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Michigan Off to Strong Start at Big Ten Swimming and Diving Championships
Feb. 23, 2011
Michigan surged to an early lead after the first day of competition at the Big Ten Championships at the University Aquatic Center in Minneapolis, Minn. The ninth-ranked Wolverines swept both relay events for the second consecutive year to earn all 80 points. Defending champion Ohio State finished the day in second place with 68 team tallies, followed by Minnesota with 60 points. Indiana sits a mere two points back in fourth place while Penn State (55) rounds out the top five contenders. Michigan began the night in the 200-yard medley relay, touching the wall in 1:25.39, setting a NCAA consideration and improving on their third-place performance from the 2010 championships. In the second and final relay of the evening, Michigan continued their dominance in the 800-yard freestyle relay, capturing its 11th consecutive Big Ten title in the event with a time of 6:20.11. The Michigan quartet of junior Dan Madwed,sophomore Hassaan Abdel Khalik and freshmen Connor Jaeger and Kyle Whitakergarnered its second NCAA automatic qualifying time. The Big Ten Championships will continue Thursday, with preliminaries beginning at 11 a.m. CT and finals slated for 6:30 p.m. Thursday's schedule features finals in the 500-yard freestyle, 200-yard individual medley, 50-yard freestyle, one-meter diving and 400-yard medley relay.
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