Michigan
NCAA Championships (Day 3)
Michigan Earns Ninth Place at NCAA Championships
3/30/2002 12:00:00 AM | Men's Swimming & Diving
ATHENS, Ga. -- Head diving coach Dick Kimball received a nice retirement present and the University of Michigan moved up two spots in the standings Saturday (March 30) for the second day in a row to finish ninth at the 2002 NCAA Men's Swimming and Diving Championships at Georgia's Gabrielsen Natatorium.
Sophomore Jason Coben (Newtown Square, Pa./Marple Newton HS), the last diver Kimball will coach on the collegiate level, honored his mentor by earning All-America status with a seventh-place finish in platform diving with a score of 515.85. With Coben contributing 12 points, Michigan was able to move up from 11th place to ninth as it concluded the championships with 183 points. Texas, with 512 points, captured its third consecutive NCAA Championship, edging out Stanford (501).
| | All-American Brendan Neligan placed fifth to lead four U-M scorers in the 1,650-yard freestyle. |
A large portion of the All-America honors came in the 1,650-yard freestyle. With a program steeped in tradition in the mile, including the NCAA, American and U.S. Open record holder in Chris Thompson (1998-2001), the Maize and Blue withheld the tradition on Saturday. Freshman Brendan Neligan (Briarwood, N.Y./Archbishop Molloy HS) led a pack of five Wolverines in the event by earning his second All-America award of the championships, placing fifth with a career-best time of 14:52.14.
Junior Justin Drake (Phoenix, Ariz./Arcadia HS) picked up his second All-America Honorable Mention award by placing ninth in the mile, just five seconds off earning his first ever All-America honor. With a time of 15:00.53, Drake posted the fastest time of his career while leading a group of three Wolverines who earned All-America Honorable Mention in the event.
Sophomore Dan Ketchum (Cincinnati, Ohio/Sycamore HS) left his mark on the 2002 NCAA Championships as he finished 11th in the 1,650-yard freestyle after finishing runner-up in the 200-yard freestyle and fifth in the 500-yard freestyle. Ketchum, who posted a time of 15:03.55, was followed by freshman Andrew Hurd (Oakville, Ontario/Trafalger HS), who placed 16th with a mark of 15:14.21. Tim Siciliano (San Marcos, Calif./San Marcos HS), the 2001 runner-up in the mile, concluded his illustrious career at U-M with a 22nd-place showing (15:18.46).
Another reason for Michigan's improvement from last year's 10th-place finish belongs to junior All-American Jeff Hopwood (Palo Alto, Calif./Palo Alto HS). After redshirting last season with an injury, Hopwood returned to the 2002 NCAA Championships and earned his third All-America award in the 200-yard breaststroke in as many tries. Hopwood was able to place seventh with a career-best time of 1:56.59 after already earning three NCAA All-America Honorable Mention citations at the 2002 championships in the two medley relays and the 100-yard breaststroke.
The final event for Michigan in the 2001-02 season proved to be one of its most gratifying. After making a "B" cut time on its final chance at the Big Ten Championships, the 400-yard freestyle relay team of senior Jordan Watland (Excelsior, Minn./Minnetonka HS), juniors Garrett Mangieri (Closter, N.J./Mercersburg Academy, Pa.) and Tony Kurth (Toledo, Ohio/St. Francis DeSales HS) and Ketchum qualified for the championship final in the morning with a time of 2:54.73. Already guaranteed All-America status, the Maize and Blue quartet finished eighth during the night session with a time of 2:57.29.
As the 2002 NCAA Championships concluded, two more records fell. California junior Anthony Ervin established new American, U.S. Open and NCAA records in the 100-yard freestyle with a time of 41.62, while Texas sophomore Brendan Hansen also took down the same three records in the 200-yard breaststroke with a mark of 1:52.88.
Final Standings (Top 10 Teams)
1. Texas 512 2. Stanford 501 3. Auburn 365.5 4. Florida 277 5. Southern Cal 272 6. California 271 7. Arizona 242 8. Minnesota 216 9. MICHIGAN 183 10. Georgia 167
Event Winners/U-M Finishes (Day 3)
(Preliminary time in parentheses for U-M if faster than finals time)
1,650-yard Freestyle
1. Erik Vendt, Southern Cal 14:37.48 2. John Cole, Harvard 14:39.71 3. Justin Mortimer, Minnesota 14:50.57 4. Robert Margalis, Georgia 14:51.92 5. Brendan Neligan, U-M 14:52.11 6. Ian Prichard, Virginia 14:52.60 7. Klete Keller, Southern Cal 14:54.83 8. Shilo Ayalon, Georgia Tech 14:55.05 9. Justin Drake, U-M 15:00.53 11. Dan Ketchum, U-M 15:03.55 16. Andrew Hurd, U-M 15:14.21 22. Tim Siciliano, U-M 15:18.46
200-yard Backstroke
1. Markus Rogan, Stanford 1:41.14 2. Peter Marshall, Stanford 1:41.85 3. Kirk Hampleman, Auburn 1:42.57 4. Michael Jansen, Florida 1:42.95 5. Chris Kellam, Florida 1:43.00 6. Raymond Hunt, Auburn 1:43.34 7. Christian Harcsas, Arizona St. 1:44.07 8. Alex Lim, California 1:43.02 33. Chuck Sayao, U-M 1:48.18
100-yard Freestyle
1. Anthony Ervin, California 41.62$%! 2. Duje Draganja, California 42.22 3. Roland Schoeman, Arizona 42.80 4. Randall Bal, Stanford 42.96 5. Eric LaFleur, Arizona 43.51 6. Luke Anderson, Virginia 43.52 7. Matthew Macedo, California 43.69 8. Hendrick Odendall, Florida 43.73 19. Garrett Mangieri, U-M 43.75
200-yard Breaststroke
1. Brendan Hansen, Texas 1:52.88$%! 2. Michael Bruce, Stanford 1:54.81 3. Kyle Salyards, Georgia 1:55.67 4. Gary Marshall, Virginia 1:56.33 4. Jeff Hackler, Minnesota 1:56.33 6. Andrew Bree, Tennessee 1:56.56 7. Jeff Hopwood, U-M 1:56.59 8. Mark Gangloff, Auburn 1:57.16
200-yard Butterfly
1. Ioan Gherghel, Alabama 1:42.68 2. Jeff Lee, Southern Cal 1:42.94 3. Rainer Kendrick, Texas 1:43.56 4. Matt McDonald, Stanford 1:44.04 5. Andrew Mahaney, Georgia 1:44.17 6. Duncan Sherrard, Florida 1:44.32 7. Jeff Dash, Arizona 1:44.42 8. Kellan O'Connor, Northwestern 1:44.58
Platform Diving
1. Imre Lengyel, Miami (Fla.) 620.25 2. Justin Dumais, Texas 577.15 3. Matthew Bricker, Auburn 565.85 4. Miguel Velazquez, Miami (Fla.) 553.00 5. Troy Dumais, Texas 545.75 6. Clayton Moss, Kentucky 534.40 7. Jason Coben, U-M 515.85 8. Jonathan Linette, Texas 459.50
400-yard Freestyle Relay
1. California 2:50.01 (Duje Draganja, Anthony Ervin, Matthew Macedo, Mattias Ohlin) 2. Stanford 2:51.63 3. Texas 2:52.73 4. Auburn 2:52.98 5. Arizona 2:53.09 6. Southern Cal 2:53.87 7. Florida 2:53.91 8. Michigan 2:57.29 (2:54.73) (Garrett Mangieri, Jordan Watland, Tony Kurth, Dan Ketchum) $ NCAA Championships Record % American Record ! U.S. Open Record
Day 1 Results | Day 2 Results
NCAA Awards
Swimmer of the Year: Erik Vendt, Southern Cal
Coach of the Year: Greg Troy, Florida
Diving Coach of the Year: Matt Scoggin, Texas
Diver of the Year: Troy Dumais, Texas
Q U O T E S
U-M Head Coach Jon Urbanchek
On the 2002 NCAA Championships ... "We came to the meet with the goal of placing in the top 10 and we did that. It was especially nice to see (Dick) Kimball go out in style."
Michigan Diving Coach Dick Kimball
On the 2002 NCAA Championships and diver Jason Coben ... "I'm very pleased with how Jason performed. He's really starting to mature and this should only help him for the next couple of years. My first year coaching I had four All-Americans and now I get to leave with one."
On his last NCAA Championships ... "All of the diving coaches were really nice to me and it feels good to think that they will sincerely miss me. Plus getting a standing ovation from the crowd when presenting awards is something I really enjoyed and will remember from this meet."
Sophomore Diver Jason Coben
On his performance ... "I'm happy that I could honor (Dick) Kimball because that's the last time I'll ever see him coaching on the collegiate level. It was pretty nerve-wracking with all the cameras and everything, but hopefully I'll be back next year and able to brush that stuff aside. It means a lot to me though that I was able to earn All-America honors."
Junior Jeff Hopwood
On his performance in the 200-yard breaststroke ... "The good part is I had a career-best time, which is what you always shoot for. I can't be disappointed, but it would have been nice to finish higher because there was a big group of us that all finished close together. If I could have finished a couple spots higher I could have helped the team with a few more points, but still, it was just good to be back competing after missing last year."
N O T E S
Every Michigan athlete who competed at the 2002 NCAA Championships earned at least an All-America Honorable Mention award.
Michigan had eight competitors combine for 14 All-America awards at the 2002 NCAA Championships. Seven of those athletes will return next year, with the only departure coming from senior Jordan Watland, who earned a citation for his performance in the 400-yard freestyle relay. Jason Coben, Brendan Neligan, Tony Kurth, Jordan Watland and Andrew Hurd are first-time All-Americans. Last year Michigan had four swimmers -- Chris Thompson, Tim Siciliano, Garrett Mangieri and Dan Ketchum -- combine for 10 All-America honors.
| Jason Coben | Platform Diving (7th) |
| Jeff Hopwood | 200-yard Breaststroke (7th) |
| Andrew Hurd | 800-yard Freestyle Relay (3rd) |
| Dan Ketchum | 200-yard Freestyle (2nd) 500-yard Freestyle (5th) 400-yard Freestyle Relay (8th) 800-yard Freestyle Relay (3rd) |
| Tony Kurth | 400-yard Freestyle Relay (8th) |
| Garrett Mangieri | 200-yard Freestyle (6th) 400-yard Freestyle Relay (8th) 800-yard Freestyle Relay (3rd) |
| Brendan Neligan | 800-yard Freestyle Relay (3rd) 1,650-yard Freestyle (5th) |
| Jordan Watland | 400-yard Freestyle Relay (8th) |
Michigan also had nine swimmers combine for 15 NCAA All-America Honorable Mention awards. The citations were the first for Justin Drake, Andrew Hurd, Tony Kurth, Brendan Neligan and Chuck Sayao.
| Justin Drake | 1,650-yard Freestyle (9th) 200-yard Medley Relay (15th) |
| Jeff Hopwood | 100-yard Breaststroke (16th) 200-yard Medley Relay (15th) 400-yard Medley Relay (11th) |
| Andrew Hurd | 500-yard Freestyle (14th) 1,650-yard Freestyle (16th) |
| Tony Kurth | 200-yard Medley Relay (15th) 400-yard Medley Relay (11th) |
| Garrett Mangieri | 400-yard Medley Relay (11th) |
| Brendan Neligan | 500-yard Freestyle (10th) |
| Chuck Sayao | 400-yard Individual Medley (14th) |
| Tim Siciliano | 400-yard Individual Medley (16th) |
| Jordan Watland | 200-yard Medley Relay (15th) 400-yard Medley Relay (11th) |
Contact: David Crabtree (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
