The No. 4-ranked Indiana University men’s swimming and diving team is poised for another big night on the final day of competition at the 2020 Big Ten Championships at the Counsilman-Billingsley Aquatic Center on Saturday.
Indiana will return 20 athletes into the finals, the most of any team in the field, with seven Championship Finalists, seven Consolation Finalists and six C Finalists. IU will also have four swimmers competing in the 1,650 Freestyle during the evening session.
The Hoosiers head into the final session in third place on the team leaderboard with 857.5 points. No. 3 Michigan leads the field with 1,063 points and No. 17 Ohio State occupies the second spot with 865 points.
200 Backstroke
Junior Gabriel Fantoni will be seeded sixth in the Championship Final of the 200 Backstroke after securing a time of 1:41.95. Junior Jacob Steele will compete in the Consolation Final after turning in a mark of 1:42.92 in the prelims, while freshman Jake Marcum will have the top seed time in the C Final after hitting a career-best mark of 1:44.22.
 100 Freestyle
All five of the Hoosiers from the preliminary heats of the 100 Freestyle will be back in the Saturday evening finals, led by junior Bruno Blaskovic. He posted the top seed time with a mark of 41.49, the second-fastest time swam in the nation this season and the third-fastest performer in program history. Senior Mohamed Samy (42.71) and sophomore Jack Franzman (42.72) will both be seeded in the top four of the event.
Sophomore Brandon Hamblin earned his first individual final of the week by making the Consolation Final of the 100 Freestyle with a career-best time of 43.65. Junior Griffin Eiber will swim out of the C Final after registering a mark of 43.92.
200 Breaststroke
Sophomore Zane Backes (1:55.42) and junior Gary Kostbade (1:55.62) will each represent the Hoosiers in the Consolation Final of the 200 Breaststroke, while junior Matt Jerden (1:56.43) and junior Thomas Vanderbrook (1:57.68) each qualified for the C Final.
200 Butterfly
In one of the more dominant events for the Hoosiers, IU placed three in the Championship Final, one in the Consolation Final and two in the C Final of the 200 Butterfly.
Freshman Brendan Burns leads the pack in the A Final with the second-quickest qualifying time at 1:42.47. He will be joined by sophomore Van Mathias (1:43.56) and freshman Kai Bathurst (1:44.45).
Junior Corey Gambardella (1:46.16) will compete in the B Final, while senior Iago Moussalem (1:46.66) and freshman Harry Flanders (1:46.73) will each be in the C Final.
Platform Dive
Sophomore Cole VanDevender earned his third trip to the Consolation Final in a diving event this week with an NCAA Zone Qualifying Score of 307.65. He finished ninth overall in the preliminary flight, while junior Mory Gould completed his set with a score of 268.85 to sneak into the B Final with a 15th-place finish in prelims.
UP NEXT
The first five timed finals of the 1,650 freestyle begin at 4:00 p.m. ET, with the action getting started in earnest at 6:30 p.m. ET.
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RESULTS
200 Backstroke
Gabriel Fantoni – 1:41.95 (Championship Final, NCAA B Cut)
Jacob Steele – 1:42.92 (Consolation Final, NCAA B Cut)
Jake Marcum – 1:44.22 (C Final, NCAA B Cut, Career Best)
100 Freestyle
Bruno Blaskovic – 41.49 (Championship Final, NCAA A Cut, Pool Record, Career best)
Mohamed Samy – 42.71 (Championship Final, NCAA B Cut)
Jack Franzman – 42.77 (Championship Final, NCAA B Cut)
Brandon Hamblin – 43.65 (Consolation Final, NCAA B Cut, Career Best)
Griffin Eiber – 43.92 (C Final)
200 Breaststroke
Zane Backes – 1:55.42 (Consolation Final, NCAA B Cut)
Gary Kostbade – 1:55.62 (Consolation Final, NCAA B Cut)
Matt Jerden – 1:56.43 (C Final, NCAA B Cut)
Thomas Vanderbrook – 1:57.58 (C Final, NCAA B Cut, Career Best)
200 Butterfly
Brendan Burns – 1:42.47 (Championship Final, NCAA B Cut)
Van Mathias – 1:43.56 (Championship Final, NCAA B Cut)
Kai Bathurst – 1:44.45 (Championship Final, NCAA B Cut, Career Best)
Corey Gambardella – 1:46.16 (Consolation Final, NCAA B Cut)
Iago Moussalem – 1:46.66 (C Final, NCAA B Cut, Career Best*)
Harry Flanders – 1:46.73 (C Final, Career Best)
- Jakub Karl – 1:48.37
Platform Dive
Cole VanDevender – 307.65 (Consolation Final, NCAA Zone Qualifying Score)
Mory Gould – 268.85 (Consolation Final)
