Indiana men’s swim and dive finished the 2022 Big Ten Men’s Championships on Saturday with a first-place title and plenty to celebrate. The first-place conference finish brings the program to its fourth championship title in six years, and 28th in program history.
The Hoosiers took first place with a score of 1499.5. Behind them in second place was Ohio State with a score of 1406.5, and Michigan took third place with 1056.6.
“This was truly a team effort,” head swimming coach Ray Looze said. “I’m so proud of our fantastic swimmers and divers, and I am grateful for our staff of coaches, director of operations, and administrators who made this possible.”
The weekend featured many Hoosier highlights of career-best records, NCAA A Cut times and other historic moments.
The 400-yard medley relay squad of junior Brendan Burns, sophomore Tomer Frankel and freshmen Josh Matheny and Rafael Miroslaw beat out Ohio State to take first place with a time of 3:00.95, setting a Big Ten Championship record and an NCAA A Cut time to qualify them for the postseason.
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With the win, Indiana’s 400-yard medley has held first place in the event for the seventh straight season. This is the 28th time that Indiana won the event, marking a Big Ten record.
This record-breaking time in the 400-yard medley relay is now the fastest time in the country for the 2021-22 season, beating the original time from 2018 of 3:01.30, also set by Indiana swimmers.
Winning this event was important for Indiana’s campaign for the title. Looze said the team needed a big jolt of energy, and winning the relay helped set them up to win the whole competition.
The 200-yard freestyle relay squad of seniors Bruno Blaskovic, Van Mathias and Jack Franzman, and Miroslaw took home silver with a time of 1:15.81, securing an NCAA A Cut time for the postseason.
Diving also gave Indiana the momentum it needed to secure the competition. Senior Andrew Capobianco swept gold in all three diving events, marking the first sweep of diving events in the conference since 2011.
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Capobianco scored a 454.25 in the 1-meter dive and freshman Quinn Henninger secured silver with a 435.95, a career-best for the Big Ten newcomer. This was Capobianco’s second straight Big Ten 1-meter title and Indiana’s eighth 1-meter dive victory in 10 years.
“It was a great day for Hoosier diving today,” Indiana head diving coach Drew Johansen said. “Andrew and Quinn were spectacular in the final. It was one of the best 1-meter finals I have seen in all my years.”
Capobianco also secured the 3-meter dive and platform dive gold medals, scoring a 467.75 in the 3-meter dive. Henninger came in third in the 3-meter dive, scoring a 451.40 to secure two medals at his first Big Ten Championships. His score in the 3-meter dive was also a career-best.
“I saw the divers feeding off the energy from the swimmers and the team standings,” Johansen said. “Andrew winning with his teammates Quinn and Carson right behind him was electric.”
To add to his three gold medals, Capobianco was named Big Ten Diver of the Championships for the second-straight year.
Indiana’s also dominated in the 100-yard backstroke, taking first, third and fourth.
Burns led the charge with a pool, Big Ten and program record with a time of 44.31. He stretched out to beat Ohio State by less than half a second to grab the fastest 100-yard backstroke time in the country and put up a career-best time in the event.
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Senior Gabriel Fantoni, a four-time Big Ten 100-yard backstroke champion, took third with a time of 45.05, and senior Jacob Steele placed fourth, timing in at 45.66.
Burns also helped his 800-yard freestyle relay squad of Miroslaw, Frankel and senior Van Mathias earn gold with a pool record and an NCAA A Cut time of 6:11.96. The win was Indiana’s fourth 800-yard freestyle relay win in the last six years.
Burns’ totaled five gold medals leading him to be honored with his second straight — and Indiana’s sixth straight — Big Ten Swimmer of the Championships award. Senior Ben McDade was named Indiana’s Big Ten Sportsmanship Award honoree as well.
Looze expressed his excitement for the team as they exemplified resilience and power throughout the competition.
“I am so proud of the Hoosiers,” Looze said. “Every single team member has laid their heart on the line and dug deep. We need to keep the pedal fully to the metal.”
Hoosiers racked up a host of medals throughout the weekend, including Miroslaw, who took home three golds and one silver. Miroslaw also won his first individual medal in the 200-yard freestyle with a time of 1:32.17. Frankel also took home two gold and three silver medals. He placed second in the 200-yard freestyle and 100-yard butterfly, with times of 1:33.02 and 44.81, respectively. Frankel’s time in the 100-yard butterfly marked a new career-best.
“(The win) exemplifies a team effort from every swimmer, diver, coach, managers, media,” Johansen said. “Everybody at IU shares in this victory.”
