The 2016 Big Ten Women’s Swimming & Diving Championships hosted by the University of Michigan will be held Wednesday, Feb. 17 through Saturday, Feb. 20 at the Canham Natatorium. The event begins on Wednesday with the timed finals of the 200-yard medley relay and 800-yard freestyle relay at 6:30 p.m. ET. Preliminary heats will begin at 11 a.m. on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, with the finals scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m. each night.
Thursday’s slate features the 500-yard freestyle, 200-yard individual medley, 50-yard freestyle and one-meter diving competition, with the 200-yard freestyle relay taking place in the evening. Friday’s schedule includes the 400-yard individual medley, 100-yard butterfly, 200-yard freestyle, 100-yard breaststroke, 100-yard backstroke and three-meter diving event, with the 400-yard medley relay contested during the finals. Saturday’s events include the 200-yard backstroke, 100-yard freestyle, 200-yard breaststroke, 200-yard butterfly, 1,650-yard freestyle and platform diving, with the 400-yard freestyle relay finals taking place that evening.
Minnesota won its fourth consecutive Big Ten Championship last season, amassing 618.5 points throughout the four-day event. Indiana finished second with 591 points, Michigan placed third with 478.5 points, Wisconsin was fourth with 448 points and Purdue rounded out the top five with 388 points.
The Golden Gophers return two first-team All-Big Ten selections, including Brooke Zeiger and Yu Zhou. Last season, Zeiger claimed the 400-yard individual medley with a time of 4:03.28, while Zhou took home gold in the one- and three-meter diving events, with marks of 365.00 points and 411.55 points, respectively. Head coach Kelly Kremer was named Big Ten Swimming Coach of the Year last season, while Gophers’ Wenbo Chen claimed Big Ten Diving Coach of the Year plaudits.
The Hoosiers return first-team All-Big Ten honorees Gia Dalesandro, Kennedy Goss, Haley Lips and Grace Vertigans. Dalesandro won the 200-yard butterfly, while Goss claimed titles in the 200- and 500-yard freestyle. Goss, Lips and Vertigans were also part of the 800-yard freestyle relay last season that set a new Big Ten Championships record.
Michigan’s Clara Smiddy and Wisconsin’s Dana Grindall, Chase Kinney, Anna Meinholz and Annie Tamblyn all garnered first-team All-Big Ten accolades, and look to duplicate their event titles. Smiddy bested the competition in the 200-yard individual medley, while Grindall, Kinney, Meinholz and Tamblyn contributed to the four first-place relay finishes for Wisconsin, including record-breaking times in the 200- and 400-yard freestyle relays.