Michigan
Big Ten Championships (Day 3)
Michigan Remains Fourth After Third Day of Big Tens
2/22/2002 12:00:00 AM | Women's Swimming & Diving
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The University of Michigan women's swimming and diving team had five swimmers post career-best times on Friday evening (Feb. 22) at Canham Natatorium while remaining in fourth place at the Big Ten Conference Championships with 255 points.
| | Annie Weilbacher had an NCAA automatic time in the 100 butterfly prelims. |
Although sophomore Annie Weilbacher (Toledo, Ohio/St. Francis DeSales HS) just missed establishing a new personal best in the 100-yard butterfly, the four-time NCAA All-America honorable mention selection placed second in the event for Michigan's highest finish of the meet. With a time of 54.68, Weilbacher was edged out for the top spot by Corrie Clark of Penn State, who posted time of 54.35. Weilbacher had the top time in the preliminaries with her second NCAA automatic qualifying mark of the year (54.50), just off her career-best 54.32 at the Georgia Invitational (Dec. 1).
Michigan's other top-five finisher on the night was senior Lindsay Carlberg (Carmel, Ind./Carmel HS) as she finished fourth in the 100-yard backstroke with an NCAA consideration time of 55.79. The time ties Carlberg's career best in the event as she posted the same mark during her freshman year at the Big Ten Championships while placing third in the event.
Carlberg's performance in the 100-yard backstroke highlighted Michigan's strongest event thus far in the Big Ten Championships. Juniors Laura Kaznecki (Wolverine Lake, Mich./Western HS) and Erin Abbey (Cleveland, Ohio/Mayfield HS) also made it to the evening's competition as the two competed in the "B" final. Kaznecki's time of 56.08 placed her 10th in the event and Abbey posted a career-best time of 56.19 to finish 11th overall. Both times were NCAA consideration marks.
The other three Wolverine swimmers to post career-best times on Friday were sophomores Sara Johnson (West Bloomfield, Mich./Lahser HS) and Erica Watts (Carmel, Ind./Carmel HS) and freshman Amy McCullough (West Bloomfield, Mich./Mercy HS). Of the trio, McCullough had the highest finish with a ninth-place showing in the 200-yard freestyle with an NCAA consideration time of 1:49.06. Johnson also earned an NCAA consideration mark as she placed 12th in the 400-yard individual medley with a time of 4:22.69, while her personal best came in the preliminaries with a mark of 4:21.51. Watts finished 14th in the 100-yard butterfly with a time of 56.58 while competing in her first Big Ten Championships.
Michigan was also able to put points on the board in the breaststroke and in diving. Sophomore Kelli Stein (Columbus, Ohio/Bishop Waterson HS), who will be one of the top competitors on Saturday in the 200-yard breaststroke, placed seventh in the 100-yard breaststroke with an NCAA consideration time of 1:03.74. On the three-meter springboard, sophomore Tealin Kelemen (Riverton, N.J./Moorestown Friends School) was Michigan's highest finisher, taking 12th place with a score of 439.05.
The Big Ten Championships will conclude on Saturday, with preliminaries beginning at 11 a.m. The first three heats of the 1,650-yard freestyle timed final will be held at 5, 5:20 and 5:40 p.m., while the last heat of the mile and the remainder of the finals will start at 7 p.m.
Team Standings (After Day 3)
1. Indiana 429 2. Penn State 416.50 3. Wisconsin 323 4. MICHIGAN 255 5. Purdue 239.50 6. Northwestern 233.50 7. Illinois 200 8. Iowa 197 9. Minnesota 170 10. Michigan State 99.50 11. Ohio State 95
Event Winners/U-M Finishes (Day 3)
(Preliminary time in parentheses if faster than finals time)
400-yard Individual Medley
1. Brooke Taflinger, Indiana 4:16.78* 12. Sara Johnson, U-M 4:22.69# (4:21.51#) 20. Lesley Barnet, U-M 4:29.96 22. Emily-Clare Fenn, U-M 4:31.23 24. Julie Kern, U-M 4:32.93
100-yard Butterfly
1. Corrie Clark, Penn State 54.35* 2. Annie Weilbacher, U-M 54.68# (54.50*) 14. Erica Watts, U-M 56.58
200-yard Freestyle
1. Carly Piper, Wisconsin 1:47.41* 9. Amy McCullough, U-M 1:49.06# 35. Erica Watts, U-M 1:53.66 39. Kathleen Gilbert, U-M 1:54.21 43. Lori Eberwein, U-M 1:54.59 55. Lindsay Johnson, U-M 1:56.78 66. Maya Mandel, U-M 2:00.34
100-yard Breaststroke
1. Kristen Woodring, Penn State 1:01.15* 7. Kelli Stein, U-M 1:03.74# 19. Andrea Kurrle, U-M 1:05.17 27. Lisbeth Goble, U-M 1:06.57 32. Katherine Peterson, U-M 1:07.84
100-yard Backstroke
1. Susan Woessner, Indiana 53.60* 4. Lindsay Carlberg, U-M 55.79# 10. Laura Kaznecki, U-M 56.08# 11. Erin Abbey, U-M 56.19#
Three-meter Diving
1. Carly Weiden, Michigan State 519.85^ 12. Tealin Kelemen, U-M 439.05^ 23. Lindsey McElroy, U-M 393.10 28. Kelly Vanderkuyl, U-M 383.50 36. Alexis Goolik, U-M 195.90 42. Courtney Larson, U-M 180.10 43. Lauren Roth, U-M 172.60 * NCAA automatic qualifying time # NCAA consideration time ^ NCAA zone diving qualifying mark
Previous Results: Day 1 | Day 2
Q U O T E S
U-M Head Coach Jim Richardson
On his team's performance through three days ... "I think we're swimming fairly well. Anytime you have girls post their best times in an event, you can't complain. It's tough though because we have so many holes in our lineup right now. To be able to compete for a Big Ten Championship, you have to bring you're A game and you have to be deep. So far, for most of the meet, we've swum our B game and have been thin. I don't want to take anything away from this team and how they've been able to stick together. They still worked hard even when it was apparent we were going to be short of people this year without Traci (Valasco), Jenay (Karlson) and Samantha (Arsenault)."
Senior Lindsay Carlberg
On her performance ... "I was pleased with how I did in the 100-yard backstroke because I don't think I've placed that high at Big Tens since my freshman year. I've been excited all week about swimming in the Big Ten Championships and I have one more race tomorrow. I have a good shot at winning the 200-yard backstroke tomorrow and that would be a great way to end the meet for me."
Sophomore Annie Weilbacher
On her runner-up performance in the 100-yard butterfly ... "I was pretty relaxed heading into today's race. I just wanted to have fun and wherever my time placed was fine. I've really been focusing on NCAAs so I wasn't rested for this meet and I can't be anything but content with how I did. I just want to go faster in March at the NCAA Championships and today was a good start."
Contact: David Crabtree (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
