Minn. takes 14th at NCAAs

The Gophers men’s swimming and diving team finished 14th after the NCAA swimming and diving championships were postponed 24 hours due to an outbreak of a gastrointestinal illness. There were no confirmed cases of the illness for the Gophers.
Minnesota garnered 82 total team points. Texas took home first place, scoring 500 team points.
Freshman Michael McBroom finished fourth in the 1,650 yard freestyle with a time of 14 minutes, 50.59 seconds. McBroom also added a 29th-place finish in the 500-yard freestyle preliminary round but didn’t qualify for the finals in the event.
Minnesota’s 200-free relay team composed of Michael Richards, Curt Carlson, Zach Bolin and Kevin Baseheart won the “B” final with a time of 1 minute, 18.30 seconds. The 800-free relay touched in at 11th in a strong field, earning All-American honors.
Richards also placed tenth in the 50 free. With the performance, Richards earned All-American honors, the first time in 10 years that a Gophers athlete has earned the distinction in the event.
Richards, a junior, will be back next season as one of Minnesota’s top sprinters. Joining him will be Carlson, fellow junior and current relay teammate. Carlson earned his seventh career All-American honor for his performance over the weekend in the relays.
After his first year under diving coach Wenbo Chen, diver Andrew Brown placed 13th in the one-meter diving championships with a score of 367.55.
Next year, the Gophers may have the support of its fans base as Minnesota will host the 2011 NCAA championships at the University Aquatic Center.