University of Minnesota announces Minnesota Set to Host Men's Swimming and Diving NCAA Championships

MINNEAPOLIS – Nine members of the Minnesota men's swimming and diving program are set to compete at the 2023 NCAA Championships this week at the Jean K. Freeman Aquatic Center in Minneapolis.

With the Golden Gophers serving as host, competition starts Wednesday night with two relay races. The rest of the championships will have prelims each day at 10 a.m. CT with the finals scheduled for 6 p.m. ESPN+ will have streaming coverage of each session. A complete schedule with heat sheets, results and more can be found at the NCAA Championships Homepage.

Fifth-year senior Max McHugh, juniors Chris Nagy and Kaiser Neverman, sophomore Bar Soloveychik and freshman Drew Bennett have all been selected to compete as individuals for Minnesota, while juniors Lucas Farrar and Casey Stowe, sophomore Chris Morris and freshman Alberto Hernandez will all be a part of Gopher relays.

The nine individuals are tied for the most the team has sent to NCAAs since 2017 when they sent 10. The Gophers also had nine representatives in 2019.

McHugh is looking for his third straight 100 breast title and is eyeing a second career 200 breast championship, as well. McHugh, who swept the breaststroke titles for the third year in a row at last month's Big Ten Championships, is the No. 2 seed in the 100 breast at 50.80, just .07 off the top seed. He comes into the 200 breast ranked third nationally at 1:50.20.

With three NCAA Championships already in hand, one more would make McHugh the fifth Gopher across all sports to reach four individual NCAA titles, while a breaststroke sweep would tie him with three others for most all-time at Minnesota.

Soloveychik earned his way into the 1650 free. His time of 14:50.93, which ranks 22nd in the nation, garnered him the silver medal at last month's Big Ten Championships. He's also eligible to compete in the 200 free (1:34.38) and 500 free (4:14.45) thanks to the provisional cuts he recorded during the season.

Like Soloveychik, Nagy qualified in the 1650 free. His top time of 14:52.62, good for 25th nationally, was set at this year's Minnesota Invite, and he finished fourth in the event at this year's Big Ten Championships. He's also eligible to take part in the 500 free thanks to his 'B' cut of 4:19.75.

Neverman earned his spot in the 200 fly by breaking his own school record earlier this month at the Gophers' Last Chance Meet. His time of 1:42.56, .40 better than the program record he set earlier this year at the Minnesota Invite, ranks 27th entering the NCAAs. He can also compete in the 100 fly (46.40) and 200 IM (school record 1:43.91) based on his times from the year.

Bennett earned his spot to NCAAs earlier this month at the Zone Diving Championships. He finished third on the platform with a score of 764.05 to become the first Gopher male to earn a spot on the platform at the championships since Alan LeBlang and Jeremy Moser in 2019. In addition, because of his 10th-place finish (717.60), Bennett also qualified for the 3-meter.

The other four Gophers all qualified as part of relay teams, and Minnesota will be able to take part in the 200 medley relay and 800 free relay on Wednesday night.

The 200 medley relay ranks 22nd after its time of 1:24.21 set at this year's Big Ten Championships, while the 800 free relay is 18th thanks to a school-record time of 6:16.25.

Below is a full breakdown of the dates of Minnesota's events and the respective student-athletes competing in them, along with their seeding and qualifying time/scoring in each event.

Wednesday – March 22

200 Medley Relay: 22nd, 1:24.21

800 Free Relay: 18th, 6:16.25

Thursday – March 23

500 Free: Bar Soloveychik (32nd, 4:14.45), Chris Nagy (46th, 4:19.75)

200 IM: Kaiser Neverman (43rd, 1:43.91)

Friday – March 24

100 Fly: Kaiser Neverman (47th, 46.40)

200 Free: Bar Soloveychik (47th, 1:34.38)

100 Breast: Max McHugh (2nd, 50.80)

3-Meter Diving: Drew Bennett (10th at Zone D, 717.60)

Saturday – March 25

200 Breast: Max McHugh (3rd, 1:50.20)

200 Fly: Kaiser Neverman (27th, 1:42.56)

Platform Diving: Drew Bennett (3rd at Zone D, 764.05)

1650 Free: Bar Soloveychik (22nd, 14:50.93), Chris Nagy (25th, 14:52.62)

The original source can be found here.