ANN ARBOR, Michigan, October 6. THE University of Michigan men's and women's swimming and diving teams took a reprieve from the regular-season schedule to host the first-ever Michigan Water Carnival on Saturday (Oct. 6) inside Canham Natatorium. The event featured co-ed swimming and diving events alongside Minnesota and Oakland and three-on-three scrimmages with the University of Michigan water polo team.
The men swimmers won 10 events on the day and were especially fast in the races with fins. Senior Evan Gregg (Blacksburg, Va./Blacksburg) won the 50-yard freestyle (18.33), while senior/junior Hassaan Abdel Khalik (Mississauga, Ontario/Silverthorn Collegiate) was victorious in the 200-yard freestyle (1:32.94). Other winners included junior Kyle Whitaker (Chesterton, Ind./Chesterton) in the 50-yard underwater dolphin kick (17.27), junior John Wojciechowski (Scottsdale, Ariz./Phoenix Brophy Prep) in the 50-yard butterfly with flip turn (21.97) and junior Connor Jaeger (Fair Haven, N.J./Rumson-Fair Haven) in the 200-yard individual medley that could be swum in any order (1:51.45). The men also won three of the five relays, including a win in the 250-yard medley relay that had to be swum in the following order: 25 yards of butterfly, 50 yards of butterfly and backstroke, 75 yards of butterfly, backstroke and breaststroke, and 100 yards of all four strokes. The quartet of freshman Reid Elliott (Austin, Texas/Lake Travis), senior Miguel Ortiz (Tokyo, Japan/St. Mary's International), freshman Peter Brumm (Cornelius, N.C./Hough) and Whitaker finished at 2:02.93.
The women won three races on the afternoon. Sophomore Kayla Douglas (Livonia, Mich./Franklin) was the first victor, winning the 50-yard underwater dolphin kick (20.55). The trio of senior Adrienne Bicek (Downers Grove, Ill./Downers Grove North), sophomore Savannah Hatt (Livonia, Mich./Stevenson) and freshman Jessica Wolf (Waukesha, Wis./Muskego) combined to go 16:45.27 in the 3×550-yard freestyle relay, winning by more than 22 seconds. Freshman Zoe Mattingly (Zionsville, Ind./Zionsville) was the third winner, taking a close race in the 50-yard freestyle with fins (21.44).
Finally, after weeks of Twitter talk, sophomore Richard Funk (Edmonton, Alberta/Strathcona) and junior Kyle Duckitt (Johannesburg, South Africa/St. John's College) concluded their friendly rivalry in the 50-yard breaststroke with a flip turn. Funk won by a close margin at 24.74, with Duckitt following in second at 25.02. Duckitt did pick up an event win on the afternoon, finishing first in the 300-yard breaststroke with fins and a fly kick (2:49.93), ahead of sophomore Bruno Ortiz (Tokyo, Japan/St. Mary's International) and Funk.
The men's and women's divers put on a show over in the diving well, highlighted by former head diving coach Dick Kimball. The first half of the show featured platform diving with props, including a mini trampoline and bicycle. The second half saw some synchronized diving off the three-meter board.
The meet was streamed live in a partnership between Swimming World and SwimUtopia.
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