
Hoosiers Post All-America Finishes in Opening Night Relays
3/23/2022 8:31:00 PM | Men's Swimming and Diving
ATLANTA – No. 4-ranked Indiana placed a pair of All-America relays in the opening night of the 2022 NCAA Men's Swimming and Diving Championship on Wednesday (March 23) inside McCauley Aquatic Center.
Indiana closed its night with a ninth-place finish in the 800 Freestyle Relay, winning the third of four heats and out-touching Virginia Tech by one one-hundredth of a second with a 6:11.84.
Freshman Rafael Miroslaw, sophomore Tomer Frankel, junior Brendan Burns and senior Van Mathias beat their No. 10 seed, swimming slightly better than their Big Ten Champion time of 6:11.96 coming in. Indiana extended its 800 free relay All-America streak to nine straight seasons, earning honorable mention honors.
IU's 200 Medley Relay placed 15th with a 1:23.31 to grab an All-America placement for the fifth consecutive season.
"The evening started rough with our 200 Medley Relay," IU head swimming coach Ray Looze said. "We definitely had higher hopes there, but I was really happy to move up from 10th to ninth in that 800 free relay. We went a little faster, which is difficult to do.
"I thought we had a little bit of deer-in-the-headlights feel tonight, and we're going to address that tonight in the team meeting because it's a tough meet, but we're a really good team. I have the utmost confidence in these guys, and they need to be a little looser. It's not a dissimilar from how we started the Big Ten Championships."
Through just two events, IU sits in a three-way tie for 11th with 22 points.
"I think we're well prepared. Tomorrow is probably our weakest day point-wise, so we just have to hang tough. A big part of our meet starts Friday and then, of course, Saturday. [We have] A lot of meet left."
RESULTS
200 MEDLEY RELAY
15. Gabriel Fantoni, Josh Matheny, Tomer Frankel, Bruno Blaskovic – 1:23.31 (All-America Honorable Mention)
800 FREESTYLE RELAY
9. Rafael Miroslaw, Tomer Frankel, Brendan Burns, Van Mathias – 6:11.84 (All-America Honorable Mention)
HOOSIER ALL-AMERICANS
Bruno Blaskovic (200 Medley Relay*)
Brendan Burns (800 Freestyle Relay*)
Gabriel Fantoni (200 Medley Relay*)
Tomer Frankel (200 Medley Relay*, 800 Freestyle Relay*)
Josh Matheny (200 Medley Relay*)
Van Mathias (800 Freestyle Relay*)
Rafael Miroslaw (800 Freestyle Relay*)
* - Denotes All-America Honorable Mention
UP NEXT
The 2022 NCAA Men's Swimming and Diving Championships resume Thursday (March 24) for day two, the first full day of action and the first day of diving. Athletes will compete in the 500 Freestyle, 200 IM, 50 Freestyle, 1-meter dive and 200 Freestyle Relay, with preliminaries beginning at 10 a.m. ET. Finals are scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. ET.
@IndianaSwimDive
Be sure to keep up with all the latest news on the Indiana men's and women's swimming and diving teams on social media – Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
#GoIU
Indiana closed its night with a ninth-place finish in the 800 Freestyle Relay, winning the third of four heats and out-touching Virginia Tech by one one-hundredth of a second with a 6:11.84.
Freshman Rafael Miroslaw, sophomore Tomer Frankel, junior Brendan Burns and senior Van Mathias beat their No. 10 seed, swimming slightly better than their Big Ten Champion time of 6:11.96 coming in. Indiana extended its 800 free relay All-America streak to nine straight seasons, earning honorable mention honors.
IU's 200 Medley Relay placed 15th with a 1:23.31 to grab an All-America placement for the fifth consecutive season.
"The evening started rough with our 200 Medley Relay," IU head swimming coach Ray Looze said. "We definitely had higher hopes there, but I was really happy to move up from 10th to ninth in that 800 free relay. We went a little faster, which is difficult to do.
"I thought we had a little bit of deer-in-the-headlights feel tonight, and we're going to address that tonight in the team meeting because it's a tough meet, but we're a really good team. I have the utmost confidence in these guys, and they need to be a little looser. It's not a dissimilar from how we started the Big Ten Championships."
Through just two events, IU sits in a three-way tie for 11th with 22 points.
"I think we're well prepared. Tomorrow is probably our weakest day point-wise, so we just have to hang tough. A big part of our meet starts Friday and then, of course, Saturday. [We have] A lot of meet left."
RESULTS
200 MEDLEY RELAY
15. Gabriel Fantoni, Josh Matheny, Tomer Frankel, Bruno Blaskovic – 1:23.31 (All-America Honorable Mention)
800 FREESTYLE RELAY
9. Rafael Miroslaw, Tomer Frankel, Brendan Burns, Van Mathias – 6:11.84 (All-America Honorable Mention)
HOOSIER ALL-AMERICANS
Bruno Blaskovic (200 Medley Relay*)
Brendan Burns (800 Freestyle Relay*)
Gabriel Fantoni (200 Medley Relay*)
Tomer Frankel (200 Medley Relay*, 800 Freestyle Relay*)
Josh Matheny (200 Medley Relay*)
Van Mathias (800 Freestyle Relay*)
Rafael Miroslaw (800 Freestyle Relay*)
* - Denotes All-America Honorable Mention
UP NEXT
The 2022 NCAA Men's Swimming and Diving Championships resume Thursday (March 24) for day two, the first full day of action and the first day of diving. Athletes will compete in the 500 Freestyle, 200 IM, 50 Freestyle, 1-meter dive and 200 Freestyle Relay, with preliminaries beginning at 10 a.m. ET. Finals are scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. ET.
@IndianaSwimDive
Be sure to keep up with all the latest news on the Indiana men's and women's swimming and diving teams on social media – Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
#GoIU
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