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Men's Swimming & Diving

Badgers boosted by personal-bests on second day of Big Tens

Fifteen Badgers finish with best times at conference meet in Iowa City

Men's Swimming & Diving

Badgers boosted by personal-bests on second day of Big Tens

Fifteen Badgers finish with best times at conference meet in Iowa City

IOWA CITY, Iowa – Before each meet, head coach Yuri Suguiyama urges his team to be the best version of themselves that they can. On Thursday, the Wisconsin swimming and diving team obliged, posting 15 personal-best marks to cap the second day of the Big Ten championships. 
 
In the 500-yard freestyle prelims, Michael Milinovich (4:20.11) and Ido Haber (4:20.29) each qualified for finals with personal-best marks. The duo later delivered a 1-2 punch in the "B" final, with Milinovich touching first (4:19.81) and Haber second (4:20.65) to take ninth and 10th, respectively, overall.
 
"Both Mike and Ido held their spots, which is really hard to do," Suguiyama said. 
 
After notching a personal-best time of 1:46.86 in prelims, freshman Caleb Aman was the Badgers' lone finalist in the 200 individual medley. Aman clocked in at 1:46.86 in "C" finals, good for 24th place overall.
 
Wisconsin's sprint corps also had a stellar day in the pool.
 
Senior Tyler Zelen secured an 11th-place time of 19.73, while junior Griffin Back garnered a 20th-place finish in 19.93.
 
"Tyler moved up in the 50 and Griffin did a really good job tonight," Suguiyama said. 
 
Back also teamed up with Cameron Tysoe, MJ Mao and Erik Gessner in the 400 medley relay that clocked in at 3:08.08, good for sixth place and the second-fastest mark in UW history. 
 
"I was proud of the way those guys swam," Suguiyama said. 
 
Entering the third day of the meet, Wisconsin sits in eighth place, with 211 points. 
 
Friday's events include the 100 butterfly, 400 individual medley, 200 freestyle, 100 breaststroke, 100 backstroke and 3-meter diving. 
 
"We've got 24 swims tomorrow and, after two days, there is still 75 percent of the meet left," Suguiyama said. "We're in a dogfight with a few other teams, so every swim is going to count."
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Players Mentioned

Griffin Back

Griffin Back

IM / Breast
Junior
IM/Breast
MJ Mao

MJ Mao

Fly / Breast
Sophomore
Fly/Breast
Cameron Tysoe

Cameron Tysoe

Back / Free
Junior
Back/Free
Ido Haber

Ido Haber

Free
Sophomore
Free
Tyler Zelen

Tyler Zelen

Fly / Free
Senior
Fly/Free
Michael Milinovich

Michael Milinovich

IM/Fly
5' 10"
Junior
IM/Fly
Caleb Aman

Caleb Aman

IM / Breast / Back
Freshman
Erik Gessner

Erik Gessner

Back / Fly
Freshman

Players Mentioned

Griffin Back

Griffin Back

Junior
IM/Breast
IM / Breast
MJ Mao

MJ Mao

Sophomore
Fly/Breast
Fly / Breast
Cameron Tysoe

Cameron Tysoe

Junior
Back/Free
Back / Free
Ido Haber

Ido Haber

Sophomore
Free
Free
Tyler Zelen

Tyler Zelen

Senior
Fly/Free
Fly / Free
Michael Milinovich

Michael Milinovich

5' 10"
Junior
IM/Fly
IM/Fly
Caleb Aman

Caleb Aman

Freshman
IM / Breast / Back
Erik Gessner

Erik Gessner

Freshman
Back / Fly