Weekly Release #3
10/30/2001 12:00:00 AM | Women's Swimming & Diving
Upcoming Schedule
Friday, Nov. 2 -- at Minnesota Invitational (Minneapolis, Minn.), 6 p.m. CST
Saturday, Nov. 3 -- at Minnesota Invitational (Minneapolis, Minn.), 11 a.m. CST
Friday, Nov. 16 -- at Michigan State Invitational (East Lansing, Mich.), 5 p.m.
Saturday, Nov. 17 -- at Michigan State Invitational (East Lansing, Mich.), 9 a.m.
This Week
Michigan will return to the Minnesota Invitational on Friday and Saturday (Nov. 2-3) after taking a hiatus from the meet last year. The 2000-01 season was the only time in the last five years that the Wolverines did not make the trip to compete against the Minnesota Golden Gophers and North Carolina Tar Heels at the Minnesota Invitational. Competition begins at 6 p.m. CST on Friday at the University Aquatic Center, followed by events on Saturday beginning at 11 a.m. CST.
Minnesota Invitational History
Michigan will compete in the Minnesota Invitational for the fourth time in the last five years when it faces North Carolina and Minnesota this weekend. The Maize and Blue has posted a 4-4 record at the meet with wins over the likes of Minnesota, North Carolina, Nebraska and Northwestern.
Series History with Minnesota
Despite being in the same conference, the Wolverines and Golden Gophers have only faced each other in dual meets five times. Michigan holds a 3-2 advantage in the all-time series but Minnesota has captured the last two dual meets in 1998-99 (230.5-139.5) and 1999-2000 (234-167).
Scouting Minnesota
Minnesota may have lost three Big Ten Conference Championships top-10 finishers in Tracy LaVoi, Emily Deppe and Katy Christoferson, but the cupboard is far from bare. The 2001-02 version of the Golden Gophers features four swimmers who placed sixth or higher in their respective events at the conference championships. Leading the way is junior Dana Baum, who posted a fourth-place finish in the 1,650-yard freestyle and a sixth-place finish in the 500-yard freestyle. The other member of the team to place in the top six in multiple events at the conference meet was sophomore Sara Bohlsen, with fourth-place showings in the 100-yard butterfly and the 100-yard freestyle. In the 400-yard individual medley the Golden Gophers will look to sophomore Carol Crouthamel to improve on her fifth-place performance at the conference championships. Senior Karen Egerman rounds out Minnesota's top swimmers last year after earning a fifth-place finish in the 200-yard butterfly.
Series History with North Carolina
Michigan took a year off from the Minnesota Invitational last year, but it still had to face a tough North Carolina team in Chapel Hill. The Tar Heels won last year's meet 207-163 to take a 5-1 lead in the all-time series. The series originated in 1978-79 when UNC posted a 67-64 victory and then it added another victory in 1992-93 (167.5-131.5) before the Wolverines got on the board with a win in 1997-98 (192-161) en route to a 9-0 season record. Since then the Tar Heels have won the last three dual meets, with two of them occurring at the Minnesota Invitational.
Scouting North Carolina
North Carolina will enter the Minnesota Invitational with an 0-1 record after dropping its first dual meet of the season to defending national champion Georgia, 175-122. Carolina is considered one of the top teams in the nation after placing ninth last season at the NCAA Championships, which was the school's top showing in 14 years. One of the main reasons for the Tar Heels' success lies in senior Katie Hathaway. Last year she posted top 10 finishes at the NCAA Championships in the 100- and 200-yard breaststrokes as well the 200-yard individual medley. The strength of the team also lies in a trio of sophomores as Jessie Peerequet, Becky Acker and Kelly Wells all earned NCAA All-America Honorable Mention awards for their performances at the NCAA Championships.
Last Week Recap
Michigan took a break from scored meets last weekend as it traveled to the East Coast to scrimmage Harvard and Brown. Friday's (Oct. 26) meet against Harvard consisted solely of relay events while Saturday's (Oct. 27) competition was made of individual events. Against Harvard, 12 Wolverine swimmers competed on winning relay teams while 10 members of the team were victorious on multiple occasions. Leading the way for the Maize and Blue were sophomores Annie Weilbacher (Columbus, Ohio/St. Francis DeSales HS), Sara Johnson (West Bloomfield, Mich./Lahser HS) and Lori Eberwein (Maple Glenn, Pa./Upper Dublin HS), who each swam on four winning relay teams.
Keeping the Momentum
After sweeping both diving events against Florida on Oct. 19, sophomore Tealin Kelemen (Riverton, N.J./Moorestown Friends HS) kept the momentum going against Harvard by combining with senior Lindsey McElroy (Columbia, Mo./Oakland Mills HS) to win both relay diving events. The duo combined for a score of 515.46 on the one-meter relay and then added a score of 563.25 on the three-meter.
Relay Queen
If sophomore Annie Weilbacher is on a relay team, then there is a good chance it is going to win. So far this year Weilbacher has been on eight relay teams that have been victorious. Four of those were during official meets with one coming against Florida in the 400-yard freestyle relay while three others came at the Florida Relays (Oct. 20) in the 200-yard medley relay, the 200-yard breaststroke relay and the 200-yard freestyle relay.
Contact: David Crabtree (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
