Michigan
Big Ten Championships (Day 4)
Stein Claims Big Ten Title, Helps Michigan Finish Fourth
2/22/2003 12:00:00 AM | Women's Swimming & Diving
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- Junior Kelli Stein (Columbus, Ohio/Bishop Gallagher HS) earned Michigan's second individual crown, in the 200-yard breaststroke, Saturday (Feb. 22) at the 2003 Big Ten Conference Women's Swimming and Diving Championships and helped the University of Michigan to a fourth-place overall finish at Purdue's Boilermaker Aquatics Center. The Wolverines finished the four-day championship with 460 points, trailing Indiana (595), Wisconsin (561) and Penn State (509).
| | Stein gave the Wolverines their first 200-yard breaststroke title since 1996. |
In seventh place after the first 50 yards of the 200 breaststroke final, Stein posted two of the race's fastest splits in the second and third laps to move into second. In a head-to-head battle with Minnesota's Keri Hein, the event's top qualifier, Stein made up an almost one second differential to secure the title. Stein finished with a personal-best and NCAA automatic qualifying time of 2:12.90, just edging out Hein's mark of 2:13.03.
Johnson finished third in the 200-yard backstroke. Finishing just 0.03 seconds above her qualifying time at 1:58.65, Johnson was beaten out by Wisconsin senior Sarah McCauley (1:58.06) and Iowa sophomore Jenni Skolaski (1:58.58), who each posted nearly one-second improvements with their final swims.
Junior Emily-Clare Fenn (Westport, Conn./Staples HS) gave Michigan a boost in the night's first event, the 1,650-yard freestyle, with a second-place finish and an NCAA automatic mark. Fenn surpassed the NCAA "A" standard by over seven seconds with her time of 16:19.99 but could not overcome a superb performance from the Big Ten Swimmer of the Championships Carly Piper of Wisconsin. Piper annihilated the Big Ten record as her mark of 16:02.61 was almost 12 seconds below Kim Wilson's time of 16:14.67 for Minnesota in 1995.
Junior Lori Eberwein (Maple Glen, Pa./Upper Dublin HS) also provided a scoring performance in the 1,650 freestyle, finishing 16th in 16:56.95. Eberwein was one spot behind her sister, Krystle Eberwein, who notched a 16:54.47 finish for Penn State.
One day after setting a school record with a second-place finish in the 100-yard butterfly, Wolverine junior co-captain Anne Weilbacher (Columbus, Ohio/St. Francis De Sales HS) returned to the pool with a fourth-place showing in the 200 fly. Senior co-captain Erin Abbey (Highland Heights, Ohio/Mayfield HS) and sophomore Amy McCullough (West Bloomfield, Mich./Mercy HS) tied for sixth place in the 100-yard freestyle with identical times of 50.72.
Indiana Diver of the Championships Sarah Hildebrand won the conference's inaugural scored platform diving competition to help the Hoosiers pull away with only the 400-yard freestyle relay yet to be contested. Michigan's score was boosted by senior Kelly Vander Kuyl (Rockford, Mich./Rockford HS), sophomore Alexis Goolik (Carmel, Ind./Carmel HS), junior Tealin Kelemen (Riverton, N.J./Moorestown Friends HS) and senior/junior Emily Koglin (Heyworth, Ill./Normal University HS), who all scored among the conference's top 16 divers.
A Wisconsin victory in the 400-yard freestyle relay could not help the Badgers keep Indiana from its first Big Ten women's swimming and diving title in school history. Michigan posted a second-place result in the event, as Abbey, Weilbacher, McCullough and freshman Abby Seskevics (Grand Haven, Mich./Grand Haven HS) used a 3:21.92 performance to sealed Michigan's fourth-place overall finish.
Michigan's divers who have qualified will take part in the NCAA Zone Diving Meet on Friday and Saturday, March 14-15, in Oxford, Ohio, while the swimmers will switch focus to the NCAA Championships, which will be held March 20-22 at Auburn University's James E. Martin Aquatics Center in Auburn, Ala.
Final Team Standings
1. Indiana 595 2. Wisconsin 561 3. Penn State 509 4. Michigan 460 5. Purdue 403 6. Minnesota 400 7. Northwestern 265 8. Iowa 227 9. Ohio State 172 10. Illinois 146 11. Michigan State 129
Event Winners/U-M Finishes (Day 4)
(Preliminary time in parentheses if faster than finals time)
1,650-yard Freestyle
1. Carly Piper, Wisconsin 16:02.61$* 2. Emily-Clare Fenn, U-M 16:19.99* 16. Lori Eberwein, U-M 16:56.95# 18. Jenay Karlson, U-M 17:00.93 19. Lindsay Johnson, U-M 17:01.01 21. Julie Kern, U-M 17:03.97
200-yard Backstroke
1. Sarah McCauley, Wisconsin 1:58.06%# 3. Sara Johnson, U-M 1:58.65# (1:58.62#)
100-yard Freestyle
1. Jennifer Lyman, Wisconsin 49.64%# 6. Erin Abbey, U-M 50.72# 6. Amy McCullough, U-M 50.72# 20. Abby Seskevics, U-M 51.34 26. Laura Kaznecki, U-M 51.61 32. Tracy Egnatuk, U-M 51.99 59. Clinique Brundidge, U-M 53.57 73. Maya Mandel, U-M 54.94
200-yard Breaststroke
1. Kelli Stein, U-M 2:12.90%* 19. Elsa Larson, U-M 2:21.71 37. Katie Peterson, U-M 2:25.52
200-yard Butterfly
1. Amber Biedermann, Penn State 1:58.08$%* 4. Anne Weilbacher, U-M 1:59.63# 17. Erica Watts, U-M 2:06.05 24. Lesley Barnet, U-M 2:09.95
Platform Diving
1. Sarah Hildebrand, Indiana 506.10 10. Kelly Vander Kuyl, U-M 341.10 12. Alexis Goolik, U-M 319.00 14. Tealin Kelemen, U-M 300.70 15. Emily Koglin, U-M 300.50 21. Courtney Larson, U-M 280.65
400-yard Freestyle Relay
1. Wisconsin 3:18.42$%* (Sarah Hernandez, Jennifer Lyman, Carly Piper, Sarah McCauley) 2. Michigan 3:21.92# (Erin Abbey, Anne Weilbacher, Amy McCullough, Abby Seskevics) $ Big Ten Championships record % Boilermaker Aquatics Center record * NCAA automatic qualifying time # NCAA consideration time
Previous Results: Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3
Contact: Andrew Ladd (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
