Michigan Drops Dual to Penn State in Home Opener

Friday, January 18

Ann Arbor, Mich.

4:00 PM

Michigan

114

129

Penn State

1/18/2002 12:00:00 AM | Women's Swimming & Diving

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The No. 17 University of Michigan women's swimming and diving team dropped its first home dual meet of the season on Friday evening (Jan. 18) when it fell 129-114 to No. 18 Penn State at Canham Natatorium. The Nittany Lions (2-2, 1-0 Big Ten) were able to secure the win in the last event of the day, the 400-yard freestyle relay, capturing first by 0.11 of a second in an event the Wolverines needed to take first and second in in order to gain their first win of the season.

Carlberg

Michigan (0-4, 0-2 Big Ten) got off to a fast start in the dual meet as it claimed the first three swimming events on the day. The 400-yard medley relay team was victorious in the first event of the evening when it posted an NCAA consideration time of 3:45.57. The 400-yard medley relay team included senior Lindsay Carlberg (Carmel, Ind./Carmel HS), sophomores Kelli Stein (Columbus, Ohio/Bishop Waterson HS), and Annie Weilbacher (Columbus, Ohio/St. Francis DeSales HS), and junior Laura Kaznecki (Wolverine Lake, Mich./Western HS). Carlberg's time of 56.40 to lead off the relay earned her an NCAA consideration mark for the 100-yard backstroke.

The Wolverines' second and third victories on the day came from sophomore Emily Clare Fenn (Westport, Conn./Staples HS) and freshman Amy McCullough (West Bloomfield, Mich./Mercy HS). Fenn was the top performer in the 1,000-yard freestyle at 9:59.89, her first posting under 10 minutes in the event this season, while McCullough followed with a victory in the 200-yard freestyle at 1:51.53.

After U-M jumped out to an early lead, Penn State reeled off wins in the 200-yard individual medley, the 200-yard butterfly and the 100-yard freestyle to take the lead before Carlberg and McCullough broke the streak with their second wins of the day. Carlberg's NCAA consideration time of 1:59.42 was the fastest in the 200-yard backstroke while McCullough's second win came in the 500-yard freestyle when she touched the wall with an NCAA consideration time of 4:52.09.

With McCullough's win in the 500-yard freestyle, Michigan closed the margin in the dual meet to one point and came within a second of taking the lead when Stein made a run for the top spot in the 200-yard breaststroke. Stein was beaten out by Penn State All-American Kristen Woodring for first by 0.56 of a second as both earned NCAA consideration marks at 2:15.36 and 2:15.92, respectively.

Michigan also received a victory on the diving boards when sophomore Tealin Kelemen (Riverton, N.J./Moorestown Friends School) won the three-meter competition with a NCAA zone qualifying score of 273.15. Kelemen also finished runner-up on the one-meter with a mark of 236.55.

The Wolverines return to action Saturday (Jan. 19) as they face Michigan State and Ohio State in a double dual in East Lansing, Mich. The meet will start at 2 p.m. at MSU's Charles McCaffree Pool.

Q U O T E S

Michigan Head Coach Jim Richardson
On the meet ... "It was a very exciting meet and we had a lot of good performances. We just don't have a lot of depth and it showed after our top one or two swimmers in each event. Still, this was a fast meet and the girls swam well but Penn State was just faster."

On competing against Michigan State and Ohio State on Saturday ... "I told the girls that at the Big Ten Championships you have to swim twice in your event in one day. Tomorrow will be tough after competing in a meet like this against Penn State, but they should be ready. Michigan State is a tough place to swim though and it will be a good test for our freshmen."

On Kelli Stein ... "Kelli had a great performance in the 200-yard breaststroke. She just needs to get a little more confidence in the first 100 yards to realize she can compete with the best of them. It was a good race for her though and she is going to be a very special swimmer in the breaststroke."

On Lindsay Carlberg ... "Lindsay got a push from Erin Mulshenock in the backstroke, but she was determined not to let her beat her. She gave a great effort and showed a lot of leadership by making sure she won her event."

Contact: David Crabtree (734) 763-4423