Michigan
Florida
Michigan Earns Split in Season-Opening Meet at Florida
10/17/2003 12:00:00 AM | Women's Swimming & Diving
Site: Gainesville, Fla. (Stephen C. O'Connell Center Natatorium)
Results: Michigan 178, Florida Atlantic 59; Florida 133, Michigan 93
Records: U-M (1-1)
Next U-M Meet: Saturday, Oct. 18 -- at Florida Invitational (Gainesville, Fla.), 1:00 p.m.
GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- The University of Michigan women's swimming and diving team began its 30th season of varsity competition Friday (Oct. 17) on the University of Florida campus. The Wolverines, along with Florida and Florida Atlantic, competed in a season-opening tri-meet at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center Natatorium. U-M ended the event with a split, dropping a 133-93 decision to the Gators and defeating FAU 178-59.
The Wolverines claimed first place in four of the 13 events, as the Michigan freshmen had remarkable debuts at the meet. Freshman Kaitlyn Brady (Wilmington, Del./Mount Pleasant HS) gave U-M its first win of the night in the 200-yard backstroke, posting a time of 2:06.08. Classmate Susan Gilliam (Los Angeles, Calif./Bolles HS) cruised to a first-place finish in the 500-yard freestyle with an NCAA consideration time of 4:53.26. In her first event, Gilliam finished second in the 1,000-yard freestyle (9:56.75).
Freshman Lindsey Smith (Dexter, Mich./Dexter HS) and Brady finished near the top in their respective freestyle races. Brady nearly took the top spot in the 50-yard freestyle (23.91), while Smith finished third in the 100-yard freestyle (52.28).
Senior Kelli Stein (Columbus, Ohio/Bishop Waterson HS) also posted an NCAA consideration time, clocking in at 2:16.29 in the 200-yard breaststroke to claim first. Sophomore Elsa Larson (Portland, Ore./Lincoln HS) placed second in the event with a time of 2:23.29.
As for the relays, U-M finished with the top two times in the 400-yard freestyle event. The quartet of Smith, Abby Seskevics (Grand Haven, Mich./Grand Haven HS), Tracy Egnatuk (Albion, Mich./Albion Senior HS) and Gilliam won by nearly eight seconds with a time of 3:31.76.
In the 400-yard medley relay, Brady, Kelli Stein, Anne Weilbacher (Columbus, Ohio/St. Francis DeSales HS) and Amy McCullough (West Bloomfield, Mich./Mercy HS) teamed up for a second-place performance (3:49.15)
The Wolverines posted a pair of third-place finishes in the two diving events. Freshman Ellen Van Cleve (Ann Arbor, Mich./Pioneer HS) earned 235.87 points in the one-meter event, while senior Tealin Kelemen (Riverton, N.J./Moorestown Friends School) scored 263.47 on the three-meter board.
Michigan (1-1) returns to the O'Connell Center on Saturday (Oct. 18) to compete in the Florida Invitational. The meet will feature teams from Florida, Florida Atlantic and Indian River Community College and is scheduled to begin at 11 a.m.
Event Winners/U-M Finishes
400-yard Medley Relay 1. Florida "A" 3:46.79 (Maureen Farrell, Vipa Bernhardt, Rebecca Harper, Janelle Atkinson) 2. Michigan "A" 3:49.15 (Kaitlyn Brady, Kelli Stein, Anne Weilbacher, Amy McCullough) 5. Michigan "B" 4:00.30 (Lindsey Smith, Elsa Larson, Erica Watts, Elaine Shalla) 1,000-yard Freestyle 1. Sara McLarty, Florida 9:43.01 2. Susan Gilliam, U-M 9:56.75 5. Emily-Clare Fenn, U-M 10:16.85 6. Lori Eberwein, U-M 10:19.15 7. Annie Stein, U-M 10:24.45 200-yard Freestyle 1. Mary Uhle, Florida 1:50.12# 4. Lindsey Smith, U-M 1:54.02 5. Amy McCullough, U-M 1:54.24
10. Maya Mandel, U-M 2:01.46
11. Elaine Shalla, U-M x2:02.32 50-yard Freestyle 1. Maureen Farrell, Florida 23.86 2. Kaitlyn Brady, U-M 23.91 7. Abby Seskevics, U-M 24.55 8. Tracy Egnatuk, U-M 24.89 11. Clinique Brundidge, U-M 25.69 200-yard Individual Medley 1. Leah Retrum, Florida 2:04.67 4. Anne Weilbacher, U-M 2:05.90 9. Lesley Barnet, U-M 2:13.81 10. Elsa Larson, U-M 2:14.58 200-yard Butterfly 1. Rebecca Harper, Florida 2:00.91# 4. Anne Weilbacher, U-M 2:05.37 8. Annie Stein, U-M 2:10.72 9. Erica Watts, U-M 2:11.02 10. Amanda Johnson, U-M x2:12.31 100-yard Freestyle 1. Mary Uhle, Florida 51.67 3. Lindsey Smith, U-M 52.28 6. Abby Seskevics, U-M 53.83 7. Amy McCullough, U-M 54.08 10. Tracy Egnatuk, U-M x54.26 200-yard Backstroke 1. Kaitlyn Brady, U-M 2:06.08 5. Lesley Barnet, U-M 2:17.28 500-yard Freestyle 1. Susan Gilliam, U-M 4:53.26# 2. Lori Eberwein, U-M 5:05.05 3. Annie Stein, U-M 5:05.84 4. Emily-Clare Fenn, U-M x5:11.33 200-yard Breaststroke 1. Kelli Stein, U-M 2:16.29# 2. Elsa Larson, U-M 2:23.29 One-meter Diving 1. Nicole Bolt, Florida 296.32^ 3. Ellen Van Cleve, U-M 235.87 4. Alexis Goolik, U-M 234.07 6. Tealin Kelemen, U-M 232.94 8. Courtney Larson, U-M x204.37 Three-meter Diving 1. Nicole Bolt, Florida 281.10^ 3. Tealin Kelemen, U-M 263.47 6. Alexis Goolik, U-M 220.04 7. Ellen Van Cleve, U-M 202.65 8. Courtney Larson, U-M x199.50 400-yard Freestyle Relay 1. Michigan "A" 3:31.76 (Lindsey Smith, Abby Seskevics, Tracy Egnatuk, Susan Gilliam) 2. Michigan "B" 3:39.42 (Clinique Brundidge, Lori Eberwein, Maya Mandel, Elaine Shalla) # NCAA consideration time ^ NCAA zone diving qualifying mark
Q U O T E S
U-M Head Coach Jim Richardson
On his impressions of U-M's performance ... "I thought Susan Gilliam's performance in the 1,000-yard freestyle was excellent. Kelli Stein also had a very good time in the 200-yard breaststroke. Overall, I thought we did the best we could with what we had to work with. We have not had a lot of experience with the short course, so our tempo was not what it should be. From what I saw from our younger swimmers, I think this could be a very good team towards the end of the season."
Contact: Marc Ressler (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
