Van Mathias Blasts 22.97 50 BR Split As Indiana Downs Cincinnati

Indiana vs. Cincinnati

• December 2, 2022
• Counsilman-Billingsley Aquatics Center, Bloomington, IN
• SCY (25 yards)
• Results
• Final Scores (Exhibtion swims on Indiana’s side):
  • Men: Indiana def. Cincinnati 163-121
  • Women: Indiana def. Cincinnati 161-110

The Indiana Hoosiers hosted the Cincinnati Bearcats this afternoon. Indiana decisively won on both sides of the meet despite having an unusual lineup and entering exhibition swims at the end.

The #6-ranked Indiana men are now 4-1 for their season dual meet record, while the Cincinnati men move to 1-3. The #9-ranked Indiana women also improved their record to 4-1, and the Bearcat women now stand at 1-3.

Men’s Meet

The Indiana men opened the meet with a dominating performance in the 200 medley relay, taking the top two spots. The ‘A’ team of Brendan Burns (21.79), Van Mathias (22.97), Tomer Frankel (20.25), and Jack Franzman (19.44) finished first with a time of 1:24.45.

Mathias’ breaststroke split is about half a second faster than he was at the Ohio State Invite (23.49) two weeks ago, and puts him behind only Minnesota’s Max McHugh and Auburn’s Reid Mikuta so far this season. Josh Matheny was the breaststroke leg on the 200 medley relays last season at Big Tens and NCAAs, with his best split being a 23.43. If Mathias continues to be the breaststroker on this relay and replicate the split, Indiana could potentially move into the top five teams in the country in this event.

Mathias also posted a personal best time by more than two seconds to win the 100 breast with a 52.26, making him the second-fastest on the team this year behind Jassen Yep. He finished his meet with a win in the 100 free (42.74) and an 18.83 anchor leg on the 200 freestyle relay.

Indiana’s breaststroke dominance continued in the 200 breast, as Max Reich swam a best time of more than a second to post a 1:52.35, which is the 5th-fastest time in the country so far this season.

Cincinnati junior Tommy Eaton won the 200 fly for the Bearcats, as he beat Indiana’s Armando Vegas by less than a second to win with a 1:45.35. Teammate Collin Singler made his way on to the Cincinnati All-Time Top-10 list for the first time, as he clocked a best time of 1:47.73 to move to 6th in the 200 fly.

Other all time top-ten performances for Cincinnati included freshman Ido Gal moving to 7th on the 1650 (15:18.95). Conner Funke and Drew Hawthorne improved on their current standings, as Funke dropped another 0.13 from 100 breast to hold 5th (54.81) and Hawthorne held onto 8th in the 50 free with a 20.18.

Women’s Meet

On the women’s side, Indiana’s Maggie Wallace swept the distance events for the Hoosiers. She posted a 16:28.28 in the 1650, which is nearly six seconds quicker than she was at the Ohio State Invite a few weeks ago. She also won the 500 with a 4:51.04.

Indiana’s Kacey McKenna was also faster than she was at the Ohio State Invite, as she won the 100 back in a 53.08. Teammate Noelle Peplowski took 2nd in a best time of 54.20. Peplowski went on to set another best time and win the 200 back with a 1:57.79.

Similar to the men’s side, Indiana’s Brearna Crawford swept the breaststroke events for IU. She posted a 1:00.70 in the 100 and a 2:12.75 in the 200, beating Cincinnati’s Logan Lawhorn by almost seven seconds.

Cincinnati’s Ella Chown moved up two spots on their 200 fly performance list, as she clocked a personal best time of 2:01.10 to take 2nd behind IU’s Katie Forrester (1:58.36).

Cincinnati freshman Joleigh Crye won the 100 fly in a 54.16, which is only a few tenths off her own personal best. She also took 2nd in the 100 breast with 1:00.78, also a few tenths off her personal best.

Up next, Cincinnati will head south for the CSCAA Open Water Championships in Florida before hosting Kenyon in January. Indiana has over a month break before hosting Michigan in mid-January.