Weekly Release #10
3/20/2001 12:00:00 AM | Men's Swimming & Diving
Upcoming Schedule
Thu-Sat., March 22-24 -- at NCAA Championships (College Station, Texas)
Preliminaries at Noon CST, finals at 7 p.m. CST each day
Wolverines Head to NCAA Championships
The ninth-ranked University of Michigan men's swimming and diving team heads to the 2001 NCAA Championships, hosted by Texas A&M Thursday through Saturday (March 22-24) at the Student Recreation Center Natatorium in College Station, Texas. ESPN will provide tape-delayed coverage of the meet Thursday, April 5, at 2 p.m.
The meet will feature the nation's top collegiate swimmers and divers who have met qualifying standards during the season in their respective events. The field is limited to 270 participants, with all swimmers and relay teams who have achieved NCAA "A" standards given automatic berths.
Schedule of Events
Events will begin each day with preliminaries at noon CST and the finals session will start at 7 p.m. CST. The NCAA Championships schedule is as follows:
| Thursday, March 22 | 200-yard freestyle relay 500-yard freestyle 200-yard individual medley 50-yard freestyle One-meter diving 400-yard medley relay |
Friday, March 23 | 200-yard medley relay 400-yard individual medley 100-yard butterfly 200-yard freestyle 100-yard breaststroke 100-yard backstroke Three-meter diving 800-yard freestyle relay |
Saturday, March 24 | 1,650-yard freestyle 200-yard backstroke 100-yard freestyle 200-yard breaststroke 200-yard butterfly Platform diving 400-yard freestyle relay |
Nine Wolverines Among NCAA Qualifiers
Nine Michigan swimmers have qualified for the NCAA Championships, led by seniors Chris Thompson (Roseburg, Ore./Roseburg HS) and Scott Werner (Haymarket, Va./Paul VI HS), who qualified in three individual events each. Juniors Tim Siciliano (San Marcos, Calif./San Marcos HS) and Jordan Watland (Excelsior, Minn./Minnetonka HS) and freshman Dan Ketchum (Cincinnati, Ohio/Sycamore HS) also will swim in three individual events each.
Sophomores Justin Drake (Phoenix, Ariz./Arcadia HS) and Garrett Mangieri (Closter, N.J./Mercersburg Academy, Pa.) will compete in two individual events, while Ryan Earhart (Cincinnati, Ohio/St. Xavier HS) will compete in one individual event. Freshman diver Jason Coben (Newtown Square, Pa./Maple Newtown HS) will compete in the one-meter, three-meter and platform events.
Michigan will be competing in all but one relay event (200-yard freestyle relay) with all U-M swimmers potentially being entered on one or multiple teams.
| Name | Event (Yards) | Qualifying Time (Seed) |
| Tim Siciliano | 500 freestyle | 4:18.30 (7th) |
| | 400 individual medley | 3:42.45 (2nd) |
| | 1,650 freestyle | 14:51.63 (3rd) |
| Chris Thompson | 200 freestyle | 1:37.10 (29th) |
| | 500 freestyle | 4:16.22 (2nd) |
| | 1,650 freestyle | 14:31.15 (1st) |
| Scott Werner | 200 individual medley | 1:48.84 (36th) |
| | 100 breaststroke | 54.54 (20th) |
| | 200 breaststroke | 1:58.23 (15th) |
| Dan Ketchum | 200 freestyle | 1:34.99 (Tie-1st) |
| | 500 freestyle | 4:17.65 (5th) |
| | 1,650 freestyle | 15:05.77 (15th) |
| Jordan Watland | 100 backstroke | 48.34 (24th) |
| | 100 freestyle | 44.56 (57th) |
| | 200 freestyle | 1:39.21 (58th) |
| Justin Drake | 500 freestyle | 4:24.35 (35th) |
| | 1,650 freestyle | 15:03.20 (13th) |
| Garrett Mangieri | 100 freestyle | 44.44 (46th) |
| | 200 freestyle | 1:37.42 (32nd) |
| Ryan Earhart | 200 backstroke | 1:44.58 (19th) |
| Jason Coben | 1-meter diving | 2nd place at Zone Meet |
| | 3-meter diving | |
| | Platform diving | |
| Mangieri, Watland, Ketchum, Kurth | 400 freestyle relay | 2:15.17 (None) |
| Watland, Ketchum, Thompson, Mangieri | 800 freestyle relay | 6:26.33 (3rd) |
| Watland, Werner, Kurth, Raines | 200 medley relay | 1:31.48 (None) |
| Watland, Werner, Mangieri, Vanderkaay | 400 medley relay | 3:16.17 (None) |
Top Contenders
U-M will be strong in the 1,650- and 500-yard freestyles with four individuals (Chris Thompson, Tim Siciliano, Justin Drake and Dan Ketchum) having placed 1-2-5-6 and 1-2-4-11, respectively, at the Big Ten Championships. Siciliano is looking for his third-consecutive 400 individual medley win (400 meters in 200), while Chris Thompson, 2000 Olympic bronze medalist in the 1,500 meters, will look for his first national title in the 1,650-yard freestyle after three straight runner-up finishes (1,500 meters in 2000). Freshman Dan Ketchum is tied for the first seed in the 200-yard freestyle after winning the Big Ten crown.
Moving Up the Ladder
The Wolverines are looking to improve on last year's 14th-place finish at the NCAA Championships and get back into the top 10, where they have placed eight times between 1990 and 2000, including their NCAA Championship season in 1995. Michigan has won 18 NCAA team championships (seven unofficial) and is tied with Ohio State for the record.
Wolverines at 2000 NCAA Championships
At the 2000 NCAA Men's Swimming and Diving Championships in Minneapolis, Minn., Michigan had three All-Americans en route to a 14th-place team finish (119 points). Leading the way for U-M was Tim Siciliano, who won the 400-meter individual medley, setting American and U.S. Open records, as well as placing fourth in the 1,500-meter freestyle to earn All-America status and 11th in the 400-meter freestyle to earn honorable mention status. Chris Thompson earned All-America status with his second- and third-place finishes in the 1,500-meter freestyle and 400-meter freestyle, respectively. Jeff Hopwood (Palo Alto, Calif./Palo Alto HS) also became an All-American with his fourth-place finish in the 200-meter breaststroke. (Note: Since last year was an Olympic year, the format was short-course meters.)
Returning All-Americans
The Wolverines return five individuals who earned NCAA All-America and/or All-American Honorable Mention last seasion. Chris Thompson raised his career total to six All-America honors (six individual) as well has having received three honorable mentions. Tim Siciliano earned All-America status in the 400-meter individual medley and the 1,500-meter freestyle and earned honorable mention status in the 400-meter freestyle. Jeff Hopwood earned All-America honors in the 200-meter breaststroke and honorable mention status in the 100-meter breaststroke. Scott Werner also earned honorable mention status in the 100- and 200-meter breaststroke events.
U-M Returning 2000 NCAA All-Americans
| Name | Event/Place |
| Tim Siciliano (4) | 400-meter individual medley (1st) |
| | 1,500-meter freestyle (4th) |
| | 400-meter freestyle* (12th) |
| | 800-meter freestyle relay* (14th) |
| Chris Thompson (3) | 1,500-meter freestyle (2nd) |
| | 400-meter freestyle (3rd) |
| | 800-meter freestyle relay* (14th) |
| Jeff Hopwood (2) | 200-meter breaststroke (4th) |
| | 100-meter breaststroke* (10th) |
| Tony Kurth (1) | 200-meter individual medley* (16th) |
* NCAA All-America Honorable Mention | |
Big Ten Championships
At the Big Ten Conference Championships (Feb. 22-24), U-M finished in second (549 points) to host Minnesota (797 points). The Wolverines had several strong performances, with Chris Thompson winning both the 500- and 1,650-yard freestyles, Tim Siciliano taking his third straight 400-yard individual medley title and freshman Dan Ketchum winning the 200-yard freestyle. The 800-yard freestyle relay team of Thompson, Ketchum, Jordan Watland and Garrett Mangieri took first place for U-M's first victory in the event since 1998.
All-Conference Cheers
U-M had five representatives on the all-conference team, made up of event winners and three at-large selections. Wolverine event champions were:
Chris Thompson -- 500 freestyle, 1,650 freestyle, 800 freestyle relay
Dan Ketchum -- 200 freestyle, 800 freestyle relay
Tim Siciliano -- 400 individual medley
Garrett Mangieri -- 800 freestyle relay
Jordan Watland -- 800 freestyle relay
Chris Thompson was also named Big Ten Swimmer of the Year for the second time in three years, and Dan Ketchum received Big Ten Freshman of the Year honors. Ketchum is the ninth Wolverine to win or share the award since it was created in 1988.
Diver in the Zone
Jason Coben traveled to Indiana University to compete in the NCAA Zone C Diving Meet (March 9-10). Coben placed second in the one-meter event (300.90) to qualify for nationals. He also was fifth in the three-meter event (486.45) and fourth on platform (369.50).
Thompson in Elite Company
Chris Thompson became just the fourth swimmer in conference history to win four titles in two individual events when he captured the 500- and 1,650-yard freestyles at the 2001 meet. Thompson won both events in NCAA automatic qualifying times of 4:16.22 and 14:31.15, respectively. Former Wolverines Derya Buyukuncu (1995-98, 100- and 200-yard backstroke) and Gustavo Borges (1992-95, 100- and 200-yard freestyles) also achieved sweeps in two events.
Super Sophs
Justin Drake, Ryan Earhart and Garrett Mangieri will all be making their first appearance at the NCAA Championships (March 22-24). The sophomores will be competing in a total of five individual events.
Senior Farewell
Senior captains Chris Thompson and Scott Werner will be competing in the final intercollegiate swimming meet of their U-M careers when they head to the NCAA Championships this weekend.
Michigan Ranked Ninth in CSCAA Poll
U-M is ranked No. 9 in the CSCAA pre-NCAA Championships poll (March 8) and is ahead of three other Big Ten schools in the rankings. Penn State follows at No. 12, while Wisconsin is No. 17 and Purdue is No. 23.
Speedo America's CSCAA Coaches Poll (3/8/01)
1. Texas 200 2. Stanford 192 3. Auburn 184 4. Southern Cal 170 5. Tennessee 169 6. California 150 7. Arizona 146 8. Minnesota 141 9. MICHIGAN 136 10. Florida 134 11. Texas A&M 131 12. Penn State 103 13. Virginia 101 14. Arizona State 94 15. Southern Methodist 91 16. Harvard 71 17. Wisconsin 63 18. Georgia 62 19. Brigham Young 54 20. North Carolina 45 21. Kentucky 37 22. Purdue 34 23. Pittsburgh 28 24. UNLV 19 25. Iowa State 17
Contact: Karen Simpson (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
