Weekly Release #1

10/12/2004 12:00:00 AM | Women's Swimming & Diving

Upcoming Schedule
Saturday, Oct. 16 -- vs. Florida (Canham Natatorium), 1 p.m.
Wednesday, Oct. 27 -- at Michigan State (East Lansing, Mich.), 6 p.m.

This Week
The University of Michigan women's swimming and diving team begins its 31st season of varsity competition this weekend at home in Canham Natatorium. The Wolverines will host national powerhouse Florida this Saturday (Oct. 16) at 1 p.m.

Scouting the Opponents
Florida -- Michigan faces a tough test in its first opponent, as the Gators finished in fourth place at last year's NCAA Championships. Florida returns 24 letterwinners from last season's squad, including eight NCAA All-Americans. Breaststroker Vipa Bernhardt returns for her junior season aftering competing for Germany in the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Greece. The Gators also have nine Olympic Trial qualifiers on their 2004-05 roster. Head coach Gregg Troy is in his seventh season at the helm of both the men's and women's swimming programs at Florida. Michigan will look to knock off the Gators for the first time after going 0-4 since the 1999-2000 season. Last year, the Wolverines opened up the season with a 133-93 loss to Florida in Gainesville, Fla. Florida on the Internet: www.gatorzone.com.

We're Going Live
If you're unable to make it to Canham Natatorium this season, you can keep up on all the U-M swimming and diving action as it is happening. MGoBlue.com will provide living scoring for all three of Michigan's scheduled dual meets in 2004-05.

U-M in Season Openers
The Wolverines will look to win their 15th season opener over the last 19 years with the opening dual meet against Florida on Saturday night. Since the 1986-87 season, Michigan has posted a 14-5 record in opening dual meets, which includes one tri-meet that was held in 2000-01 against Iowa and Wisconsin. Last season's dual meet opener, the Wolverines dropped a 133-93 decision to Florida in Gainsville, Fla., which was Michigan's only loss of the regular season.

2003-04 Season in Review
The Wolverines finished last season with a 13th-place showing at the NCAA Championships after claiming their 14th Big Ten Conference title on Feb. 21, 2004. The Maize and Blue also finished with a remarkable 8-1 record during the regular season. In additon, seven school records were broken throughout the course of the year.

In one of the most exciting championships in recent history, Michigan placed first in the meet's final event, the 400-yard freestyle relay, to clinch the team title over Penn State, 604.50-590-50. Graduated senior Anne Weilbacher (2000-04), senior Amy McCullough (West Bloomfield, Mich./Mercy HS) and sophomore Lindsey Smith (Dexter, Mich./Dexter HS) won individual conference championships, while U-M won Big Ten titles in the 400- and 800-yard freestyle relay. Following the meet, Jim Richardson was named the Big Ten Swimming Coach of the Year for the sixth time in his career.

Following Big Ten's, Michigan finished with 114.5 points at the national meet behind All-American performances in the 400-meter medley and 800-meter freestyle races. Sophomore Susan Gilliam (Los Angeles, Calif./Bolles HS) was Michigan's top individual finisher with an eighth-place showing in the 400-meter freestyle. In addition, Michigan swimmers earned a total of 10 All-America honorable mention accolades at the championships.

Outside of the pool, eleven Wolverines earned Academic All-Big Ten distinctions, while the College Swimming Coaches Association of America (CSCAA) selected six athletes as Academic All-Americans and two as honorable mention Academic All-Americans.

Olympic Dreams ...
Eight current and former members of the Michigan women's swimming and diving team took part in the 2004 U.S. Olympic Team Trials (July 7-12) at the Long Beach Swim Stadium, but none was able to secure a spot on the national roster for the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Greece. Graduated senior Kelli Stein (2001-04) was the only Wolverine to move past a preliminary round, as she placed 16th in the 200-meter breaststroke with a time of 2:34.06 to reach the semifinals. Stein, who earned NCAA All-America honorable mention and was the Big Ten Conference champion in the event in 2003, was unable to advance to the finals after placing 15th (2:33.41) in her second swim later that evening.

Welcome to Ann Arbor
Michigan welcomes 16 newcomers to its 2004-05 roster. Ginn Choe (Troy, Mich./Troy HS), Danielle Eibler (Pinckney, Mich./Pinckney HS), Kayla Hack (Chelsea, Mich./Chelsea HS), Erica LaBont (Amherst, Mass./Amherst Regional HS), Elyse Lee (Albion, Mich./Albion HS), Ashley McLaughlin (Monroe, Mich./Monroe HS), Amy Mertens (Plymouth, Mich./Salem HS), Samantha Montroy (Trenton, Mich./Trenton HS), Justine Mueller (Monroe, Mich./Monroe HS), Kaitlin Roach (Centerville, Ohio/Centerville HS), Wendy Shieh (Ann Arbor, Mich./Huron HS), Carolina Sierra (Medellin, Colombia/Colegio Palermo de San Jos), Valeria Silva (Lima, Peru/Alexander von Humboldt), Katie Skendrovic (Spring Lake, Mich./Spring Lake HS), Katie Smith (Plano, Texas/Hebron HS) and Michelle Uhlig (Boalsburg, Pa./State College Area HS) all join the U-M swimming and diving program this season.

Introducing the Captains ...
The Wolverines have named three captains for the 2004-05 season. Fifth-year senior Erica Watts (Carmel, Ind./Carmel HS), senior Alexis Goolik (Highland, Ind./Highland HS) and junior Abby Seskevics (Grand Haven, Mich./Grand Haven HS) have been elected by their teammates to lead the team as tri-captains in 2004-05. Watts, Michigan's most experienced swimmer at the butterfly position, will be looked upon for leadership during her final season as a Wolverine. Goolik, Michigan's most accomplished returning diver, is serving her second straight season as captain. Seskevics, a freestyle specialist, is carrying the honor for the first time after collecting one NCAA All-American nomination and four NCAA Honorable Mention All-America awards during her first two seasons in Ann Arbor.

The Leader of the Wolverines
Michigan head swimming coach Jim Richardson is entering his 20th year at the helm of the Wolverines. Over that time, his teams have dominated the Big Ten, winning 12 consecutive league titles from 1987-98 and adding the team's 13th in 2001 and 14th last season. Since taking over the program in 1985-86, Michigan has finished in the NCAA top 10 all but eight years. In 1995, U-M finished in second place as a team and followed that in 1996 by hosting the NCAA Championships and finishing third. He holds a career record of 138-45 in dual meet competiton, including an impressive 89-11 mark in Big Ten action.

Richardson has coached seven individual national champions, 120 NCAA All-Americans and 149 Honorable Mention All-Americans. On the conference level, he has guided 135 individual and relay champions and has been named the Big Ten Coach of the Year six times. A two-time NCAA Coach of the Year (1993, '95), Richardson's athletes have excelled in the classroom as well as the pool, with 20 CSCAA Academic All-Americans and 170 Academic All-Big Ten nominations.

On the Horizon ...
Michigan will next be in action at Michigan State on Wednesday, Oct. 27. The dual meet with the Spartans is slated to start at 6 p.m. at the Charles McCaffree pool in the IM West Building in East Lansing, Mich.

Contact: Marc Ressler (734) 763-4423