Michigan and Ohio State Men Go Down to Wire, Buckeye Women Win First Meet in Ann Arbor

MICHIGAN vs OHIO STATE

• Saturday, January 21, 2023
• Canham Natatorium, Ann Arbor, MI
• SCY (25 yards)
• Results

TEAM SCORES

MEN

1. Ohio State – 151.5
2. Michigan – 148.5

WOMEN

1. Ohio State – 186.5
2. Michigan – 113.5

Michigan hosted Ohio State for a Big Ten dual meet on Saturday. A week after falling to Indiana in lopsided fashion on the road, the Wolverines performed much better against the Buckeyes, though they still ended up on the losing side in both the men’s and the women’s meet. For its part, the men’s meet was a thriller, coming down to the final race.

It was the first time the Ohio State men have beat Michigan on the road since 1951 and the first time the Buckeye women have ever won in Ann Arbor.

MEN’S RECAP:

Michigan fell behind early but battled back, setting the stage for a final showdown in the 400 free relay. In order to win the meet, the Wolverines needed to win the event and take third with their ‘B’ relay. They accomplished the first task, winning the event with their ‘A’ team, but their ‘B’ squad ended up finishing fourth, about 1.5 seconds behind Ohio State’s ‘B” team.

On the winning relay, Michigan’s Bence Szabados (43.90), Nikola Acin (43.20), Wyatt Davis (43.54), and Cam Peel (43.58) combined for a 2:54.06. OSU got out to the early lead thanks to a 43.44 lead-off from Alex Quach, but they slowly lost the lead as the race progressed. In the end, the Buckeyes ‘B’ team finished in 2:54.67.

Though Michigan lost the meet, it was a much more positive showing than they had the previous weekend against Indiana. On the the other hand, this was a huge win for the Ohio State men’s program, which has historically fallen short to the Wolverines. With this loss, Michigan’s men’s team is now 73-13-2 all-time against the Buckeyes.

Alex Quach was a force to be reckoned with for Ohio State. Not only was the Australian native excellent on the relays, Quach also won both his individual events (sort of). The caveat there is that Quach tied for first in the men’s 100 back, swimming a 47.34. Michigan’s Wyatt Davis also clocked in at 47.34, making the tie. Davis was out a hair faster than Quach, 22.79 to 22.99 on the first 50, then Quach inched back into it on the final 50.

Quach then went on to win the 100 fly in 46.59, touching first by a convincing 0.65-second margin. He also helped Ohio State’s 200 medley relay to victory, leading the team off in 21.73. Pete Krusinski went second in 24.55, then James Ward was 20.65 on fly, and Ruslan Gaziev anchored in 19.11 to seal the victory in 1:26.04. The Buckeyes were trailing Michigan (1:26.38) until Gaziev’s anchor leg.

For his part, Gaziev won the 100 free, posting a 43.58 to touch as the only swimmer in the field under 44 seconds. He swam an incredibly tight race, going 21.48 on the first 50 and coming home in 22.10. Gaziev also won the 200 free, where he swam a 1:36.37. Again, in that race, Gaziev pulled away from the field on the back half of the race.

Michigan’s Cam Peel and Bence Szabados were able to get the better of Gaziev in the 50 free, however. Peel won the race in 19.84, just ahead of Szabados’ 19.86. Gaziev was third at 20.02.

One of the top distance swimmers in the NCAA, Ohio State’s Charlie Clark was in charge at this meet, sweeping the men’s distance events. He kicked things off with a very solid dual swim of 8:58.07 in the 1000 free, finishing 15 seconds ahead of the next-fastest swimmer. Clark also negative split the race, going 4:29.56 on the first 500, then coming home in 4:28.51. He went on to win the 500 free in 4:24.46, again winning the race in convincing fashion.

On Michigan’s senior day, fifth year Jared Daigle managed to pull out the win in the 200 IM, clocking a 1:47.09. Daigle was right in the thick of it at the halfway point, but a field-leading 30.71 breast split gave him the lead, which he maintained through the free leg.

OTHER EVENT WINNERS

• 100 breast: Brendan Fitzpatrick (Michigan) – 54.71
• 200 fly: Chachi Gustafson (Ohio State) – 1:46.75
• 200 back: Thomas Watkins (Ohio State) – 1:43.94
• 200 breast: Ansel Froass (Michigan) – 1:59.87

DIVING WINNERS

• 1-meter: Clay Chaplin (Ohio State) – 351.90
• 3-meter: Cameron Gammage (Michigan) – 385.50

WOMEN’S RECAP

The women’s meet was a bit more of a lopsided affair, seeing Ohio State win by a 73-point margin. The win is a huge one for the Buckeyes, as Michigan had dominated this rivalry until recent years. The Wolverines had beaten Ohio State for six straight years (2014-2020) before the Buckeyes started to gain momentum in the last few seasons. The rousing win here certainly has implications for the Big Ten Championships next month, which notably are being held at Michigan.

Ohio State’s Felicia Pasadyn, who is in her first season with the Buckeyes following a stint at Harvard, was a double event winner. She first won the 200 fly, clocking a 1:58.84. She got out to the early lead, then expanded that lead on the third 50 before dying a bit on the final 50. Michigan’s Katie Crom was coming on strong at the end, but barely ran out of pool, touching second in 1:58.96, just 0.12 seconds behind Pasadyn.

Pasadyn then went on to win the 200 back in 1:57.48, again getting out to an early lead. This time around, she actually pulled away from the field on the final 50, ending up touching the wall first by over a second.

Ohio State’s Katherine Zenick swam a 53.36 to win the 100 fly resoundingly, touching first by nearly a full second.

Michigan wasn’t without its bright spots, however. In fact, the star of the women’s meet may have been Michigan sophomore Letitia Sim, who won three individual events on the day. Sim swept the breaststroke events, which is particularly notable as she was going up against Ohio State’s stellar breaststroke group, which includes Hannah Bach and Josie Panitz. In the 100 breast, Sim swam a 1:00.41, touching out Panitz, who was second in 1:00.78. The pair were separated by just 0.03 seconds at the 50 mark, but Sim was able to come home a bit faster than Panitz, earning her the win.

In the 200 breast, Sim again got the better of Panitz, clocking a 2:11.47 for the win. This time around, Sim had built an early lead on the front half of the race, then Panitz closed the gap on the third 50, and Sim was able to pull away again on the final lap. Panitz was second with a 2:12.11.

Sim then went on to win the 200 IM, finishing in 1:59.73. She took the race over on the breast leg, where she split a 33.63, putting her in the lead.

In another huge swim for the Wolverines, Lindsay Flynn got the win in the 50 free, touching in 22.46 to beat out a trio of Buckeyes. Flynn would then go on to beat Ohio State’s Amy Fulmer head-to-head in the 100 free, posting a 48.95. She beat Fulmer (49.47) handily, out-splitting her on both 50s.

Fulmer had previously won the 200 free earlier in the meet. She swam a 1:48.04, touching out Michigan’s Christey Liang (1:48.25). Fulmer built an early lead, flipping 1.02 seconds ahead of Liang at the 100 mark, and was able to hold on to her lead as Liang closed on the back half.

The Buckeyes closed out the meet with a fantastic performance in the 400 free relay. Katherine Zenick (49.24), Tristan Harrison (50.25), Teresa Ivan (48.85), and Amy Fulmer (48.80) combined for a 3:17.14, beating Michigan by well over a second.

OTHER EVENT WINNERS

• 1000 free: Maya Geringer (Ohio State) – 9:54.12
• 500 free: Gwen Woodbury (Ohio State) – 4:54.41
• 100 back: Tristan Harrison (Ohio State) – 54.42
• 200 medley relay: Ohio State (Funderburke, Panitz, Zenick, Fulmer) – 1:38.81

DIVING WINNERS

• 1-meter: Lena Hentschel (Ohio State) – 302.40
• 3-meter: Lena Hentschel (Ohio State) – 353.48