Burns Wins 3 Events as Indiana Sweeps Michigan; Women’s Meet Comes Down to the Wire

MICHIGAN vs INDIANA

• Friday, January 19, 2024
• Canham Natatorium, Ann Arbor, MI
• SCY (25 yards)
• RESULTS

TEAM SCORES

MEN

1. Indiana – 182
2. Michigan – 118

WOMEN

1. Indiana – 152
2. Michigan – 148

Michigan hosted Indiana for a Big Ten dual meet on Friday, kicking off a big weekend for the Wolverines. Following their meet against the Hoosiers, Michigan packed up to head down to Columbus for a meet against Ohio State on Saturday, making it a big weekend of Big Ten swimming. Indiana won the men’s meet handily, while the women’s meet was competitive from start to finish and came down to the final event. Also, for the record, this meet was not suited.

Let’s start with that final event: the women’s 400 free relay. Michigan entered the race with a lead in the team standings but the winner of the relay would determine the winner of the meet. Anna Peplowski, who had a big day for Indiana, led the Hoosiers relay off in 49.01, establishing a small lead over Michigan’s Lindsay Flynn, who led off in 49.68. The middle of the race is where Indiana really took over, seeing Ashley Turak and Kristina Paegle split 48.90 and 48.29 respectively, both of which were better than Michigan’s Claire Newman (49.14) and Katie Crom (49.90). Holding a 2.5 second lead going into the anchor leg, the race was Indiana’s to lose. Still, Michigan’s Stephanie Balduccini made up a ton of ground, flying home in 48.67 for the Wolverines, while Indiana’s Ella Ristic anchored in 50.48. In the end, Indiana finished in 3:16.68, with Michigan not far behind, touching in 3:17.39.

That relay featured some of the stars of the women’s meet. IU’s Anna Peplowski swam a loaded schedule, racing the women’s 200 free, 200 back, 500 free, and the 400 free relay at the end. The defending Big Ten champion in the 200 free, Peplowski got out to a roaring start, swimming a 1:45.14 to win the event on Friday. She actually recorded the fastest split in the field on all 4 50s of the race, splitting 24.61, 26.48, 26.79, and 27.26 respectively.

Peplowski would then go on to win the women’s 200 back in 1:56.46, going out in 56.47 and coming home in 59.99. With only the men’s 200 back and the 200 breasts after her 200 back, Peplowski was then back in action in the women’s 500 free. She got out to the early lead and led the race through the 300, however, after the 300, her Indiana teammate, Ching Gan, took over the lead. That would end up being short-lived, however, as Michigan’s Katie Crom put together an incredible final 100 to win the race from behind. Crom came roaring home in 54.50 on the last 100 of the race, chasing down both Gan and Peplowski and managing to get her hand on the wall first. Crom won in 4:47.73, just ahead of Gan, who came in 2nd with a 4:47.97, while Peplowski was 3rd in 4:48.70.

Earlier in the meet, Gan dominated the women’s 1000 free, winning in 9:47.37. She won the race by well over 7 seconds.

Michigan freshman Stephanie Balduccini was excellent in the women’s 100 free, winning the race in 48.49, pulling away from Indiana’s Kristina Paegle (48.96) on the final 50. Paegle had won the women’s 50 free before the first break with a 22.46. Balduccini would also go on to win the women’s 200 IM towards the end of the meet, swimming a 2:00.70.

The men’s meet was a bit more of a lopsided affair in terms of the team scoring but there was still plenty of great swims out of both teams. Indiana fifth year Brendan Burns had a big day, sweeping the men’s backstroke events. He took the men’s 100 back in 46.83, beating out Michigan’s Jack Wilkening (47.28). It was a great race, as Wilkening led Burns through the 75 turn but Burns, who arguably has the best underwaters in the NCAA currently, went to 15-meters off the final turn and broke out with a body-length lead on Wilkening with less than 10 yards to go.

The pair would rematch later in the 200 back, where Burns won more handily that time, swimming a 1:43.99 to Wilkening’s 1:46.99. Burns swam an incredibly consistent race, splitting 24.68 on the opening 50, then went 26.43, 26.47, and 26.41 respectively the rest of the way.

Burns also won the men’s 200 fly, swimming a 1:44.37. While that’s not a huge time for Burns or anything like that, it’s still very impressive he was able to go that fast so soon after racing the 100 back. Between his 100 back and 200 fly, Burns only had the women’s and men’s 100 breasts and the women’s 200 fly.

Indiana’s Jassen Yep had a big day as well, sweeping the men’s breaststroke events. Yep took the men’s 100 breast in 53.91, going out in 25.56 and coming home in 28.35, both of which were the fastest split int he field on their respective laps. He would then go on to win the 200 breast in 1:58.19.

Michigan had their biggest event of the day, from a team score perspective, in the men’s 500 free, where they went 1-2-3. Connor Hunt won the race in 4:30.07, with teammate Jack Luken taking 2nd in 4:33.20, and Ryan Healy coming in 3rd at 4:34.96. Hunt also won the men’s 1000 free earlier in the meet with a 9:15.89.

OTHER EVENT WINNERS

• Women’s 200 medley relay: Michigan (Chung, Kan, Kendall, Flynn) – 1:38.35
• Men’s 200 medley relay: Indiana (Burns, Brooks, Frankel, Lee) – 1:25.86
• Men’s 200 free: Rafael Miroslaw (IU) – 1:34.60
• Women’s 100 back: Casey Chung (MICH) – 54.07
• Women’s 100 breast: Brearna Crawford (IU) – 1:02.16
• Women’s 200 fly: Hannah Bellard (MICH) – 1:58.84
• Men’s 50 free: Bence Szabados (MICH) – 19.73
• Men’s 100 free: Mikkel Lee (IU) – 43.52
• Women’s 200 breast: Brearna Crawford (IU) – 2:14.91
• Women’s 100 fly: Brady Kendall (MICH) – 53.25
• Men’s 100 fly: Tyler Ray (MICH) – 46.60
• Men’s 200 IM: Luke Barr (IU) – 1:46.62
• Men’s 400 free relay: Indiana (Frankel, Miroslaw, Wight, Lee) – 2:53.92