New Coach, No Problem: Minnesota’s Bar Soloveychik Cracks Program Record with 8:52.95 1000

2024 PURDUE QUAD MEET

• Friday-Saturday, February 2-3, 2024
• Morgan J. Burke Aquatic Center, West Lafayette, IN
• SCY (25 Yards)
• Live Results
• DAY 1 RESULTS (FRIDAY)

TEAM SCORES (THRU DAY 1)

MEN

• Minnesota – 104 | Purdue – 101
• Minnesota – 114 | Northwestern – 91
• Purdue – 117 | Northwestern – 91

WOMEN

• Minnesota – 150 | Iowa – 55
• Minnesota – 139 | Northwestern
• Minnesota – 121 – Purdue – 84
• Purdue – 122 | Northwestern – 50
• Purdue – 143 | Iowa – 62
• Northwestern – 105 | Iowa – 97

Purdue is hosting a Big Ten quad meet featuring Minnesota, Northwestern, and Iowa this weekend at the Morgan J. Burke Aquatic Center. Of course, Iowa only has a women’s team since the elimination of the men’s program a few years ago, so there are only 3 teams competing on the men’s side. Of note, the women’s Big Ten Championship will be held at the Morgan J. Burke Aquatic Center in 19 days from now.

Following the first day of the two-day competition, Minnesota is leading in all 5 of their meets. The Golden Gopher women hold very healthy leads against their opponents, while the Minnesota men are locked in tight battles with Northwestern and especially Purdue.

It was a great day for Minnesota, in particular the Minnesota distance crew. Despite the retirement of renowned distance swimmer and coach Jeff Kostoff this past summer, the Minnesota D group appears to be alive and well. Tonight, their efforts were highlighted by junior Bar Soloveychik‘s massive performance in the men’s 1000 free. Soloveychik cracked his own Minnesota program record in the event, clocking an 8:52.95. That time bettered his previous Minnesota record mark of 8:54.69, which he coincidentally swam at this same meet last year.

While Soloveychik broke the Minnesota team record, he didn’t actually win the men’s 1000 free tonight. It was Northwestern’s Andrew Martin who took the event, clocking a new personal best of 8:52.28. Martin, a grad student who spent his undergrad at Xavier, had just clocked his previous best time of 8:53.07 about 2 weeks ago in a dual meet against Wisconsin. He’s currently #2 all-time for the Wildcats. Moreover, Martin and Soloveychik now hold the #1 and #2 times in the Big Ten this season as we’re now just weeks away from the Big Ten Championships.

Prior to Soloveychik’s swim in the men’s 1000, Eliot Kennedy and Katie McCarthy got the ball rolling for the Minnesota distance group in the women’s 1000 free. Kennedy won the race in dominant fashion, ripping a new personal best of 9:40.52 to finish first by over 17 seconds. It was a massive performance for the junior, whose previous best in the event was 9:49.96 and was set at this same quad meet last year. With the performance, Kennedy now jumps to #6 all-time in Golden Gopher history in the event. McCarthy came in 2nd in the race, swimming a 9:57.99.

Soloveychik wasn’t the only swimmer to break a school record tonight, however. Purdue’s own Maggie Love got in on the action, popping a new personal best of 1:58.68 in the women’s 200 IM. That time dipped under the previous Purdue record, which was held by Emily Fogle at 1:58.94. Fogle set that record back in 2012, which made it Purdue’s longest-standing record on the books. Love’s record also marks the first Purdue women’s program record to be broken in an individual event since the fall of 2019.

Funnily enough, just like Soloveychik in the 1000, though Love broke her school record with her swim, she didn’t win the race. Minnesota star Megan Van Berkom just got the better of her, taking the race in 1:58.02. It was an exceptionally close race, seeing the pair separated by just 0.03 seconds at the 100-yard mark and 0.08 seconds at the 150 mark. Van Berkom had just a bit more closing speed, however, putting up a very quick 27.51 on the final 50, which was enough to build a bit of a gap between she and Love.

Van Berkom did her thing tonight, also winning the women’s 200 fly. She swam a 1:56.77, winning the race by nearly 3 seconds.

Northwestern grad student Ayla Spitz, formerly a Cal Golden Bear, won the women’s 200 free decisively, clocking a 1:44.96.

Like Van Berkom, Northwestern’s Tyler Lu was another double winner on the night, taking the men’s 100 breast and 200 IM. in the 100 breast, Lu posted a 53.66 after getting out to a very speedy start with a 24.93 on the opening 50. He then went on to claim victory in the men’s 200 IM, swimming a 1:46.78. While his breaststroke split of 30.60 was very good, it was his free, which came in at a blistering 23.81, that propelled him into the lead as he tore to the finish.

Purdue’s Brady Samuels picked off a pair of events as well. Samuels kicked things off with a 1:35.90 to win the men’s 200 free, getting out to a big early lead thanks to a 45.95 on the opening 100. Samuels, who is a pretty versatile sprinter, then went on to win the men’s 50 free in 19.99, leading a 1-2 punch by the Boilermakers in which Idris Muhammad came in 2nd with a 20.06.

OTHER EVENT WINNERS

• Women’s 1m diving: Sophia McAfee (Purdue) – 298.10
• Women’s 3m diving: Sophia McAfee (Purdue) – 349.05
• Men’s 1m diving: YuTong Wang (Minnesota) – 356.05
• Men’s 3m diving: Max Miller (Purdue) – 394.15
• Women’s 200 medley relay: Minnesota (Rodriguez Rivero, Goodno, Thomas, Cornish) – 1:38.60
• Men’s 200 medley relay: Purdue (Samuels, Witty, King, Muhammad) – 1:24.98
• Women’s 800 free relay: Minnesota (Thomas, M. Kaljevic, A. Kaljvic, Van Berkom) – 7:11.61
• Men’s 800 free relay: Minnesota (Neverman, Soloveychik, Hansen, Hernandez Garcia) – 6:28.17
• Women’s 100 back: Paula Rodriguez Rivero (Minnesota) – 52.88
• Men’s 100 back: Maria Harabagiu Davide (Purdue) – 47.06
• Women’s 100 breast: Olivia Swalley (Iowa) – 1:01.02
• Men’s 200 fly: Kaiser Neverman (Minnesota) – 1:42.66
• Women’s 50 free: Lindsay Ervin (Northwestern) – 22.70