No. 9 Indiana Advances Seven to Friday Finals Backes, Burns, Capobianco Eye NCAA Gold

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The No. 9-ranked Indiana University men’s swimming and diving team advanced seven and a relay to the evening finals at the 2021 NCAA Championships on Friday morning at the Greensboro Aquatic Center.

 

400 IM

Junior Mikey Calvillo finished 29th in the prelims of the 400 IM with a time of 3:48.32, while redshirt sophomore Michael Brinegar claimed 35th at 3:53.33.

 

100 BUTTERFLY

Freshman Tomer Frankel and sophomore Brendan Burns each earned second swims in the 100 Butterfly after finishing ninth and 10th, respectively, in the preliminary heats. Frankel paced the four Hoosiers in the event with a time of 45.20, while Burns touched in 45.39. Both will swim in the Consolation Final tonight.

 

Senior Corey Gambardella set a career-best mark of 46.61 in his final 100 Fly of his career to place 29th. Junior Van Mathias claimed 38th with a time of 47.03.

100 BREASTSTROKE

Junior Zane Backes will be seeded fifth in the 100 Breaststroke Championship Final after collecting a time of 51.53 in the preliminary stage.

 

100 BACKSTROKE

Burns dropped 2.30 seconds from his seed time to go 44.87, the third-fastest performance in program history in the 100 Backstroke, to earn a spot in the Championship Final. He will be seeded fifth after entering the meet ranked 43rd nationally in the event.

 

A pair of seniors earned second swims in the 100 Back Consolation final in Jacob Steele and Gabriel Fantoni. Steele placed 14th in the prelims with a mark of 45.48, while Fantoni touched in 15th at 45.51.

 

3-METER DIVE

Redshirt junior Andrew Capobianco, the defending NCAA champion on the 3-Meter Springboard, showed out in the preliminary round with a six-dive score of 449.35 points. He cleared the rest of the field by 21.20 points.

 

There were four total dives to be scored over 80 points out of the 47-diver field, Capobianco hit three of them. In total, he threw down five dives in excess of 70 points, including his final four attempts. The Holly Springs, N.C., native will be the top seed in the evening finals of the event.

 

Junior Cole VanDevender scored 300.35 points to finish 37th in the prelims. His best dives came in the middle of his set as he hit 50-plus on four-straight dives.

 

PRELIM RESULTS

400 IM

  1. Mikey Calvillo – 3:48.32
  2. Michael Brinegar – 3:53.33

 

100 BUTTERFLY

  1. Tomer Frankel – 45.20 (Consolation Final)
  2. Brendan Burns – 45.39 (Consolation Final)
  3. Corey Gambardella – 46.61 (Career Best)
  4. Van Mathias – 47.03

 

100 BREASTSTROKE

  1. Zane Backes – 51.53 (Championship Final)

 

100 BACKSTROKE

  1. Brendan Burns – 44.87 (Championship Final)
  2. Jacob Steele – 45.48 (Consolation Final)
  3. Gabriel Fantoni – 45.51 (Consolation Final)

 

3-METER DIVE

  1. Andrew Capobianco – 449.35 (Championship Final)
  2. Cole VanDevender – 300.35

 

The 2021 NCAA Championships will continue with Hoosier representation on Friday evening with the finals of the 100 Butterfly, 100 Breaststroke, 100 Backstroke, 3-meter dive, and the 200 Medley Relay. The act