Weekly Release #5

Upcoming Schedule
Fri-Sat., Dec. 6-7 -- at Eastern Michigan Invitational (Ypsilanti, Mich.), 6 p.m./10 a.m.
Saturday, Dec. 28 -- at Academy Swim Club (Waimea, Hawaii), 1 p.m. HST
Friday, Jan. 10 -- at Stanford (Palo Alto. Calif.), 1 p.m. PST
Saturday, Jan. 11 -- at California (Berkley, Calif.), 1 p.m. PST

This Week: Eastern Michigan Invitational ...
The No. 1-ranked University of Michigan men's swimming and diving team (4-0, 1-0 Big Ten) will make its second trip this season to Ypsilanti, Mich., as the Wolverines will compete in the Eastern Michigan Invitational Friday and Saturday (Dec. 6-7) in the Michael H. Jones Natatorium. Competition begins Friday night at 6 p.m., while Saturday's events are scheduled for 10 a.m.

Joining the Maize and Blue in the pool will be Allegany, Case Western Reserve, Calvin College, Kalamazoo and Wayne State.

Hail To the Victors Valiant ...
For the first time since the 1994-95 season the University of Michigan men's swimming and diving team is the nation's No. 1-ranked team, according to the most recent (Nov. 27) bi-weekly College Swimming Coaches Association of America poll. The Wolverines (4-0, 1-0 Big Ten) moved up to the top spot in the national poll following a 123-120 victory over then No. 1 Texas in dual meet competition two weeks ago (Nov. 22) in the Lee and Joe Jamail Swim Center in Austin, Texas.

Michigan was previously ranked No. 1 during the 1994-95 campaign when it manned the No. 1 spot in the CSCAA poll the entire season. The Wolverines opened the preseason rankings with the top spot and ended the season with the program's 11th overall NCAA title.

Last Time in the Pool: No. 5 Michigan Tops No. 1 Texas ...
Then No. 5-ranked Michigan extended its unbeaten streak to four meets to open the season with a 123-120 defeat of then No. 1 Texas two weeks ago (Nov. 22) in Austin, Texas. With the Wolverines trailing by two points heading into the final event Michigan's foursome of senior Garrett Mangieri (Old Tappan, N.J./Mercersburg Academy, Pa.), freshmen Chris DeJong (Holland, Mich./Holland HS) and Peter Vanderkaay (Rochester, Mich./Adams HS) and junior anchor Dan Ketchum (Cincinnati, Ohio/Sycamore HS) posted an NCAA consideration time of 2:57.80 to win the event and give the Wolverines the dual meet victory.

Ketchum and Vanderkaay added individual success also as Ketchum won the 200-meter freestyle in an NCAA consideration of 1:36.77, while Vanderkaay took the top spot in the 500-yard free with an NCAA consideration mark of 4:20.55. Junior Jason Coben (Newtown Square, Pa./Marple Newtown HS) added a pair of victories to Michigan's effort with wins on the one- and three-meter springboard. Coben posted NCAA zone diving qualifying scores in each event with marks of 337.42 in the one-meter and 348.75 in the three-meter event.

In an exhibition meet against the Longhorns the next day (Nov. 23), Michigan claimed six of nine event titles, including victories by Vanderkaay in the 1,650-yard freestyle (15:02.42) and Coben in the platform diving event (538.04).

Ketchum if You Can ...
Junior Dan Ketchum earned his third win in the 200-yard freestyle this season when he claimed the top spot in the event at Texas (Nov. 22) with a season-best and NCAA consideration time of 1:36.77. Ketchum also anchored the winning 400-yard freestyle relay squad that touched the wall in an NCAA consideration time of 2:57.80. In exhibition competition, Ketchum anchored another team to victory as the 800-yard freestyle team posted an NCAA consideration mark of 6:37.18.

Clean Entry ...
Junior Jason Coben was a perfect three-for-three on the diving board two weeks ago at Texas, as he posted victories in the one- and three-meter springboards in the dual meet Friday night (Nov. 22) as well as the platform event in the exhibition meet on Saturday (Nov. 23). Coben tallied NCAA zone diving qualifying marks in all three events with scores of 337.42 in the one-meter, 348.75 in the three-meter and 538.04 in the platform.

Scores Improve with Elevation ...
Jason Coben posted a career-best score of 538.04 to win the platform diving event at Texas (Nov. 23). Coben's 2002 NCAA zone diving qualifying mark bettered his previous best of 528.35 set last season at the Big Ten Conference Championships (March 3).

What Does It Take to Be Number One ...
Sophomore Brendan Neligan (Briarwood, N.Y./Archbishop Molloy HS) posted his second win of the season in the 1,000-yard freestyle with a season-best time of 9:06.00 at Texas two week ago (Nov. 22). Neligan added a third-place finish in the 500-yard freestyle with a time of 4:27.87 during the scored meet and placed third in the 1,650-yard freestyles in the exhibition meet the next day (Nov. 23) at 15:37.11.

Vanderkaay Does It Again ...
Freshman Peter Vanderkaay claimed the top spot in the 500-yard freestyle for the third time this season as he posted a career-best and NCAA consideration time of 4:20.55 to win the event at Texas (Nov. 22). Vanderkaay also won the event at Eastern Michigan (Oct. 25) and at Florida (Nov. 1), with times of 4:27.20 and 4:26.23, respectively.

Consider This ...
In Michigan's two meets against Texas two weeks ago (Nov. 22-23) seven individuals and two relay squads earned 13 NCAA consideration times or NCAA zone diving qualifying marks in the Lee and Joe Jamail Swim Center, in Austin, Texas. Here is a list of those who excelled in Texas:

Name Event Score/Time Jason Coben One-Meter Diving 337.42 Three-Meter Diving 348.75 Platform Diving 538.04 Chris DeJong 200-yard Backstroke 1:44.18 Jeff Hopwood 200-yard Breaststroke 2:01.06 Andrew Hurd 500-yard Freestyle 4:27.02 Dan Ketchum 200-yard Freestyle 1:36.77 200-yard Butterfly 1:47.89 Davis Tarwater 200-yard Freestyle 1:39.06 Peter Vanderkaay 500-yard Freestyle 4:20.55 1,650-yard Freestyle 15:02.42 Michigan 'A' 400-yard Freestyle Relay 2:57.80 Michigan 'A' 800-yard Freestyle Relay 6:37.18

The Urbanchek File
Michigan head coach Jon Urbanchek is in his 21st season as head coach of the men's swimming and diving program. He has watched eight of his swimmers go on to earn Olympic medals. He led his 1995 team to an NCAA championship, while individually his swimmers have racked up 35 national titles. On the conference level his teams have won 12 Big Ten championships while posting a staggering record of 92-4 in conference dual meets for a winning percentage of .958. His overall dual meet record is similar, as he has led the Wolverines to an impressive 154-29 (.842) mark.

Michigan in the Polls ...
Following a 4-0 start, including a 123-120 defeat of then No. 1 Texas in Austin, Texas, the Wolverines jumped four spots in the most recent bi-weekly CSCAA Swimming Poll (Nov. 27) to become the No. 1 team in the nation.

RK TEAM Pts. LAST 1. MICHIGAN 172(5) 5 2. Stanford 164(1) 2 3. Texas 162 1 4. Auburn 160(1) 3 5. California 144 4 6. Southern California 142 6 7. Florida 133 7 8. Minnesota 127 8 9. Tennessee 116 9 10. Virginia 108 12 11. Arizona State 106 9 12. Georgina 103 11 13. Wisconsin 89 14 14. North Carolina 83 15 15. Arizona 77 13 16. Purdue 71 18 17. Alabama 59 18 18. Texas A&M 48 16 18. Penn State 48 17 18. Pittsburgh 48 23 21. BYU 34 21 22. Harvard 22 20 23. Georgia Tech 14 -- 24. Hawaii 13 22 25. Washington 9 25

Also Receiving Votes: Indiana, Northwestern, Virginia Tech

On the Horizon ...
The Wolverines will spend their winter break on the big island of Hawaii for winter training and a meet against the Academy Swim Club on Saturday, Dec. 28, in Waimea, Hawaii. The meet is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. HST.

Contact: Gene Skidmore (734) 763-4423