IU men's swimming and diving rose above Michigan and the rest of the Big Ten field with 544 points at the end of night two in Iowa City, Iowa.
The Hoosiers won three of the night’s five events and now lead the second place Wolverines by 54 points.
The 400 medley relay team of sophomore Gabriel Fantoni and seniors Vini Lanza, Ian Finnerty and Zach Apple won with a time of 3:01.63. This time was more than three seconds above second place Michigan and marked the fourth consecutive year of IU winning this event.
Fantoni’s strong start and Finnerty’s dominant breaststroke leg put the relay team well out of reach by the halfway point of the race. Lanza’s speed on the butterfly continued to keep IU far ahead of Michigan and Minnesota, and Apple closed out the race on freestyle.
IU saw another stellar performance from Lanza, last year’s Swimmer of the Championships, in the 200 individual medley. Lanza defended his title successfully with a time of 1:41.05, a new Big Ten championship meet record.
Finnerty took third in the third in the event, adding on to IU's point total.
Also guiding the Hoosiers on Thursday night was senior James Connor. The Australia native won his second career springboard title with a score of 467.60 on the 1-meter dive.
Teammate and sophomore Andrew Capobianco finished second to Connor with 458.90 points. IU has yet to lose a 1- or 3-meter diving event this season.
Michigan saw success against IU with a victory from junior Felix Auboeck. He won the 500 freestyle with a time of 4:09.37. His teammates, sophomore Ricardo Vargas and freshman Kevin Callan, took second and third respectively.
Junior Bowen Becker of Minnesota repeated as the 50 freestyle champion with a time of 19:11. Michigan sophomore Luis Gustavo Borges took second place with a time of 19:12 and IU’s Apple took fourth with a time of 19:23.
Thursday night was a much needed one for IU heading into the third day of the tournament. Friday night will feature five individual swimming events, the 200 freestyle relay and the 3-meter dive.
IU will expect Lanza and Finnerty to pick up wins on the 100 butterfly and 100 breaststroke respectively. Both Lanza and Finnerty have the top time in the conference in their event coming into the night. The divers will also look to retain their undefeated status on the 3-meter dive with a win from either Capobianco or Connor.
The action picks up again at 7:30 p.m. Friday in Iowa City.
