MINNEAPOLIS — With the guidance of only two individual athletes last weekend at the NCAA Championships, the University of Wisconsin men’s swim team secured a 19th-place national finish. The senior pair of Tim Liebhold and Adam Mania carried the Badgers in their final collegiate competitions.
The Badger duo made a splash on the first day of competition by each earning a spot in the consolation final of the 200-yard individual medley. Liebhold led the way in his first-ever individual NCAA final, finishing 12th with a time of 1:46.58, only four-hundredths off of his preliminary swim.
“Twelfth in the 200 is really good,” Liebhold said. “Anything I can get out of the 200 is really good.”
With distractions at hand, the race did not play out as well for Mania. The Hickman, Neb., native finished the race in 14th place with a time of 1:47.31, a second slower than his preliminary swim.
“[The event] did not go nearly as expected,” Mania said. “This morning I had a really good swim and I just tried to do the same thing this evening. There were a couple of variables that took my head out of it. My cap ripped before the race so I had to run over and get a new one and then my suit was really stretched out, so every time I pushed off the wall, it kept inching down little by little.”
Both Liebhold and Mania earned honorable-mention All-American honors for the event on the opening day of competition.
“I’m happy with the way we opened the meet and we capitalized on our first two opportunities,” head coach Eric Hansen said. “We got two All-Americans after the first day.”
The following day, Mania and Liebhold once again made an impact, each earning spots in the NCAA final and garnishing All-American honors. The competition marked the first time both Mania and Liebhold advanced to an individual final at the NCAA Championships. Mania finished eighth in the 100-yard backstroke with a time of 47.44, while Liebhold finished sixth in the 400-individual medley with a time of 3:48.81.
“The day did not go as I wanted, but the fact that I got into the top eight individually and made an individual All-American was a first for me and I’m really happy,” Mania said.
Liebhold’s preliminary swim broke his three-month-old team record set at the Texas Invitational. His sixth-place finish was also the highest ever by a Badger in the 400-yard individual medley. It also was the first time in 33 years that a Badger had earned All-American honors in the event.
“I wish I could have gone faster, but I got sixth at NCAAs so I can’t complain,” Liebhold said. “On the same token, it is still quite an accomplishment and I’m really happy. I’ve come a long way, but I know I can do better, too, that is why I’m still swimming. I’m still getting better and I’m having fun, so I know there is more in there.”
Carrying the momentum from day two, Liebhold and Mania finished the meet six-for-six by both earning a second swim in the 200-yard backstroke. Liebhold finished 16th with a time of 1:44.78 and another honorable-mention All-American selection.
Mania finished the race in seventh place with a time of 1:43.75, a second slower than his preliminary swim, which broke his school record by six-tenths of a second set a year ago at the 2004 Big Ten Championships. His finish also earned him another All-American accolade and was the highest place ever by a Badger in that event.
“Our two guys were phenomenal,” Hansen said. “For two guys to earn a 19th finish was amazing. They really stepped up and got it down in six out of six events. We are really proud of them.”
In the end, Liebhold and Mania racked up 45 points for the Badgers, the fourth highest in school history and the most ever by two individuals. For the pair, the performance was the perfect way to end their respective college careers and embark on the journey of professional swimming and the grueling task of qualifying for national teams.
“This meet has been fun,” Liebhold said. “For two guys to go six for six and place in the top 20 is impressive. In the end it’s kind of bittersweet being the fact that it was both our last college meet, but at the same time my swimming career is not over by a long shot. It’s still hard to realize that four years have come and gone … where did they go? But I’m happy, I’m glad I went a best time in the 200 back. It was an exciting meet.”
The senior duo both agreed they saved the best performance of their college careers for last and are ready to take the next plunge in swimming — wherever those opportunities may present themselves.
“Both of us had our best meet ever and it was great to experience it with Tim (Liebhold) and everything and to see the large steps that we have taken,” Mania said. “It’s the end of our college career, which is sad, but it’s not the end of our swimming career. We still have a lot of swimming to do.”
