Wyatt Davis Swims Three Season Bests as Michigan Downs Purdue in Men’s Dual

MICHIGAN vs PURDUE (MEN’S DUAL)

• Friday, November 4, 2022
• Canham Natatorium, Ann Arbor, MI
• SCY (25 yards)
• Results

TEAM SCORES

1. Michigan – 184.5
2. Purdue – 113.5

Michigan hosted Big Ten opponent Purdue for a men’s dual meet on Friday afternoon at Canham Natatorium, emerging victorious in a 184.5-113.5 decision.

One of the bright spots for Michigan yesterday was Wyatt Davis, who swam a trio of season bests. Individually, won the 100 back in 47.35, clipping his previous season best of 47.57, which he swam at the SMU Classic last month. Davis would then go on to swim a 47.36 to take the 100 fly. That time blew away Davis’ previous season best, which was a 48.31, also from the SMU Classic.

Davis led off Michigan’s 200 medley relay in 21.85, clipping his season best 50 back as well. Brendan Fitzpatrick provided a 24.93 breast split, Gal Groumi 21.14 fly, and Bence Szabados 19.13 free. The Wolverine’s ‘A’ team combined for a 1:27.05, beating Purdue by over a second.

Davis would cap off his day with a 43.86 split on the Michigan ‘B’ 400 free relay. Davis went second on the ‘B’ team, though his split made him the fourth-fastest Wolverine overall. Michigan’s ‘A’ team was made up of Szabados (43.98), Nikola Acin (43.83), Groumi (44.10), and Cam Peel (43.82), who combined for a 2:55.73.

Bence Szabados was another star for Michigan, helping the two relays to victory and winning the 50 free individually. Szabados exploded off the turn in the 50, tearing to victory in 19.64. It was a strong unsuited swim for Szabados, whose lifetime best stands at 19.25, a time which he swam at the 2022 Big Ten Championships.

The 100 free saw a thrilling race, as Purdue’s Brady Samuels went up against Michigan’s Nikola Acin. A fifth year, Acin completed his undergrad at Purdue, then came to Michigan for grad school. Samuels took the early lead, splitting 20.81 on the opening 50 to Acin’s 21.22. Acin closed the gap on the back half, but Samuels would hold on, finishing in 44.27, just ahead of Acin’s 44.38.

Purdue grabbed another win in the 200 free, where Nick Sherman used a phenomenal last 50 to overtake Michigan’s Eitan Ben-Shitrit. Ben-Shitrit opened up an early lead, splitting 47.80 on the opening 100, which was nearly a full second faster than Sherman. Sherman ate into that lead a bit on the third 50, but was still facing a deficit of over half a second heading into the final lap. On the last 50, Sherman poured it on, splitting 24.31 to Ben-Shitrit’s 25.01. In the end, Sherman clocked a 1:37.87, just 0.10 seconds ahead of Ben-Shitrit’s 1:37.97.

The Wolverines exhibited dominance in the 400 IM, earning the top 4 finishes in the race. They were led by Jared Daigle, posting a solid unsuited time of 3:52.33. Daigle was very good on the breast leg, where he split a 1:04.50, leading the field. Behind him, teammate Eitan Ben-Shitrit was second, swimming a 3:58.26. Michigan’s Logan Zucker was third with a 4:00.36, while fellow Wolverine Ansel Froass was the fourth-fastest, swimming a 4:01.94, but swam exhibition.

Daigle also won the 200 back, clocking a 1:46.78.

Michigan was also dominant in the 1000 free, seeing Eduardo Moraes take first in 9:17.59. Moraes led by a huge margin, with teammates Yugo Tsukikawa and Ryan Hume touching next, at 9:32.46 and 9:32.69 respectively. Moraes went on to win the 500 free as well, swimming a 4:28.06.

Coleman Modglin picked up a win for Purdue in the 100 breast, swimming a 55.09. He was out the fastest of anyone in the field, using that early speed to propel himself to victory.

In Purdue’s best finish of the day, Skyler Younkin pulled away from the field, swimming a 1:48.88 to win the 200 fly decisively. It was a 1-2 finish for the Boilermakers, as Liam Walker swam a 1:50.53 for second.