Michigan Men
The No. 3-ranked University of Michigan men's swimming and diving team capped off another undefeated season -- its fifth in a row as a program -- downing Michigan State, 173-93, on Saturday (Feb. 6) inside Canham Natatorium. Junior Jason Chen was one of nine different Wolverines to win an individual event, taking first in the 50-yard backstroke (22.20) and 100-yard individual medley (49.41).
With championships coming up and rest for most setting in, the team used the meet as a chance to try different combinations on relays and put swimmers in events they do not normally swim. Among those included a foursome in the 100-yard freestyle: sophomores Evan White (44.38), Tristan Sanders (44.85) and Aaron Whitaker (45.19) and junior Chris Klein (45.65). Senior Dylan Bosch also switched things up, winning the 500-yard freestyle (4:24.09), finishing just below the NCAA 'B' standard for that event.
Other swimmers looked right at home in their specialized events. Sophomore Ian Rainey (3:53.09) and senior Will Raynor (4:00.84) went 1-2 in the 400-yard IM, senior Paul Corbae won the 200-yard breaststroke (2:06.19), and fifth-year senior Jeremy Raisky hammered out a win in the 50-yard butterfly (21.46).
Senior Matt McNamara got his hand on the wall ahead of MSU's Alec Kandt in the 50-yard breaststroke (25.77 to 25.86) in one of the more exciting races of the afternoon. Other individual event winners included senior/junior Luke Papendick in the 200-yard backstroke (1:47.16) and sophomore Aaron Whitaker in the 200-yard butterfly (1:50.54).
The Wolverines also won all three relays, two of which were made up entirely of seniors. Peter Brumm, McNamara, Bosch and Anders Lie Nielsen were on the 400-yard medley relay (3:14.89), while Kyle Dudzinski, Raisky, Aaron Ghiglieri and Nielsen made up the 200-yard freestyle relay (1:22.58). U-M also swam the 800-yard freestyle relay for the first time this season. Comprising that team was sophomore PJ Ransford, senior Nick Killeen and freshman Kai Williams and Mokhtar Al-Yamani (6:37.94).
In the diving well, sophomore Collin DeShaw finished second on both one-meter (295.42) and three-meter (283.65).
The Wolverines now ready themselves for the postseason, which begins in three weeks at the Big Ten Championships (Feb. 24-27 at Purdue). Before that, the men's and women's teams will put up select swimmers at the Michigan First Chance Meet, which runs next Saturday and Sunday (Feb. 13-14) at Canham Natatorium. The races will begin at 11 a.m. each day.
Michigan Women
The No. 6-ranked University of Michigan women's swimming and diving team won every single event to earn a clean sweep over in-state rival Michigan State, 180-81, on Saturday (Feb. 6) inside Canham Natatorium. Though the Wolverines honored its nine-person senior class before the meet, it was a pair of underclassmen -- sophomore Clara Smiddy and freshman Becca Postoll -- that led the way, winning two individual events each.
With championships approaching and rest setting in for most, the team used the meet to try different relay combinations, put swimmers in events in which they normally do not participate and most importantly, have fun while celebrating the senior class. Smiddy won the 50-yard backstroke (25.50) and 100-yard individual medley (56.04), while Postoll touched first in the 100-yard freestyle (51.22) and 200-yard backstroke (2:00.53).
The 50-yard breaststroke was perhaps most impressive team performance of the afternoon, as all four Wolverines finished ahead of all four Spartans in the race. Leading the way for U-M was sophomore Emily Kopas (28.56), who barely out-touched freshman teammate Siobhán Haughey for the win (28.60). Following those two were senior Marni Oldershaw (29.34) and freshman Jamie Yeung (29.94). Haughey also won the 200-yard breaststroke later in the afternoon (2:14.24).
Postoll and Haughey were not the only freshmen to win on Saturday. Freshman Katie Duggan picked up her first career individual event win, taking the 500-yard freestyle (4:57.10), while Yirong Bi won the 400-yard IM (4:18.01). And in a bit of a departure from her distance freestyle events, sophomore Gillian Ryan took the 200-yard butterfly (2:03.07) title.
The Wolverines also won the 200-yard freestyle relay (1:33.99), the 400-yard medley relay (3:46.30) and the 800-yard freestyle relay (7:28.82).
The divers also had a strong showing. Senior Sarah Kamstra continues to round into form, winning one-meter (298.73) and taking second on three-meter (306.75), earning NCAA Zone Diving cuts with both scores. Junior Allie Murphy improved on her own season-best score, claiming the three-meter title (317.92). Also picking up NCAA Zone cuts on three-meter were fifth-year senior Nicole Honey (300.91) and senior Elena Ghormley (284.03). All four divers -- plus junior Keegan McCaffrey, who did not compete on Saturday -- have an NCAA Zone cut on at least one event.
The Wolverines now ready themselves for the postseason, which begin in two weeks when they host the Big Ten Championships from Feb. 17-20 at Canham Natatorium. Before that, the men's and women's teams will put up select swimmers at the Michigan First Chance Meet, which runs next Saturday and Sunday (Feb. 13-14). The races will begin at 11 a.m. each day.
