixth in the 200 breast, also taking tenth in the 100 breast and winning the ‘C’ final of the 200 IM. Mok is again ranked highly in the conference in the 200 breast this year.

Similarly, Connor Morikawa took seventh in the 200 breast last year and made the ‘B’ final of the 100 breast.

Ohio State: Alex Quach (So. – Free/Fly), Ruslan Gaziev (Gr. – Free/Fly), Charlie Clark (Jr. – Free), Fabio Dalu (Sr. – Free/IM), Jacob Fielding (5th – Diving)

Ohio State’s Alex Quach is one of the top swimmers in the conference currently. As a freshman last year, he won the 100 fly, also finishing second in the 200 IM and third in the 200 fly.

Charlie Clark and Fabio Dalu make for a fantastic distance duo as well. Last year, Clark came in third in the 500, while Dalu won the ‘B’ final. Clark also went on to win the 1650 free in pool record fashion, while Dalu came in fifth. Dalu also posted a fifth-place finish in the 400 IM and Clark was a ‘C’ finalist in the 200 free.

Jacob Fielding, one of the top divers in the conference, returns this year for his fifth year. Fielding came in fourth in platform, fifth in 1-meter, and eighth in 3-meter last year.

Ruslan Gaziev is also a key contributor for the Buckeyes. Last year, he swam to a second-place finish in the 100 free and fourth in the 200 free. He also was a ‘B’ finalist in the 50 free.

Penn State: Victor Baganha (So. – Free/Fly), William Lulek (5th – IM), Daniel Raisanen (Sr. – Breast/Fly), Eduardo Cisternas (Fr. – Free)

Victor Baganha was exceptional in his freshman season with the Nittany Lions. In his first Big Tens last year, Baganha finished third in the 50 free, fifth in the 100 fly, and eighth in the 100 free. Entering the meet, Baganha is second in the conference in the 50 free this year, second in the 100 fly, and fourth in the 100 free, setting him up for a huge meet.

William Lulek was a ‘B’ finalist in the 400 IM and 200 breast last year, also earning a ‘C’ finals spot in the 200 IM.

Daniel Raisanen posted a fifth-place finish in the 100 breast last year. He also came in fourth in the 200 breast, making him one of the top breaststrokers in the meet.

Penn State also has a standout freshman in Eduardo Cisternas. He comes into his first Big Tens with the sixth-fastest 500 free in the conference this season, also having posted a top ten time in the 1650 free.

Purdue: Brady Samuels (So. – Fly/Back/Free), Nick Sherman (5th – Free/Breast/IM), Jordan Rzepka (So. – Diving), Idris Muhammad (So. – Free/back)

The Boilermakers benefit from bringing back their two highest-scoring swimmers from last year’s meet. Brady Samuels, who was a freshman last year, placed fifth in the 100 free and seventh in the 100 fly. He also earned a ‘B’ finals appearance in the 50 free. Nick Sherman, who is returning this season for a fifth year, came in seventh in the 200 free. Sherman also won the ‘B’ final of the 200 IM and won the ‘C’ final of the 100 free last year.

Purdue also sees sophomore diver Jordan Rzepka, one of the top divers at last year’s meet, return to the team. Rzepka posted a second-place finish in platform and 3-meter last year. He also won the ‘B’ final of 1-meter.

Boilermaker sophomore Idris Muhammad comes into this meet as the seventh-ranked 50 freestyler in the conference this season.

Wisconsin: Jake Newmark (Jr – Free/Back/Fly), Yigit Aslan (Fr. – Free), Wesley Jekel (Free/Back/Fly), Andrew Benson (Jr. – Free/Fly/Breast/IM)

Wisconsin star Jake Newmark was one of the highest scoring swimmers in the meet last year. Newmark kicked off his 2022 Big Tens by winning the 500 free. He then went on to finish third in the 200 free, then finished his meet off with a second-place finish in the 200 back.

Another star badger freestyler, Yigit Aslan, is primed for a huge meet as well. Aslan was fantastic as a freshman last year, coming in third in the 1650, fifth in the 500 free, and tenth in the 200 free.

Wesley Jekel was one of the top backstrokers in the meet last year, swimming to a fourth-place finish in the 200 back and fifth in the 100 back. Jekel also clocked a fourth-place finish in the 200 IM.

Andrew Benson missed last year’s Big Tens due to injury and is looking to make an impact in his return this year. Benson won the ‘B’ final of the 100 breast and 100 free as a freshman in 2021. He enters this meet as the seventh-fastest 100 freestyler in the Big Ten this season.

SHOWDOWNS

500 Free

Wisconsin’s Jake Newmark won the Big Ten title in the 500 last year with a 4:12.43, touching out Michigan’s Jake Mitchell. Importantly, Mitchell is no longer at Michigan after transferring following last season. Despite that, this should still be a great race, as Ohio State’s Charlie Clark came in third last year at 4:13.77 and Minnesota’s Bar Soloveychik came in fourth at 4:13.85. Also of note, Wisconsin’s Yigit Aslan came in fifth with a 4:15.20 last year as just a freshman, so we can expect some improvement on that this year.

Soloveychik is the top seed coming into the meet, having swum a 4:15.66 at mid-season.

50 Free

The top two finishers at last year’s meet, Ohio State’s Hunter Armstong and Sem Andreis, did not return to the Buckeyes this season, leaving the field wide open. That makes the fastest returner from last year Penn State’s Victor Baganha, who came in third last year with a 19.18.

The top seed coming into the meet is Michigan’s Bence Szabados, who swam a 19.36 at mid-season, which is 0.02 seconds faster than Baganha’s season best. Baganha is tied for second with Indiana’s Van Mathias, though it’s unclear wheter Mathias will race the 50 this week.

200 Breast

Last year, Minnesota superstar Max McHugh won the 200 breast with a Big Ten meet record of 1:49.45. He beat out Indiana freshman Josh Matheny, who came in second with a 1:50.65. Now a sophomore, Matheny leads the conference this season coming into the meet, having swum a 1:51.68 at mid-season.

We usually expect improvement from freshman to sophomore year, so Matheny and McHugh should be set for an awesome battle in the 200 breast this year.

SWIMSWAM PICKS

1. Indiana
2. Ohio State
3. Michigan
4. Wisconsin
5. Purdue
6. Penn State
7. Northwestern
8. Minnesota

Indiana is looking very good to win the men’s Big Ten title for the second year in a row. They managed to maintain a huge portion of their top scorers from last year and have brought in a good freshman class.

Meanwhile, Ohio State is facing a number of key losses from last year, including most notably Hunter Armstrong, Sem Andreis, and Jacob Siler, who combined for 211 individual points last year. Despite the losses, we still like the Buckeyes for second this year.

While we believe Michigan is primed to surpass their score from last year, the gap between them and Ohio State was 350 points last year. That being said, Michigan also lost some of their top contributors from last year in Patrick Callan, Will Chan, and Jake Mitchell. The Wolverines, however, benefit greatly from the return of Wyatt Davis, who didn’t compete in this meet last year, and the transfer of Nikola Acin, which should go a long way to mitigate those losses from last year’s team. Michigan also has a very large freshmen class and after we saw the Wolverine freshmen perform exceptionally well at women’s Big Tens last week, we can expect the Michigan freshmen to make a statement this week as well.

Given all that, we think the battle for second between Ohio State and Michigan will probably be more closely contested than the battle for first with Indiana.