Weekly Release #8

1/23/2001 12:00:00 AM | Women's Swimming & Diving

Upcoming Schedule
Friday, Jan. 26 -- at Notre Dame (South Bend, Ind.), 5 p.m.
Saturday, Jan. 27 -- at Northwestern (Evanston, Ill.), 2 p.m. CST
Fri-Sat., Feb. 2-3 -- at Nebraska Invitational (Lincoln, Neb.), 7 p.m./11 a.m.

This Week
The 14th-ranked University of Michigan women's swimming and diving team (4-3, 4-1 Big Ten) is on the road again this weekend as the Wolverines take take on No. 18 Notre Dame in dual meet action Friday (Jan. 26) beginning at 5 p.m. at Rolfs Aquatic Center in South Bend, Ind. U-M will then head to Evanston, Ill., to face No. 23 Northwestern in Big Ten Conference dual meet action Saturday (Jan. 27) at 2 p.m. CST.

The Competition
Notre Dame -- The Fighting Irish (3-1) last competed at the Wolverine Invitational (Jan. 13), where they defeated Illinois (200.5-145.5) and swam a non-scoring meet against U-M. The Irish defeated the Wolverines last season, 170-128, in South Bend (Jan. 29). Notre Dame is 1-3 all-time against the Maize and Blue. Notre Dame on the Internet: www.und.com.

Northwestern -- The Wildcats are coming off a 156-144 victory at Illinois. NU pulled out the victory with a first-place finish in the 200-yard freestyle relay to secure its first conference win of the season. U-M is 12-3 all-time against the Wildcats and defeated them last season by a score of 154-135 (Jan. 28). Northwestern on the Internet: www.nusports.com.

Wolverines Defeat Ohio State in Dual
U-M defeated Big Ten Conference rival Ohio State 132-106 on Saturday (Jan. 20) in Columbus, Ohio. The Maize and Blue won eight of the 13 events.

The 400-yard medley relay team of Jennifer Arndt (Green Bay, Wis./Ashwaubenon HS), Traci Valasco (Rochester Hills, Mich./Rochester Adams HS), Annie Weilbacher (Columbus, Ohio/Hawken HS) and Samantha Arsenault (Peabody, Mass./Gardner HS) gave the Wolverines their first points of the dual with a first-place time of 3:52.62.

U-M took 1-2-3 finish in the 1,650-yard freestyle as Jenay Karlson (San Diego, Calif./Torrey Pines HS) took first with a time of 17:06.62, followed by Lindsay Johnson (Oxford, Mich./Marion HS) in 17:42.92 and Mara Sveum (Minnetonka, Minn./Hopkins HS) placing third in 17:25.81.

Other first-place performances came from Missy Sugar (Newburgh, Ind./Evansville Day School) in the 200-yard freestyle (2:53.54) and freshman diver Tealin Kelemen (Riverton, N.J./Mooretown Friends School), who placed first in the one-meter diving event with a score of 268.50.

Steady Seniors
The Maize and Blue's senior class led the way against Ohio State (Jan. 20) as All-American captain Jennifer Crisman (Hudsonville, Mich/Jenison HS) won the 100-yard freestyle (51.05) and the 50-yard freestyle (23.52). All-American Missy Sugar placed first in the 200-yard freestyle (1.53.54).

Fabulous Freshmen
Freshmen Emily Fenn (Westport Conn./Staples HS) and Sara Johnson (West Bloomfield, Mich./Lahser HS) each had strong performances at Ohio State (Jan. 20). Fenn took first in the 500-yard freestyle for the second straight weekend with a time of 4:58.88. Johnson won the 200-yard IM with a time of 2:08.22.

Arsenault Among Nation's Top Freestylers
In the Jan. 9 national rankings, Samantha Arsenault holds top-25 rankings in the five freestyle events (100, 200, 500, 1,000 and 1,650 yards). She owns the No. 2 position in the 500 freestyle with a time of 4:42.91, just 0.38 from the top time held by Stanford's Jessica Foschi (4:42.53). Arsenault is in the top 10 in two other events, holding the No. 5 time in the 1,000 (9:52.33) and ranking 10th in the 200 (1:48.19).

Other Wolverines in the Rankings
In addition to Samantha Arsenault, nine other Wolverines are ranked among the national top 25 in their respective events. Jenay Karlson (7th, 1,650 freestyle), Lindsay Carlberg (Carmel, Ind./Carmel HS) (8th, 200 backstroke) and Traci Valasco (8th, 200 breaststroke) are among the top eight in their events, while Jennifer Crisman is ranked in three events, including a No. 11 spot in the 50-yard freestyle (23.10).

U-M Individuals in the National Top 25 Rankings (1/9/01)

Name	Event (Yards)	Rank	Time	Date
Samantha Arsenault	100 freestyle	19th	50.71	Dec. 3
	200 freestyle	10th	1:48.19	Dec. 2
	500 freestyle	2nd	4:42.91	Dec. 1
	1,000 freestyle	5th	9:52.33	Nov. 3
	1,650 freestyle	13th	16:41.90	Dec. 3
Jennifer Crisman	50 freestyle	11th	23.10	Nov. 3
	100 freestyle	24th	50.87	Dec. 3
	100 backstroke	24th	56.24	Dec. 2
Lori Eberwein	500 freestyle	16th	4:50.05	Dec. 1
Julie Kern	1,000 freestyle	21st	10:04.73	Nov. 17
Emily Fenn	1,000 freestyle	22nd	10:04.90	Nov. 10
Jenay Karlson	1,000 freestyle	25th	10:06.15	Nov. 3
	1,650 freestyle	7th	16:34.51	Dec. 3
Lindsay Carlberg	200 backstroke	8th	1:59.33	Dec. 2
Jennifer Arndt	200 backstroke	20th	2:01.01	Dec. 2
Traci Valasco	100 breaststroke	22nd	1:03.73	Dec. 2
	200 breaststroke	8th	2:14.51	Dec. 3
Sara Johnson	200 individual medley	18th	2:03.25	Dec. 1

Wolverines Listed 14th in Coaches Poll
U-M is ranked No. 14 in the latest CSCAA Coaches Poll (Jan. 18) and is ahead of four other Big Ten schools. Wisconsin leads at No. 13, followed by No. 15 Penn State, No. 19 Indiana, No. 20 Minnesota and No. 23 Northwestern. The next poll is scheduled to be released Feb. 1.

Speedo America's CSCAA Coaches Poll (1/18/01)

 1. Georgia (6) 198 2. UCLA (2) 191 3. Arizona 179 4. Stanford 177 5. Auburn 168 6. California 167 7. Florida 146 8. Southern Cal 141 9. North Carolina 136 10. Texas 133 11. Southern Methodist 130 12. Virginia 115 13. Wisconsin 107 14. MICHIGAN 91 15. Penn State 89 16. Maryland 78 17. Arizona State 64 18. Notre Dame 55 19. Indiana 46 20. Minnesota 45 21. Hawaii 44 22. Tennessee 26 23. Northwestern 23 24. Princeton 19 Kentucky 19

Contact: Karen Simpson (734) 763-4423