The No. 9-ranked Indiana University men’s swimming and diving team climbed up two more spots in the team standings to fifth place with 158 total points following a big Friday night of finals at the Greensboro Aquatic Center.
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3-Meter Dive
Redshirt junior Andrew Capobianco set a career-high score of 505.20 points to win his second-straight NCAA Championship on the 3-Meter Springboard. He was absolutely locked in from the start, drilling a 91.80 on his first dive of the night. Capobianco went on to crush an 84.00, 90.10, and 98.80 to close out the title, winning by 20.60 points. He averaged 84.20 points per dive in the final.
The Holly Springs, N.C., native gives Indiana eight titles in the 3-meter event:
2021 – Andrew Capobianco
2019 – Andrew Capobianco
1981 – Rob Bollinger
1977 – Brian Bungum
1970 – Jim Henry
1969 – Jim Henry
1967 – Ken Sitzberger
1965 – Ken Sitzberger
Capobianco joins Henry (1969-70) and Sitzberger (1965, ’67) as the only Hoosiers to win the event multiple times at the NCAA Championships.
His score (505.20) makes him the second-best performer in the history of the event at IU, is the third-best performance in program history, and is the highest score registered at the NCAA meet since 2015 (529.10).
100 BACKSTROKE
Sophomore Brendan Burns finished sixth, beating his psych sheet seed by over 40 spots, in the 100 Backstroke with a time of 45.03. In three chances this weekend, Burns laid down second, third, and seventh (tonight) fastest times in program history in the event. The Berwyn, Pa., native earned his first individual All-America honor for his sixth-place finish.
Senior Gabriel Fantoni finished 14th in the 100 Backstroke Consolation Final with a time of 45.50, while senior Jacob Steele took 16th with a time of 45.80. Both backstrokers earned Honorable Mention All-America honors.
The trio combined to score 16 points for the Hoosiers in the event.
100 BREASTSTROKE
Junior Zane Backes earned his second career All-America accolade with a seventh-place result in the 100 Breaststroke with a time of 51.66. Backes finished fifth at the 2019 NCAA meet in the event.
100 BUTTERFLY
Freshman Tomer Frankel claimed the victory in the Consolation Final of the 100 Butterfly with a time of 45.23 to place ninth overall. Frankel (23.83) was the lone swimmer in the B Final to post a time under 24 seconds in the final 50. Burns, in his first of three races in the evening, placed 13th overall with a time of 45.53.
Both swimmers were honored with Honorable Mention All-America accolades in the event.
200 MEDLEY RELAY
The Hoosier foursome of Bruns, Backes, Frankel, and junior Jack Franzman placed 11th out of the fourth heat of the timed final of the 200 Medley Relay with a time of 1:23.68, the fifth fastest time in program history in the event.
All four swimmers earned Honorable Mention All-America status.
FINALS RESULTS
100 BUTTERFLY
- Tomer Frankel – 45.23 (Honorable Mention All-America)
- Brendan Burns – 45.53 (Honorable Mention All-America)
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100 BREASTSTROKE
- Zane Backes – 51.66 (All-America)
100 BACKSTROKE
- Brendan Burns – 45.03 (All-America)
- Gabriel Fantoni – 45.50 (Honorable Mention All-America)
- Jacob Steele – 45.80 (Honorable Mention All-America)
3-METER DIVE
- Andrew Capobianco – 505.20 (NCAA Champion, All-America, Career Best)
200 MEDLEY RELAY
- Brendan Burns, Zane Backes, Tomer Frankel, Jack Franzman – 1:23.68 (Honorable Mention All-America)
The 2021 NCAA Championships will continue with the final day of preliminary action on Saturday morning. Events contested include: 200 Backstroke, 100 Freestyle, 200 Breaststroke, 200 Butterfly, and Platform Dive. The penultimate session is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. ET and will air on ESPN3.
