With Border Battle on deck, Badgers dive right back in

Photo by: David Stluka

With Border Battle on deck, Badgers dive right back in

October 11, 2016 | Men's Swimming & Diving, Women's Swimming & Diving

Wisconsin seeks second-consecutive sweep of rival Minnesota in Big Ten dual

MADISON, Wis. – The Wisconsin men and women's swimming and diving program continues their season with another highly-anticipated dual meet against border rival Minnesota on Thursday at the Jean K. Freeman Aquatic Center.

The meet is scheduled to begin at 4 p.m. (CT) and will be streamed live via BTN Plus, making it accessible via BTN2Go.com and the BTN2Go mobile app.

The meet serves as Minnesota's first of the season after their opener against Florida State was canceled due to Hurricane Matthew.

Wisconsin's men have found recent success against the Gophers, winning the past two dual meets between the teams by scores of 159-141 and 153.5-146.5.

The women are looking to get a win streak started after edging out the Gophers 152-148 last season, the first time they have garnered a dual meet win against Minnesota since the 2006-07 season.

The Minnesota men's team features a relatively young squad with nearly one third of the team comprising of incoming freshman, while the women's team welcomes seven new members to the squad.

Wisconsin looks to build upon their strong performances against national powerhouse Auburn last Saturday at the UW Natatorium.

Despite Auburn taking both the men's and women's team titles, the Badgers' potential for the season was obvious after standout performances from their freestylers and several impact newcomers.

On the men's side, the freestyle events were swept by the Badgers thanks to 1-2 performances in the 500- and 1000-yard freestyle by junior Victor Goicoechea and senior Matt Hutchins, who each claimed an event win.

Seniors Brett Pinfold and Cannon Clifton also contributed to the freestyle sweep with Pinfold claiming victory in the 200 free and Clifton winning both the 100 and 50 free, the latter in which he broke his own pool record and earned a NCAA 'B' cut.

The women's team featured solid performances from a mix of new and old Badgers.

Freshman Beata Nelson claimed a win in her first collegiate individual race as a Badger in the 100 backstroke, earning a NCAA 'B' standard along the way.

Another new Wisconsin representative, Olympic gold medalist Cierra Runge, had a solid debut for the team, earning a pair of runner-up finishes in the 500 and 1000 freestyles.

Other women's swimmers scoring victories included Chase Kinney, who picked up a NCAA 'B' standard after winning the 50 free, and Jess Unicomb, who clinched victory in the 200 back.

Wisconsin was strong on the boards, as a total of four UW divers posted automatic qualifying marks for the NCAA zone competition.

Senior Ashley Peterson swept the women's 1-meter and 3-meter events, earning a pair of qualifying marks in the process. Sophomore Hazel Hertting earned her NCAA qualifying mark after placing runner-up to Peterson in the 1-meter.

Freshman Kevin Pomeroy made a splash in his debut for the Badgers, reigning victorious in the 3-meter competition and picking up an automatic zone qualifying mark.

Sophomore Andrew Pearce also earned his NCAA qualifying mark after taking third on the 1-meter board.