Weekly Release #10
3/12/2002 12:00:00 AM | Men's Swimming & Diving
Upcoming Schedule
Fri-Sat., March 15-16 -- at NCAA Diving Zones (West Lafayette, Ind.), 11 a.m.
Thu-Sat., March 28-30 -- at NCAA Championships (Athens, Ga.), 11 a.m./7 p.m.
This Week
The No. 10-ranked University of Michigan men's swimming and diving team will have one representative competing this weekend at the NCAA Zone C Diving Meet on Friday and Saturday (March 15-16) at the Boilermaker Aquatic Center in West Lafayette, Ind. Sophomore Jason Coben (Marple Newtown, Pa./Marple Newtown HS) will compete on the one- and three-meter springboards as well as the platform in hopes of earning his second consecutive trip to the NCAA Championships. The Wolverine swimmers will not return to the water for competition until the NCAA Championships, which will be held Thursday through Saturday, March 28-30, at Gabrielson Natatorium in Athens, Ga.
Schedule of Events at the Zones
| Friday, March 15 | |
| 11 a.m. | Men's three-meter competition Women's one-meter competition |
Saturday, March 16 | |
| 11 a.m. | Men's one-meter competition Women's three-meter competition |
| 4 p.m. | Platform Competition |
Wolverines to Compete at U.S. Swimming Championships
Sophomore Christian Vanderkaay (Rochester, Mich./Adams HS) and freshman Michael Galindo (Washington, D.C./Gonzaga College) will compete at the U.S. Swimming National Championships from Tuesday through Sunday, March 19-23, in Minneapolis, Minn. The two members of the Michigan squad will join former Wolverines and Olympic medalists Tom Malchow and Chris Thompson at the meet.
Coben at the Big Tens
Sophomore Jason Coben was one of the top divers at the Big Ten Championships. Along with winning the platform competition, Coben earned a runner-up finish on the three-meter with a mark of 569.60 and a fourth-place showing on the one-meter with a score of 317.90.
Coben's Season in Review
Jason Coben was named Big Ten Diver of the Week twice this season, for his performances against Penn State/Purdue (Jan. 12) and Michigan State (Feb. 9). In both meets Coben swept both events while posting zone qualifying marks. On the year, Coben won 14 events, with his best in the one-meter occurring against Penn State/Purdue (346.95) and his top score on the three-meter coming against Georgia (Nov. 3) with a mark of 349.87. The only two times Coben competed on the platform, he won the events with a score of 485.55 in a dual vs. Stanford (Jan. 11) and 528.35 at the Big Ten Championships (March 2).
Last Year at the Zone Meet
At the 2001 Zone C Diving Meet in Bloomington, Ind., Jason Coben qualified for the NCAA Championships by placing second on the one-meter board with a mark of 300.90. On the second day of the meet, Coben had fifth- and fourth-place finishes in the three-meter (486.45) and platform (369.50), respectively.
Kimball's Last Time
This week will mark the final NCAA Zone Diving meet for legendary Michigan diving coach Dick Kimball, who will retire this year after 43 seasons on the U-M coaching staff. As a competitor and coach, Kimball has been part of five NCAA national championship teams and 33 Big Ten Conference championship teams with the U-M men and women. He has coached nine Olympic medalists, including gold medalists Bob Webster (1960 and '64, platform), Micki King ('72, three-meter), Phil Boggs ('76, three-meter) and Mark Lenzi ('92, three-meter).
Last Meet Recap
Michigan scored 636.5 points at the Big Ten Conference Championships (Feb. 28-March 2) in Bloomington, Ind., en route to a runner-up finish as Minnesota won the event with 711.50 points. The Wolverines claimed titles in five individual events to go along with the top spot in the 800-yard freestyle. Leading the way was sophomore Dan Ketchum (Cincinnati, Ohio/Sycamore HS) as he posted school and Big Ten meet records in the 200-yard freestyle with a time of 1:34.19, while also adding a Counsilman and Billingsley Aquatic Center record in the 500-yard freestyle with a mark of 4:16.30.
Ketchum joined junior Garrett Mangieri (Closter, N.J./Mercersburg Academy, Pa.) and freshmen Andrew Hurd (Oakville, Ontario/Trafalger HS) and Brendan Neligan (Briarwood, N.Y./Archbishop Molloy HS) on the 800-yard freestyle relay that set a Big Ten meet record with a posting of 6:22.82. Neligan went on to add an individual title in the 1,650-yard freestyle with an NCAA automatic qualifying time of 14:53.94, while senior Tim Siciliano (San Marcos, Calif./San Marcos HS) was the other Wolverine to win an event in the pool as he captured his fourth Big Ten title in the 400-yard individual medley by establishing a pool record with a time of 3:46.13. The sixth title for Michigan came from sophomore diver Jason Coben, as he won the platform competition with a mark of 528.35.
In the Polls
Michigan retained its No. 10 ranking in the latest Collegiate Swim Coaches Association of America poll that was released on March 1. The only Big Ten school appearing higher then the Wolverines is Minnesota at No. 6, while Wisconsin (No. 17), Penn State (No. 20), Indiana (No. 21), Purdue (No. 23) and Northwestern (No. 25) also represent league.
CSCAA Top 25 Poll (3/1/02)
Rank, Team Points 1. Stanford (8) 200 2. Auburn 192 3. Texas 184 4. California 176 5. Tennessee 167 6. Minnesota 159 7. Arizona State 150 8. Southern Cal 146 9. Arizona 135 10. MICHIGAN 131 11. Florida 117 12. Virginia 111 13. South Carolina 105 14. Georgia 98 15. Texas A&M 77 16. Southern Methodist 74 17. Wisconsin 71 18. Alabama 64 19. Pittsburgh 62 20. Penn State 51 21. Indiana 34 22. Georgia Tech 27 23. Purdue 26 24. North Carolina 19 25. Northwestern 14
Contact: David Crabtree (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
