The Jean K. Freeman Aquatic Center will host the first stop on 2015-16 Arena Pro Swim Series from Thursday, Nov. 12 to Saturday, Nov. 14. The meet will be contested in long course meters, which will give the Gophers the chance to grab more Olympic Trials qualifying times. The three-day meet will boast more than 600 swimmers including Olympic Champions Missy Franklin, Katie Ledecke, Ryan Lochte and Michael Phelps.
“Having a meet like this in our pool against really fast competition is an exciting opportunity,” head coach Kelly Kremer said. “We’ll be able to see where we are at with the rest of the country.”
Along with Gophers from the 2015-16 roster, alums Josh Hall, Christine Jennings, Kiera Janzen, David Plummer, Haley Spencer and Derek Toomey are set to race. Plummer recently represented Team USA at the FINA Swimming World Cup in Tokyo, Doha and Dubai where he collected six medals–including three gold.
Reigning NCAA Champion in the 200-yard breaststroke, Kierra Smith, will also compete. Smith has been taking the collegiate season off to train exclusively in hopes of making Canada’s Olympic Team. She is scheduled to return for her senior year next fall. Similarly, Logan Redondo, who’s taking the year off to train in Mission Viejo, California is back in Minneapolis this week.
UP NEXT FOR MINNESOTA DIVING
The Gophers’ diving squad will head to Atlanta, Georgia for the Georgia Tech Diving Invite next week. The meet will run from Thursday, Nov. 19 to Saturday, Nov. 21, with 1-meter, 3-meter and platform diving set to be contested. The team has strong depth; including standouts Yu Zhou and Matt Barnard that have each been named Big Ten Divers of the Week four times this season.
Live stats, tickets and more: http://z.umn.edu/gsd111115
Swimming news courtesy of Minnesota Swimming & Diving.
